# Is "The Making of the Atomic Bomb" by Richard Rhodes a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Making of the Atomic Bomb by Richard Rhodes (Simon & Schuster, 1986) is identified by: Simon & Schuster first printing with a full number line ending in '1' on the copyright page. The US Simon & Schuster edition is the true first, preceding the UK edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Simon & Schuster first printing with a full number line ending in '1' on the copyright page
- ISBN 0-671-44133-7; thick octavo of 886 pp (including roughly 60 pages of unnumbered plates) bound in black cloth
- The first-issue jacket shows the printed price on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Simon & Schuster
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Richard Rhodes |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Year | 1986 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Simon & Schuster first printing with a full number line ending in '1' on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Simon & Schuster first printing with a full number line ending in '1' on the copyright page. ISBN 0-671-44133-7; thick octavo of 886 pp (including roughly 60 pages of unnumbered plates) bound in black cloth. The first-issue jacket shows the printed price on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
The US Simon & Schuster edition is the true first, preceding the UK edition. Won the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, the National Book Award, and the National Book Critics Circle Award.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
A book-club hardcover exists and is offered by dealers. It is distinguished by the absence of the printed price on the jacket flap and by a blindstamp or imprint to the lower rear board. Although a book-club copy may show a number line, the combination of the complete '...1' line and the priced first-issue jacket identifies the trade first printing.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Making of the Atomic Bomb* by Richard Rhodes a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-making-of-the-atomic-bomb
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.