# Is "The Guns of Navarone" by Alistair MacLean a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean (Collins, 1957) is identified by: The Collins London 1957 first impression is bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering to the spine, collates [6], 7-318, [2] pages with one black-and-white map, and shows the 1957 Collins imprint with no later-impression or reprint statement; the standard bibliography citation used by dealers is Russell 364. True first is the UK Collins edition (London, 1957); the first American edition (Doubleday, Garden City, 1957) followed the same year and is collected separately as the US first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The Collins London 1957 first impression is bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering to the spine, collates [6], 7-318, [2] pages with one black-and-white map, and shows the 1957 Collins imprint with no later-impression or reprint statement; the standard bibliography citation used by dealers is Russell 364
- The correct first-issue dust jacket has the original printed price present at the front flap — a clipped jacket cannot be confirmed as first issue
- Publisher imprint reads Collins
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Alistair MacLean |
| Publisher | Collins |
| Year | 1957 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The Collins London 1957 first impression is bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering to the spine, collates [6], 7-318, [2] pages with one… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
The Collins London 1957 first impression is bound in blue cloth with gilt lettering to the spine, collates [6], 7-318, [2] pages with one black-and-white map, and shows the 1957 Collins imprint with no later-impression or reprint statement; the standard bibliography citation used by dealers is Russell 364. The correct first-issue dust jacket has the original printed price present at the front flap — a clipped jacket cannot be confirmed as first issue.

## Is this the true first?
True first is the UK Collins edition (London, 1957); the first American edition (Doubleday, Garden City, 1957) followed the same year and is collected separately as the US first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No specific book-club tell is documented in the sources consulted; any impression statement or date later than 1957 on the title verso marks a reprint, and the flap price should be present and unclipped.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Guns of Navarone* by Alistair MacLean a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-guns-of-navarone
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.