# Is "Summer of '49" by David Halberstam a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Summer of '49 by David Halberstam (William Morrow, 1989) is identified by: First printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1; William Morrow boards; price-present dust jacket (price-clipping removes that point). True first US edition is the 1989 William Morrow hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1
- William Morrow boards; price-present dust jacket (price-clipping removes that point)
- Chronicle of the 1949 Yankees-Red Sox pennant race and the DiMaggio-Williams rivalry
- Publisher imprint reads William Morrow
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | David Halberstam |
| Publisher | William Morrow |
| Year | 1989 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First printing states 'First Edition' on the copyright page with a number line descending to 1; William Morrow boards; price-present dust jacket (price-clipping removes that point). Chronicle of the 1949 Yankees-Red Sox pennant race and the DiMaggio-Williams rivalry.

## Is this the true first?
True first US edition is the 1989 William Morrow hardcover. The Avon (1994) mass-market and Harper Perennial reissues are paperback reprints, not firsts.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Easton Press leather 'collector' issue is a later reprint, not the true first. The Avon mass-market (1994) is a reprint despite carrying the 1989 copyright date.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Summer of '49* by David Halberstam a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/summer-of-49
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.