# Is "The Worst Hard Time" by Timothy Egan a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan (Houghton Mifflin, 2005) is identified by: Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2005 (hardcover published November 2005). US Houghton Mifflin (Boston) is the true first, dated 2005.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2005 (hardcover published November 2005)
- The first printing carries a complete descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page and a priced first-state dust jacket on the front flap
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Timothy Egan |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 2005 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2005 (hardcover published November 2005) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Houghton Mifflin, Boston, 2005 (hardcover published November 2005). The first printing carries a complete descending number line ending in 1 on the copyright page and a priced first-state dust jacket on the front flap.

## Is this the true first?
US Houghton Mifflin (Boston) is the true first, dated 2005. The book won the National Book Award for Nonfiction in 2006, but the first-printing copyright date is 2005, not 2006.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later printings show a number line that no longer ends in 1; book-club issues lack the jacket price. Confirm the full number line ending in 1 and the 2005 date.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Worst Hard Time* by Timothy Egan a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-worst-hard-time
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.