# Is "The Founding Fish" by John McPhee a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Founding Fish by John McPhee (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2002) is identified by: FSG hardcover first printing with the FSG number-line convention (full line ending in 1) on the copyright page; FSG dust jacket. US true first (FSG, New York, 2002).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- FSG hardcover first printing with the FSG number-line convention (full line ending in 1) on the copyright page
- FSG dust jacket
- On the American shad
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | John McPhee |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 2002 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | FSG hardcover first printing with the FSG number-line convention (full line ending in 1)… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
FSG hardcover first printing with the FSG number-line convention (full line ending in 1) on the copyright page; FSG dust jacket. On the American shad.

## Is this the true first?
US true first (FSG, New York, 2002).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No known book-club edition.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Founding Fish* by John McPhee a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-founding-fish
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.