# Is "Planets" by Carl Sagan a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Planets by Carl Sagan (Time-Life Books, 1966) is identified by: Volume in the Time-Life Life Science Library, 1966, by Carl Sagan with Jonathan Norton Leonard. US true first (Time-Life, 1966).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Volume in the Time-Life Life Science Library, 1966, by Carl Sagan with Jonathan Norton Leonard
- A first-year 1966 printing is the earliest state, but Time-Life series volumes were reprinted heavily and do not follow a reliable number-line convention, so a specific first-printing point cannot be asserted with confidence
- Publisher imprint reads Time-Life Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Carl Sagan |
| Publisher | Time-Life Books |
| Year | 1966 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Volume in the Time-Life Life Science Library, 1966, by Carl Sagan with Jonathan Norton… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
Volume in the Time-Life Life Science Library, 1966, by Carl Sagan with Jonathan Norton Leonard. A first-year 1966 printing is the earliest state, but Time-Life series volumes were reprinted heavily and do not follow a reliable number-line convention, so a specific first-printing point cannot be asserted with confidence.

## Is this the true first?
US true first (Time-Life, 1966). A series volume, minor in the Sagan canon.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Series book reprinted many times with no consistent printing-identification convention; first-printing status is difficult to establish and the volume is not individually collected in the way Sagan's authored trade books are.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Planets* by Carl Sagan a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/planets
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.