# Is "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen R. Covey a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey (Simon & Schuster, 1989) is identified by: True first is New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989 (hardcover). US Simon & Schuster 1989 is the true first, and the census 'Simon & Schuster' attribution is correct.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989 (hardcover)
- First printing is identified by the complete number line (a '1' present, with no later-printing notation) on the copyright page
- Bound in quarter blue buckram over pale purple/lavender paper-covered boards, and issued in the dust jacket with the price present at the flap; the subsequent 'Free Press' and 'Fireside' imprints are later editions, not the first
- Publisher imprint reads Simon & Schuster
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen R. Covey |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Year | 1989 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989 (hardcover) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
True first is New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989 (hardcover). First printing is identified by the complete number line (a '1' present, with no later-printing notation) on the copyright page. Bound in quarter blue buckram over pale purple/lavender paper-covered boards, and issued in the dust jacket with the price present at the flap; the subsequent 'Free Press' and 'Fireside' imprints are later editions, not the first.

## Is this the true first?
US Simon & Schuster 1989 is the true first, and the census 'Simon & Schuster' attribution is correct. Do NOT accept the widely-catalogued 'Free Press' or 'Fireside' issues as the first: Free Press (a Simon & Schuster imprint) editions and the Fireside trade paperback are subsequent. There is no earlier non-US edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book-club and later trade printings (the Fireside paperback, Free Press hardcover/paperback reissues, and later anniversary editions) lack the first-state number line; the quarter blue buckram binding together with a complete number line distinguishes the 1989 first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People* by Stephen R. Covey a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-people
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.