# Is "An Urchin in the Storm: Essays About Books and Ideas" by Stephen Jay Gould a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of An Urchin in the Storm: Essays About Books and Ideas by Stephen Jay Gould (W. W. Norton, 1987) is identified by: Norton first printing with a number line ending in 1 and the printed price present on the dust-jacket front flap. US true first (W.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- W. W. Norton first printing with a number line ending in 1 and the printed price present on the dust-jacket front flap
- Bound in half maroon cloth over cream paper boards, gilt-lettered on the spine; jacket design by Mike McIver
- A collection of Gould's book reviews and essays, all but one of which had appeared previously in The New York Review of Books, so first-thus as a gathered collection
- Publisher imprint reads W. W. Norton
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen Jay Gould |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton |
| Year | 1987 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | W. W. Norton first printing with a number line ending in 1 and the printed price present… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
W. W. Norton first printing with a number line ending in 1 and the printed price present on the dust-jacket front flap. Bound in half maroon cloth over cream paper boards, gilt-lettered on the spine; jacket design by Mike McIver. A collection of Gould's book reviews and essays, all but one of which had appeared previously in The New York Review of Books, so first-thus as a gathered collection.

## Is this the true first?
US true first (W. W. Norton, 1987); first appearance of these pieces as a collection.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No prominent book club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *An Urchin in the Storm: Essays About Books and Ideas* by Stephen Jay Gould a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/an-urchin-in-the-storm-essays-about-books-and-ideas
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.