# Is "Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63" by Taylor Branch a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63 by Taylor Branch (Simon & Schuster, 1988) is identified by: Thick octavo of roughly 1,064 pages in cloth-backed boards; the copyright page carries a full number line that includes the 1. US Simon & Schuster (New York) is the true first (hardcover ISBN 0-671-46097-1).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Thick octavo of roughly 1,064 pages in cloth-backed boards; the copyright page carries a full number line that includes the 1
- The first-state dust jacket retains its printed front-flap price and is not clipped
- Publisher imprint reads Simon & Schuster
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Taylor Branch |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Year | 1988 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Thick octavo of roughly 1,064 pages in cloth-backed boards; the copyright page carries a full number line that includes the 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Thick octavo of roughly 1,064 pages in cloth-backed boards; the copyright page carries a full number line that includes the 1. The first-state dust jacket retains its printed front-flap price and is not clipped.

## Is this the true first?
US Simon & Schuster (New York) is the true first (hardcover ISBN 0-671-46097-1). Won the Pulitzer Prize for History and the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1989.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club issue lacks the jacket price and breaks the number line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Parting the Waters: America in the King Years 1954-63* by Taylor Branch a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/parting-the-waters-america-in-the-king-years-1954-63
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.