# Is "Heirs of General Practice" by John McPhee a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Heirs of General Practice by John McPhee (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986) is identified by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986 (copyright 1984). US true first is the 1986 FSG paperback original.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986 (copyright 1984)
- Issued as a paperback original, not a hardcover; the first FSG book form is the softcover, ISBN 0374519749
- This account of Maine family physicians first appeared in The New Yorker and was also collected in Table of Contents
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John McPhee |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 1986 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986 (copyright 1984) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1986 (copyright 1984). Issued as a paperback original, not a hardcover; the first FSG book form is the softcover, ISBN 0374519749. This account of Maine family physicians first appeared in The New Yorker and was also collected in Table of Contents (1985).

## Is this the true first?
US true first is the 1986 FSG paperback original. The text was published earlier within Table of Contents (FSG, 1985); there is no separate hardcover first of this title.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No known Book Club Edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Heirs of General Practice* by John McPhee a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/heirs-of-general-practice
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.