Barbara W. Tuchman First Editions

• The Bible and the Sword: England and Palestine from the Bronze Age to Balfour — 1956 · New York University PressNew York University Press first printing, 1956, in orange cloth with gilt spine lettering, with a price-present dust jacket and no later-printing statement. The book's actual published title is 'Bible and Sword' (without the leading article). US true first is the New York University Press edition of 1956, which precedes the London (Redman) edition of 1957. This was Tuchman's second book, following 'The Lost British Policy' of 1938, and the work that established her career. Later reprints include Knopf (1978), Papermac, and Ballantine paperback; a London Redman edition appeared in 1957. None of these are the first.
• The Zimmermann Telegram — 1958 · Viking PressViking Press first printing, 1958. The copyright page reads 'first published in 1958' with no later-printing or additional-impression statement. A cloth octavo of 244 pages plus preliminaries, with the title stamped on the spine; dealer descriptions of confirmed firsts vary on the cloth shade (recorded as coral, mauve, or light brown), so cloth color alone is not a reliable point. The first-state dust jacket…. US true first (The Viking Press, 1958). Tuchman later revised the text for a 1966 edition after moving publishers; that revised text is first-thus, not the first. No prominent book-club edition noted for the 1958 first; identify the true first by the unqualified 'first published in 1958' statement and the absence of any later-printing line.
• The Guns of August — 1962 · The Macmillan CompanyCopyright page states 'First Printing'. Black cloth with silver spine and front-panel lettering; cartographic (illustrated) endpapers; octavo, xii + 511 pp. First-state dust jacket carries the printed price; jacket design by Ellen Raskin. Published late January 1962. The US Macmillan edition is the true first; the UK (Constable, issued as 'August 1914') is a separate 'first thus.' The book won the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. Macmillan used a 'First Printing' statement rather than a number line in this era. The Book-of-the-Month Club edition omits the front-flap printed price, carries a blindstamped dot or indent near the spine on the rear board, and does not state 'First Printing' on the copyright page; it is also typically lighter in construction. The stated 'First Printing' plus the priced Raskin jacket identify the true first.
• The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890-1914 — 1966 · MacmillanThe Macmillan Company, New York, first printing, 1966; 528 pages. 'First Printing' stated on the copyright page with no later-printing statement. First-state binding is purple cloth, issued under a priced pictorial first-state dust jacket that retains its printed price when unclipped. US true first (The Macmillan Company, 1966), following the success of The Guns of August. Book-of-the-Month Club editions carry the club designation on the front jacket flap, a small blind-stamp (a square dot) to the lower rear board, and no printed price on the jacket.
• Stilwell and the American Experience in China, 1911-45 — 1971 · The Macmillan CompanyFirst printing from The Macmillan Company (New York), 1971, running to 621 pages. Bound in black cloth boards with silver spine lettering, with a map printed to the endpapers and a section of black-and-white photographic plates plus full-page maps within. The copyright page carries Macmillan's first-printing statement. The first-state dust jacket, designed by Robert Galster, retains the printed price on the front…. US edition from The Macmillan Company (New York) is the true first. The UK edition appeared as 'Sand Against the Wind: Stilwell and the American Experience in China' (Macmillan, London); the US issue under the 'Stilwell' title is the precedent text. Won the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction (Tuchman's second) in 1972. A Book-of-the-Month Club issue exists and is easily mistaken for the trade first, as it can carry the same first-printing wording; club copies lack the printed jacket price and typically show a small blind-stamp (dot or square) on the lower rear board. Later trade printings are stated as such on the copyright page.
• Notes from China — 1972 · Collier Books / MacmillanPaperback original in wrappers. 'First Collier Books Edition' stated on the copyright page (with presumed first printing). Collates approximately xiii, [1], 112, [2] pages, with a map. The front cover carries the subtitle line noting the uncut text of the notes and the essay 'If Mao Had Come to Washington in 1945' from Foreign Affairs. US true first (Collier Books, a Macmillan imprint, 1972), issued as a paperback original. A minor short work. No book-club edition.
• A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century — 1978 · Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf, New York, 1978. Dealers of confirmed firsts consistently record the copyright-page wording as 'First Trade Edition' beneath the Borzoi colophon (distinguishing the trade issue from the separately produced leather limited edition), with no later-printing statement. Bound in black cloth over boards, lettered in gilt on the front board and spine, with a deckle (rough) fore-edge and illustrated…. US Knopf (New York) true first trade edition, 1978. The Franklin Library also issued a full-leather limited edition (First Edition Society) in 1978 by special arrangement with Knopf, with gilt-decorated covers, moire endpapers, all-gilt edges and a facsimile-signed introductory leaf; it is a separate deluxe issue rather than the trade first. Book-club issue lacks the stated first line and the jacket price, is typically a smaller/lighter volume, and commonly shows a blind-stamp (dot or square) on the rear board; the Franklin Library leather issue is a distinct limited edition, not a book-club printing.
• Practicing History: Selected Essays — 1981 · Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf first printing, 1981, of this collection of previously published essays. 'First Edition' is stated on the copyright page beneath the Borzoi (running-dog) colophon, with no later-printing line. Bound in black cloth, the spine and front board stamped in gilt; approximately 306 pages. The first-state dust jacket is glossy light pink with black lettering and carries a photograph of Tuchman; the…. US true first (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1981) and first-thus as a gathered collection of essays previously published individually. No prominent book-club edition noted; the identifier is the stated 'First Edition' line beneath the Borzoi colophon together with the priced pink photographic jacket.
• The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam — 1984 · Alfred A. KnopfAlfred A. Knopf (a Borzoi Book) first printing, 1984. 'First Edition' stated on the copyright page with no later printings listed; priced first-state dust jacket. Knopf identified its firsts of this period by the stated 'First Edition' line, not by a number line. US true first (Alfred A. Knopf, 1984). Issued as a Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection; club copies lack the jacket price and typically carry a blind-stamp to the rear board.
• The First Salute: A View of the American Revolution — 1988 · Alfred A. KnopfKnopf trade first prints 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a number line ending in 1, in a dust jacket bearing the printed cover price. Published September 1988; Tuchman's final book (she died in 1989). US true first is the Knopf 1988 edition. Book-of-the-Month Club printings lack the printed jacket price and carry a blind-stamped indent on the rear board; they are not the true first.

More Nonfiction & Memoir shelves: Baruch Spinoza, Benjamin Franklin, Booker T. Washington, Brian Greene, C. Vann Woodward, Carl Sagan.

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