# Is "Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music" by Greil Marcus a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music by Greil Marcus (E. P. Dutton, 1975) is identified by: Dutton hardcover, 1975; octavo, approximately xii plus 375 pages with index. US Dutton 1975 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US E. P. Dutton hardcover, 1975; octavo, approximately xii plus 375 pages with index
- First edition so stated, with no additional printings indicated on the copyright page
- The book was revised repeatedly across later editions plus a 50th-anniversary edition, so reprints and revised texts are abundant; a first must be the original unrevised 1975 Dutton text
- Publisher imprint reads E. P. Dutton
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Greil Marcus |
| Publisher | E. P. Dutton |
| Year | 1975 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US E. P. Dutton hardcover, 1975; octavo, approximately xii plus 375 pages with index |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
US E. P. Dutton hardcover, 1975; octavo, approximately xii plus 375 pages with index. First edition so stated, with no additional printings indicated on the copyright page. The book was revised repeatedly across later editions plus a 50th-anniversary edition, so reprints and revised texts are abundant; a first must be the original unrevised 1975 Dutton text.

## Is this the true first?
US Dutton 1975 is the true first. The book was famously revised many times, so a first edition must be the unrevised 1975 text, not a later expanded or anniversary printing carrying new material.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Numerous later Plume, Penguin, and Dutton paperback printings exist; any post-1975 edition notation or a later anniversary-edition ISBN indicates a reprint, not the first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock 'n' Roll Music* by Greil Marcus a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/mystery-train-images-of-america-in-rock-n-roll-music
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.