# Is "To Open the Sky" by Robert Silverberg a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of To Open the Sky by Robert Silverberg (Ballantine, 1967) is identified by: Ballantine Books paperback original, New York, 1967, catalog number U6093, with cover art by Richard Powers and no statement of later printing. US Ballantine paperback original is the true first; there was no prior hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Ballantine Books paperback original, New York, 1967, catalog number U6093, with cover art by Richard Powers and no statement of later printing
- A fix-up assembled from five novelettes first published 1965 to 1966: 'Blue Fire,' 'The Warriors of Light,' 'Where the Changed Ones Go,' 'Lazarus Come Forth,' and 'Open the Sky.'
- Publisher imprint reads Ballantine
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Robert Silverberg |
| Publisher | Ballantine |
| Year | 1967 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Ballantine Books paperback original, New York, 1967, catalog number U6093, with cover art by Richard Powers and no statement of later… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Ballantine Books paperback original, New York, 1967, catalog number U6093, with cover art by Richard Powers and no statement of later printing. A fix-up assembled from five novelettes first published 1965 to 1966: 'Blue Fire,' 'The Warriors of Light,' 'Where the Changed Ones Go,' 'Lazarus Come Forth,' and 'Open the Sky.'

## Is this the true first?
US Ballantine paperback original is the true first; there was no prior hardcover.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition. Priority rests on the U6093 catalog number and the absence of any additional printing statement; later Ballantine reissues carry different catalog numbers.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *To Open the Sky* by Robert Silverberg a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/to-open-the-sky
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.