# Is "Dispatches — deeper Vietnam: Tim O'Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home (memoir)" by Tim O'Brien a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Dispatches — deeper Vietnam: Tim O'Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home (memoir) by Tim O'Brien (Delacorte Press / Seymour Lawrence, 1973) is identified by: Delacorte/Seymour Lawrence hardcover, 1973, with a stated 'First printing' on the copyright page. This is O'Brien's first book (a memoir).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Delacorte/Seymour Lawrence hardcover, 1973, with a stated 'First printing' on the copyright page
- First-issue dust jacket carries the printed price
- Later printings drop the 'First printing' statement
- Publisher imprint reads Delacorte Press / Seymour Lawrence
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Tim O'Brien |
| Publisher | Delacorte Press / Seymour Lawrence |
| Year | 1973 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Delacorte/Seymour Lawrence hardcover, 1973, with a stated 'First printing' on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Delacorte/Seymour Lawrence hardcover, 1973, with a stated 'First printing' on the copyright page. First-issue dust jacket carries the printed price. Later printings drop the 'First printing' statement.

## Is this the true first?
This is O'Brien's first book (a memoir). The US Delacorte/Seymour Lawrence edition and the UK Calder & Boyars edition both appeared in 1973 and are generally treated as simultaneous; the US edition does not clearly precede the UK. The US Delacorte is the collected American first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue of note for the first; later printings drop the stated 'First printing.' The stated 'First printing' plus the printed-price jacket identifies the US first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Dispatches — deeper Vietnam: Tim O'Brien, If I Die in a Combat Zone, Box Me Up and Ship Me Home (memoir)* by Tim O'Brien a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/dispatches-deeper-vietnam-tim-obrien-if-i-die-in-a-combat-zo
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.