# Is "The Hope" by Herman Wouk a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Hope by Herman Wouk (Little, Brown and Company, 1993) is identified by: First printing identified by "First Edition" stated on the copyright page together with the full descending number line ending in 1. The US Little, Brown edition is the true first; the UK edition followed from Hodder & Stoughton in 1994.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First printing identified by "First Edition" stated on the copyright page together with the full descending number line ending in 1
- Boston, Little, Brown; a large novel of Israel's founding years, depicting real figures such as David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Dayan and Golda Meir alongside fictional military families
- Bound in blue boards with a quarter-cloth spine stamped in gilt
- First-state dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Little, Brown and Company
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Herman Wouk |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
| Year | 1993 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First printing identified by "First Edition" stated on the copyright page together with the full descending number line ending in 1 |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
First printing identified by "First Edition" stated on the copyright page together with the full descending number line ending in 1. Boston, Little, Brown; a large novel of Israel's founding years, depicting real figures such as David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Dayan and Golda Meir alongside fictional military families. Bound in blue boards with a quarter-cloth spine stamped in gilt. First-state dust jacket carries the printed price on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
The US Little, Brown edition is the true first; the UK edition followed from Hodder & Stoughton in 1994.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Book club editions are common, lack the stated First Edition and number line, carry no printed price on the jacket flap, and are typically lighter with cheaper binding.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Hope* by Herman Wouk a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-hope
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.