# Is "Liar's Poker" by Michael Lewis a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Liar's Poker by Michael Lewis (W. W. Norton & Company, 1989) is identified by: True first is New York: W. This is Michael Lewis's first book.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is New York: W. W. Norton, 1989; octavo, approximately 249 pp
- First printing carries the complete Norton number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 on the copyright page; successive printings drop the low digits (e.g., a tenth printing shows only a terminal 0), so any line not beginning at 1 indicates a later printing
- Bound in publisher's marbled/marble-effect paper-covered boards over black spine cloth lettered in gilt, and issued in the pictorial dust jacket (illustration by Vint Lawrence, design by Andrew M. Newman) with the price present at the flap
- Publisher imprint reads W. W. Norton & Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Michael Lewis |
| Publisher | W. W. Norton & Company |
| Year | 1989 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is New York: W. W. Norton, 1989; octavo, approximately 249 pp |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
True first is New York: W. W. Norton, 1989; octavo, approximately 249 pp. First printing carries the complete Norton number line 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 on the copyright page; successive printings drop the low digits (e.g., a tenth printing shows only a terminal 0), so any line not beginning at 1 indicates a later printing. Bound in publisher's marbled/marble-effect paper-covered boards over black spine cloth lettered in gilt, and issued in the pictorial dust jacket (illustration by Vint Lawrence, design by Andrew M. Newman) with the price present at the flap.

## Is this the true first?
This is Michael Lewis's first book. The US W. W. Norton edition (dated 17 October 1989) precedes the UK Hodder & Stoughton edition (catalogued 1 November 1989); both 1989 hardcovers are collected, but the Norton is the true first. Watch for later Norton and Hodder printings and the many 'first thus' paperbacks.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No prominent period book-club hardcover is documented; the identification hinge is the Norton number line beginning at 1 with a priced first-state jacket versus later Norton printings and reprints.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Liar's Poker* by Michael Lewis a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/liars-poker
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.