# Is "Intelligent Life in the Universe" by Carl Sagan a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Intelligent Life in the Universe by Carl Sagan (Holden-Day, 1966) is identified by: First edition, first printing published by Holden-Day, San Francisco, in 1966; red cloth stamped in black and gilt, with photo-pictorial dust jacket. US true first (Holden-Day, 1966).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing published by Holden-Day, San Francisco, in 1966; red cloth stamped in black and gilt, with photo-pictorial dust jacket
- Sagan's first book, written with I.S. Shklovskii as an expanded adaptation of Shklovskii's earlier Russian work
- Publisher imprint reads Holden-Day
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Carl Sagan |
| Publisher | Holden-Day |
| Year | 1966 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing published by Holden-Day, San Francisco, in 1966; red cloth… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing published by Holden-Day, San Francisco, in 1966; red cloth stamped in black and gilt, with photo-pictorial dust jacket. Sagan's first book, written with I.S. Shklovskii as an expanded adaptation of Shklovskii's earlier Russian work.

## Is this the true first?
US true first (Holden-Day, 1966). Co-authored with I.S. Shklovskii.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No prominent book-club edition displaces the Holden-Day first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Intelligent Life in the Universe* by Carl Sagan a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/intelligent-life-in-the-universe
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.