# Is "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (Spiegel & Grau, 2016) is identified by: Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House, New York, published 15 November 2016, ISBN 0-399-58817-5 (9780399588174); hardcover in dust jacket, 288 pages (a few collations give 304), octavo, approx. The US Spiegel & Grau edition (New York, 15 November 2016) is the true first, preceding the UK John Murray edition (London, 17 November 2016; hardcover ISBN 9781473635289 — the 9781473635296 ISBN is the John Murray paperback) by two days.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House, New York, published 15 November 2016, ISBN 0-399-58817-5
- hardcover in dust jacket, 288 pages (a few collations give 304), octavo, approx
- 9.5 x 6.5 in
- The copyright page states "First Edition" AND carries a complete number line running 9 down to 1 — dealers verify "1-9 present." Random House's practice is to state "First Edition" and to strike that statement on subsequent printings while the number line advances, so both the statement and the 1 must be present; either alone is insufficient
- Priced jacket / price present at the flap, unclipped, not remainder-marked
- No first-state text error, binding variant or jacket variant is documented for this title
- Publisher imprint reads Spiegel & Grau

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Trevor Noah |
| Publisher | Spiegel & Grau |
| Year | 2016 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House, New York, published 15 November 2016, ISBN 0-399-58817-5 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Spiegel & Grau, an imprint of Random House, New York, published 15 November 2016, ISBN 0-399-58817-5 (9780399588174); hardcover in dust jacket, 288 pages (a few collations give 304), octavo, approx. 9.5 x 6.5 in. The copyright page states "First Edition" AND carries a complete number line running 9 down to 1 — dealers verify "1-9 present." Random House's practice is to state "First Edition" and to strike that statement on subsequent printings while the number line advances, so both the statement and the 1 must be present; either alone is insufficient. Priced jacket / price present at the flap, unclipped, not remainder-marked. No first-state text error, binding variant or jacket variant is documented for this title.

## Is this the true first?
The US Spiegel & Grau edition (New York, 15 November 2016) is the true first, preceding the UK John Murray edition (London, 17 November 2016; hardcover ISBN 9781473635289 — the 9781473635296 ISBN is the John Murray paperback) by two days. The census claim is correct, but the margin is two days, not months: that is thin enough that the priority should be checked against the imprint in hand rather than assumed, and both editions are collected — the Spiegel & Grau as the first edition, the John Murray as the British first. Later copies bearing the same 9780399588174 ISBN under the One World imprint (Random House's successor after Spiegel & Grau was closed) are reissues of the same text, not the 2016 first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is documented. The reprint tells are the ones Random House builds in: later printings lack the "First Edition" statement and/or begin the number line at 2 or higher. The specific trap on this title is imprint drift — retail and dealer listings carrying the original ISBN under "One World" rather than "Spiegel & Grau" are later reissues, and a listing that names the publisher without quoting the copyright page proves nothing about the printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood* by Trevor Noah a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/born-a-crime-stories-from-a-south-african-childhood
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-04.