# Is "A Sense of Where You Are" by John McPhee a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of A Sense of Where You Are by John McPhee (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1965) is identified by: FSG first printing, 1965, with no additional-printing statement on the copyright page. US true first edition (FSG).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- FSG first printing, 1965, with no additional-printing statement on the copyright page
- Black cloth with gilt spine lettering; the dust jacket carries the original price
- McPhee's first book, a profile of Princeton basketball player Bill Bradley
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John McPhee |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | FSG first printing, 1965, with no additional-printing statement on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
FSG first printing, 1965, with no additional-printing statement on the copyright page. Black cloth with gilt spine lettering; the dust jacket carries the original price. McPhee's first book, a profile of Princeton basketball player Bill Bradley.

## Is this the true first?
US true first edition (FSG). The author's debut book; genuinely scarce in the original dust jacket.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No known book-club edition; later reprints add printing statements.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *A Sense of Where You Are* by John McPhee a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/a-sense-of-where-you-are
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.