# Is "Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad" by Stephen E. Ambrose a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad by Stephen E. Ambrose (Simon & Schuster, 2000) is identified by: First edition, first printing bears the Simon & Schuster imprint and a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. US true first (Simon & Schuster, 2000).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing bears the Simon & Schuster imprint and a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- A large first printing was issued, so first-printing copies are not scarce; confirm by the number line rather than the year alone
- Publisher imprint reads Simon & Schuster
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen E. Ambrose |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Year | 2000 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing bears the Simon & Schuster imprint and a complete number… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing bears the Simon & Schuster imprint and a complete number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. A large first printing was issued, so first-printing copies are not scarce; confirm by the number line rather than the year alone.

## Is this the true first?
US true first (Simon & Schuster, 2000).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No prominent book-club edition displaces the trade first; identify the first by the number line ending in 1.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Nothing Like It in the World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad* by Stephen E. Ambrose a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/nothing-like-it-in-the-world-the-men-who-built-the-transcont
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.