# Is "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie (Simon and Schuster, 1936) is identified by: First published November 1936. Confirms the census.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First published November 1936
- First-printing point: the 1936 date at the foot of the title page matches the 1936 copyright page date, and the copyright page carries no other dates and no reference to any additional printing or edition
- Later printings are stated there, and the book ran through many printings within months (seventeen printings in its first year), so the absence of a printing statement is decisive
- Collation: x, 337, [5] pp
- Bound in publisher's red cloth — described by some dealers as pinkish-red — stamped in gilt
- First-issue jacket points: the front flap reads "Chicago University" (not the later "The University of Chicago") and its paragraphs are set without bold face; the rear panel carries "12 THINGS THIS BOOK WILL DO FOR YOU" together with a Lowell Thomas testimonial and photograph; the price is present at the back flap, unclipped
- Publisher imprint reads Simon and Schuster

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Dale Carnegie |
| Publisher | Simon and Schuster |
| Year | 1936 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First published November 1936 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First published November 1936. First-printing point: the 1936 date at the foot of the title page matches the 1936 copyright page date, and the copyright page carries no other dates and no reference to any additional printing or edition. Later printings are stated there, and the book ran through many printings within months (seventeen printings in its first year), so the absence of a printing statement is decisive. Collation: x, 337, [5] pp. Bound in publisher's red cloth — described by some dealers as pinkish-red — stamped in gilt. First-issue jacket points: the front flap reads "Chicago University" (not the later "The University of Chicago") and its paragraphs are set without bold face; the rear panel carries "12 THINGS THIS BOOK WILL DO FOR YOU" together with a Lowell Thomas testimonial and photograph; the price is present at the back flap, unclipped. Important qualification: the jacket text was revised only after the eighth printing in 1937, so the jacket alone does not establish a first printing — it must agree with an unstated copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
Confirms the census. Simon and Schuster, New York, November 1936 is the true first; US only, with no UK or original-language precedence question to name. The work was drafted as "How to Make Friends and Influence People" and retitled because "make" did not fit the cover design. The 1981 revised edition — which drops the "Letters That Produced Miraculous Results" and "Eight Rules for Making Your Home Life Happier" sections — is a different text and is not a first edition of the work.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club issue is documented for the 1936 first. The reprint field is enormous and the standard trap is a Simon and Schuster printing bearing the 1936 copyright date: copies stated as, for example, the ninetieth printing still show the 1936 copyright and are widely listed as 1936 firsts. Also common are Dale Carnegie Institute/association printings and post-1981 revised-edition reprints. Note that the reported first-printing quantity varies between sources (3,000 copies per several dealers; a smaller initial print order is reported elsewhere) and is in any case not an identification point — do not use it as one.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *How to Win Friends and Influence People* by Dale Carnegie a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/how-to-win-friends-and-influence-people
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.