# Is "Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga" by Stephen Davis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga by Stephen Davis (William Morrow, 1985) is identified by: US William Morrow hardcover, 1985 (US publication May 1985); ISBN 0-688-04507-X (9780688045074). US William Morrow 1985 is the US true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US William Morrow hardcover, 1985 (US publication May 1985)
- ISBN 0-688-04507-X
- Look for stated 'First Edition' and a number line ending in 1; jacketed octavo
- Became a bestseller in later paperback
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen Davis |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Year | 1985 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US William Morrow hardcover, 1985 (US publication May 1985) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US William Morrow hardcover, 1985 (US publication May 1985); ISBN 0-688-04507-X (9780688045074). Look for stated 'First Edition' and a number line ending in 1; jacketed octavo. Became a bestseller in later paperback.

## Is this the true first?
US William Morrow 1985 is the US true first. The UK Sidgwick & Jackson edition (ISBN 0283990619) is a separate, simultaneous British first published the same year; the two are distinct true firsts for their respective markets rather than one preceding the other.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The overwhelmingly common copies are mass-market paperback reprints (Ballantine, Berkley); only the 1985 Morrow cloth hardcover with the first-printing number line is the US first edition. The 2024 HarperCollins reissue (ISBN 0063354594) is a new edition, not a first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Hammer of the Gods: The Led Zeppelin Saga* by Stephen Davis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/hammer-of-the-gods-the-led-zeppelin-saga
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.