# Is "Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned" by Wells Tower a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned by Wells Tower (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2009) is identified by: FSG first edition, ISBN 978-0-374-29219-5, with a full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and the FSG imprint. The US FSG hardcover, published March 17, 2009, is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- FSG first edition, ISBN 978-0-374-29219-5, with a full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and the FSG imprint
- Tower's debut collection, widely listed among the best books of 2009; the hardcover is the collectible first
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Wells Tower |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 2009 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | FSG first edition, ISBN 978-0-374-29219-5, with a full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and the FSG imprint |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
FSG first edition, ISBN 978-0-374-29219-5, with a full number line descending to 1 on the copyright page and the FSG imprint. Tower's debut collection, widely listed among the best books of 2009; the hardcover is the collectible first.

## Is this the true first?
The US FSG hardcover, published March 17, 2009, is the true first. The Granta UK trade-paperback edition followed about two weeks later (April 1, 2009), so the FSG US hardcover has clear precedence rather than merely arguable priority.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later Picador (US) and Granta (UK) trade-paperback reprints are not firsts. Book-club hardcovers lack the number line and the flap price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned* by Wells Tower a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/everything-ravaged-everything-burned
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.