# Is "Spirit Lake" by MacKinlay Kantor a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Spirit Lake by MacKinlay Kantor (The World Publishing Company, 1961) is identified by: First edition, World Publishing, Cleveland, 1961. US edition is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, World Publishing, Cleveland, 1961
- Thick volume of roughly 957 pages in publisher's blue cloth with gilt spine titling, issued with a folding or full-page map
- A sprawling historical novel of the 1857 Spirit Lake massacre in Iowa
- Publisher imprint reads The World Publishing Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | MacKinlay Kantor |
| Publisher | The World Publishing Company |
| Year | 1961 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, World Publishing, Cleveland, 1961 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First edition, World Publishing, Cleveland, 1961. Thick volume of roughly 957 pages in publisher's blue cloth with gilt spine titling, issued with a folding or full-page map. A sprawling historical novel of the 1857 Spirit Lake massacre in Iowa.

## Is this the true first?
US edition is the true first. The UK edition (W.H. Allen) followed in 1962.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A Book-of-the-Month Club printing exists; it generally lacks the gilt spine weight of the trade issue and carries the usual club blindstamp to the rear board and no price on the jacket.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Spirit Lake* by MacKinlay Kantor a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/spirit-lake
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.