# Is "Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk" by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain (Grove Press, 1996) is identified by: Grove Press, New York, 1996 (published May 1996), first edition, first printing in hardcover, 424 pages, ISBN 0-8021-1588-8. The US Grove Press first printing is the true first; it precedes the UK issue (Little, Brown, ISBN 0-316-88147-3) and all later trade reprints.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Grove Press, New York, 1996 (published May 1996), first edition, first printing in hardcover, 424 pages, ISBN 0-8021-1588-8
- Bound in black paper over boards; issued in the original pictorial dust jacket whose printer's key runs down to 1 and which should retain its printed price
- The definitive punk oral history, collected as a music high spot
- Publisher imprint reads Grove Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain |
| Publisher | Grove Press |
| Year | 1996 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Grove Press, New York, 1996 (published May 1996), first edition, first printing in hardcover, 424 pages, ISBN 0-8021-1588-8 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Grove Press, New York, 1996 (published May 1996), first edition, first printing in hardcover, 424 pages, ISBN 0-8021-1588-8. Bound in black paper over boards; issued in the original pictorial dust jacket whose printer's key runs down to 1 and which should retain its printed price. The definitive punk oral history, collected as a music high spot.

## Is this the true first?
The US Grove Press first printing is the true first; it precedes the UK issue (Little, Brown, ISBN 0-316-88147-3) and all later trade reprints.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book-club edition of note. Confirm the 1996 Grove Press hardcover with black boards and its original priced jacket, and that the copyright-page number line runs down to 1 with no later-printing statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk* by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/please-kill-me-the-uncensored-oral-history-of-punk
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.