# Is "Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II" by John W. Dower a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II by John W. Dower (W. W. Norton / The New Press, 1999) is identified by: Cloth-backed boards, illustrated with black-and-white photographs. US co-publication by W.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Cloth-backed boards, illustrated with black-and-white photographs
- The joint W. W. Norton / The New Press imprint appears on the copyright page with a full number line descending to 1 for a first printing
- A first-printing dust jacket is present and unclipped, retaining its printed price
- Publisher imprint reads W. W. Norton / The New Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John W. Dower |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton / The New Press |
| Year | 1999 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Cloth-backed boards, illustrated with black-and-white photographs |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Cloth-backed boards, illustrated with black-and-white photographs. The joint W. W. Norton / The New Press imprint appears on the copyright page with a full number line descending to 1 for a first printing. A first-printing dust jacket is present and unclipped, retaining its printed price.

## Is this the true first?
US co-publication by W. W. Norton and The New Press (New York), 1999, is the true first. It won the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction and the 1999 National Book Award for Nonfiction.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Confirm the number line descends to 1 and that the joint Norton/New Press co-imprint is present; the widely offered 'Later Printing' Norton state lacks the full descending line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II* by John W. Dower a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/embracing-defeat-japan-in-the-wake-of-world-war-ii
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.