# Is "Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938" by Stephen E. Ambrose a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938 by Stephen E. Ambrose (Pelican Books, 1971) is identified by: Issued as a Pelican paperback original in 1971 as the concluding volume of the Pelican History of the United States. True first is the 1971 Pelican/Penguin paperback original; no earlier hardcover precedes it.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Issued as a Pelican paperback original in 1971 as the concluding volume of the Pelican History of the United States
- As a paperback original there is no number line or stated-edition wording; the first printing is identified by the 1971 date, the Pelican imprint and cover, and the absence of any 'revised edition' statement
- Many revised editions (later co-authored with Douglas Brinkley) followed
- Publisher imprint reads Pelican Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen E. Ambrose |
| Publisher | Pelican Books |
| Year | 1971 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Issued as a Pelican paperback original in 1971 as the concluding volume of the Pelican… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Issued as a Pelican paperback original in 1971 as the concluding volume of the Pelican History of the United States. As a paperback original there is no number line or stated-edition wording; the first printing is identified by the 1971 date, the Pelican imprint and cover, and the absence of any 'revised edition' statement. Many revised editions (later co-authored with Douglas Brinkley) followed.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1971 Pelican/Penguin paperback original; no earlier hardcover precedes it.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not applicable in the usual sense: this is a mass-market paperback original, so the concern is distinguishing the 1971 first printing from the many later revised Pelican/Penguin editions rather than a book-club printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Rise to Globalism: American Foreign Policy Since 1938* by Stephen E. Ambrose a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/rise-to-globalism-american-foreign-policy-since-1938
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.