# Is "The Big Heat" by William P. McGivern a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Big Heat by William P. McGivern (Dodd, Mead, 1953) is identified by: True first is the 1953 Dodd, Mead HARDCOVER (not a paperback original). Caution title: the hardcover precedes the paperback.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- True first is the 1953 Dodd, Mead HARDCOVER (not a paperback original)
- Listed here only to flag that despite its noir/pulp reputation it had a hardcover first; the Pocket Books paperback is a later reprint, not the first
- Publisher imprint reads Dodd, Mead
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William P. McGivern |
| Publisher | Dodd, Mead |
| Year | 1953 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | True first is the 1953 Dodd, Mead HARDCOVER (not a paperback original) |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
True first is the 1953 Dodd, Mead HARDCOVER (not a paperback original). Listed here only to flag that despite its noir/pulp reputation it had a hardcover first; the Pocket Books paperback is a later reprint, not the first.

## Is this the true first?
Caution title: the hardcover precedes the paperback. The paperback is a reprint 'first thus,' not the true first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Dodd, Mead first has 'First Edition' or absence of later printing statements; later printings and the paperback are clearly secondary.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Big Heat* by William P. McGivern a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-big-heat
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.