# Is "Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness" by Edward Abbey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness by Edward Abbey (McGraw-Hill, 1968) is identified by: The true first edition is the McGraw-Hill Book Company issue of 1968 (Abbey's first book-length work of nonfiction), with "First Edition" stated on the copyright page and no later printings listed. US McGraw-Hill 1968 is the true first; the UK (Robert Hale, 1969) edition is a separate first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first edition is the McGraw-Hill Book Company issue of 1968 (Abbey's first book-length work of nonfiction), with "First Edition" stated on the copyright page and no later printings listed
- Collation runs to xiv plus 269 pages; the first printing was limited to about five thousand copies
- Bound in brown cloth with the spine lettered in white and beige
- The dust jacket and the in-text drawings are by Peter Parnall, and the first-state jacket carries the printed price to the front flap and should be present and unrestored
- A signed first-edition copy adds Abbey's autograph, most often to the title page
- Publisher imprint reads McGraw-Hill
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Edward Abbey |
| Publisher | McGraw-Hill |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first edition is the McGraw-Hill Book Company issue of 1968 (Abbey's first book-length work of nonfiction), with "First Edition"… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first edition is the McGraw-Hill Book Company issue of 1968 (Abbey's first book-length work of nonfiction), with "First Edition" stated on the copyright page and no later printings listed. Collation runs to xiv plus 269 pages; the first printing was limited to about five thousand copies. Bound in brown cloth with the spine lettered in white and beige. The dust jacket and the in-text drawings are by Peter Parnall, and the first-state jacket carries the printed price to the front flap and should be present and unrestored. A signed first-edition copy adds Abbey's autograph, most often to the title page.

## Is this the true first?
US McGraw-Hill 1968 is the true first; the UK (Robert Hale, 1969) edition is a separate first. A separate 'Desert Solitaire' entry already exists; this entry adds copyright-page and jacket points to distinguish the true first from later trade reprints and the Ballantine paperback.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club editions and later printings reprint the text but are not the first edition: they omit the priced first-state jacket, are usually printed on thinner paper, and may bear a book-club blind-stamp to the rear board. Use the stated "First Edition" line and the priced Parnall jacket to be certain.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness* by Edward Abbey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/desert-solitaire-a-season-in-the-wilderness
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.