# Is "The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey" by Candice Millard a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard (Doubleday, 2005) is identified by: First edition, first printing: Doubleday, New York, 2005, of 'The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey.' Bound in cloth-backed boards. US Doubleday (New York), 2005, is the true first edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing: Doubleday, New York, 2005, of 'The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey.' Bound in cloth-backed boards
- The copyright page states 'FIRST EDITION' and carries a complete number line descending to 1; the presence of the '1' in the number line is the primary first-printing point that distinguishes it from later Doubleday printings
- Issued with illustrated (map) endpapers and two sections of black-and-white photographic plates
- First-state dust jacket with the original printed price present at the front flap corner (an unclipped, price-present flap is the desired state, though clipping alone does not change the printing)
- ISBN 0-385-50796-8
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Candice Millard |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 2005 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing: Doubleday, New York, 2005, of 'The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey.' Bound in… |
| Book-club edition exists? | — |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing: Doubleday, New York, 2005, of 'The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey.' Bound in cloth-backed boards. The copyright page states 'FIRST EDITION' and carries a complete number line descending to 1; the presence of the '1' in the number line is the primary first-printing point that distinguishes it from later Doubleday printings. Issued with illustrated (map) endpapers and two sections of black-and-white photographic plates. First-state dust jacket with the original printed price present at the front flap corner (an unclipped, price-present flap is the desired state, though clipping alone does not change the printing). ISBN 0-385-50796-8.

## Is this the true first?
US Doubleday (New York), 2005, is the true first edition. The book's full title is 'The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey.'

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Confirm the stated 'FIRST EDITION' line together with the number line running down to 1. A large-print edition (ISBN 0-375-72843-0) and later trade paperback printings exist and are not the first; the complete number line ending in 1 separates the first printing from subsequent Doubleday runs.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey* by Candice Millard a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-river-of-doubt-theodore-roosevelts-darkest-journey
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.