# Is "If the South Had Won the Civil War" by MacKinlay Kantor a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of If the South Had Won the Civil War by MacKinlay Kantor (Bantam Books, 1961) is identified by: First book form is the Bantam paperback original, Bantam number A2241, dated April 1961, a mass-market paperback of about 112 pages with black-and-white illustrations by Isa Barnett. The text first appeared in Look magazine in November 1960; the Bantam paperback original of April 1961 is the first book-form edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First book form is the Bantam paperback original, Bantam number A2241, dated April 1961, a mass-market paperback of about 112 pages with black-and-white illustrations by Isa Barnett
- An alternate-history piece expanded from its magazine appearance
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | MacKinlay Kantor |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Year | 1961 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First book form is the Bantam paperback original, Bantam number A2241, dated April 1961, a mass-market paperback of about 112 pages with… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First book form is the Bantam paperback original, Bantam number A2241, dated April 1961, a mass-market paperback of about 112 pages with black-and-white illustrations by Isa Barnett. An alternate-history piece expanded from its magazine appearance.

## Is this the true first?
The text first appeared in Look magazine in November 1960; the Bantam paperback original of April 1961 is the first book-form edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later hardcover reissues (including a 1960s Bantam-related hardcover and modern editions with added material by Harry Turtledove) are reprints, not the first book appearance.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *If the South Had Won the Civil War* by MacKinlay Kantor a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/if-the-south-had-won-the-civil-war
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.