# Is "A Primer of Population Biology" by E. O. Wilson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Primer of Population Biology by E. O. Wilson (Sinauer Associates, 1971) is identified by: Sinauer Associates, Stamford, Connecticut, first published 1971; paperback original of about 192 pages, co-authored with William H. US true first (Sinauer Associates, 1971), co-authored with William H.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Sinauer Associates, Stamford, Connecticut, first published 1971; paperback original of about 192 pages, co-authored with William H. Bossert
- ISBN 0-87893-926-1
- A self-teaching textbook that remained in print essentially unchanged for decades through many later printings
- Publisher imprint reads Sinauer Associates
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | E. O. Wilson |
| Publisher | Sinauer Associates |
| Year | 1971 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Sinauer Associates, Stamford, Connecticut, first published 1971; paperback original of… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Sinauer Associates, Stamford, Connecticut, first published 1971; paperback original of about 192 pages, co-authored with William H. Bossert; ISBN 0-87893-926-1 (9780878939268). A self-teaching textbook that remained in print essentially unchanged for decades through many later printings.

## Is this the true first?
US true first (Sinauer Associates, 1971), co-authored with William H. Bossert.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. Reprinted many times as a course text under the same title and ISBN; the plates were unchanged across printings, so the earliest is identified by the 1971 copyright and the absence of any later printing statement or added printing number on the copyright page. Not typically collected as a first edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Primer of Population Biology* by E. O. Wilson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-primer-of-population-biology
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.