# Is "Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944" by Stephen E. Ambrose a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944 by Stephen E. Ambrose (Simon & Schuster, 1985) is identified by: First US edition, first printing, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1985, of Ambrose's account of the British glider assault on the Orne bridges, an octavo of 197 pages illustrated with black-and-white photographs. US true first (Simon and Schuster, 1985).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First US edition, first printing, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1985, of Ambrose's account of the British glider assault on the Orne bridges, an octavo of 197 pages illustrated with black-and-white photographs
- The first printing is identified by the full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page
- The book is bound with a navy cloth spine over blue paper-covered boards, in a pictorial first-state dust jacket that carries the printed price on the front flap (the price should be present, though a clipped jacket does not by itself rule out a first printing)
- Publisher imprint reads Simon & Schuster
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen E. Ambrose |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Year | 1985 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First US edition, first printing, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1985, of Ambrose's… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First US edition, first printing, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1985, of Ambrose's account of the British glider assault on the Orne bridges, an octavo of 197 pages illustrated with black-and-white photographs. The first printing is identified by the full number line ending in 1 on the copyright page. The book is bound with a navy cloth spine over blue paper-covered boards, in a pictorial first-state dust jacket that carries the printed price on the front flap (the price should be present, though a clipped jacket does not by itself rule out a first printing).

## Is this the true first?
US true first (Simon and Schuster, 1985).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-of-the-Month Club editions lack the printed jacket price and typically carry a blind-stamp to the rear board; they are not the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944* by Stephen E. Ambrose a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/pegasus-bridge-june-6-1944
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.