# Is "In the Heart of the Heart of the Country" by William Gass a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of In the Heart of the Heart of the Country by William Gass (Harper & Row, 1968) is identified by: Yellow cloth with the publisher's device stamped in red on the front board, spine lettered in red and purple, yellow top-stain; orange endpapers. The US Harper & Row printing is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Harper & Row, 1968
- Yellow cloth with the publisher's device stamped in red on the front board, spine lettered in red and purple, yellow top-stain; orange endpapers
- First-issue dust jacket priced 4.95 on the front flap
- First printing shows no later-printing notation (Ahearn APG 002)
- Gass's second book and first story collection
- Publisher imprint reads Harper & Row
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William Gass |
| Publisher | Harper & Row |
| Year | 1968 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Harper & Row, 1968 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Harper & Row, 1968. Yellow cloth with the publisher's device stamped in red on the front board, spine lettered in red and purple, yellow top-stain; orange endpapers. First-issue dust jacket priced 4.95 on the front flap. First printing shows no later-printing notation (Ahearn APG 002). Gass's second book and first story collection.

## Is this the true first?
The US Harper & Row printing is the true first. The expanded 1981 Godine edition is a 'first thus,' not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
First printings carry no later-printing line; later printings or a book-club state alter or omit the first-printing indications. Treat the 1981 enlarged Godine edition separately as a 'first thus.'

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *In the Heart of the Heart of the Country* by William Gass a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/in-the-heart-of-the-heart-of-the-country
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.