# Is "Son of Man" by Robert Silverberg a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Son of Man by Robert Silverberg (Ballantine Books, 1971) is identified by: Ballantine Books mass-market paperback original, catalog number 02277, first printing June 1971, approximately 213 pp; wraparound cover art by Gene Szafran with the price printed on the front cover. The US Ballantine Books paperback original (June 1971) is the true first edition; there was no prior hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Ballantine Books mass-market paperback original, catalog number 02277, first printing June 1971, approximately 213 pp; wraparound cover art by Gene Szafran with the price printed on the front cover
- The copyright page of the true first shows no later-printing statement and no printing-line reduction
- Publisher imprint reads Ballantine Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Silverberg |
| Publisher | Ballantine Books |
| Year | 1971 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Ballantine Books mass-market paperback original, catalog number 02277, first printing June 1971, approximately 213 pp; wraparound cover art… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Ballantine Books mass-market paperback original, catalog number 02277, first printing June 1971, approximately 213 pp; wraparound cover art by Gene Szafran with the price printed on the front cover. The copyright page of the true first shows no later-printing statement and no printing-line reduction.

## Is this the true first?
The US Ballantine Books paperback original (June 1971) is the true first edition; there was no prior hardcover.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not applicable; a paperback original has no book-club edition. Later Ballantine reprints revise the copyright-page printing statement and may alter the cover price.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Son of Man* by Robert Silverberg a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/son-of-man
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.