# Is "World War Z" by Max Brooks a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of World War Z by Max Brooks (Crown, New York, 2006) is identified by: The first printing is the Crown (Crown Publishers / Random House, New York) hardcover of 2006, subtitled An Oral History of the Zombie War, ISBN 9780307346605, 342 pp. The census claim is CONFIRMED, and the precedence is cleaner than "UK followed" suggests.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The first printing is the Crown (Crown Publishers / Random House, New York) hardcover of 2006, subtitled An Oral History of the Zombie War, ISBN 9780307346605, 342 pp
- CRITICAL TRAP: the stated "First Edition" alone does NOT establish a first printing here — Crown retained the statement on later printings, and dealers routinely catalogue copies as "Stated 'First Edition', 10th printing" and "First Edition
- Twenty-Sixth Printing." The number line is therefore the sole determinant: a first printing must show the COMPLETE number line running to 1 alongside the "First Edition" statement
- Binding: red cloth spine with cream marbled boards and bright bronze/gilt lettering to the spine; jacket in shades of brown and red, illustration credited to David Tran
- The jacket should be a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap, not clipped, and the copy not remaindered
- Publisher imprint reads Crown, New York
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Max Brooks |
| Publisher | Crown, New York |
| Year | 2006 |
| True first | UK edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The first printing is the Crown (Crown Publishers / Random House, New York) hardcover of 2006, subtitled An Oral History of the Zombie War… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The first printing is the Crown (Crown Publishers / Random House, New York) hardcover of 2006, subtitled An Oral History of the Zombie War, ISBN 9780307346605, 342 pp. CRITICAL TRAP: the stated "First Edition" alone does NOT establish a first printing here — Crown retained the statement on later printings, and dealers routinely catalogue copies as "Stated 'First Edition', 10th printing" and "First Edition; Twenty-Sixth Printing." The number line is therefore the sole determinant: a first printing must show the COMPLETE number line running to 1 alongside the "First Edition" statement. Binding: red cloth spine with cream marbled boards and bright bronze/gilt lettering to the spine; jacket in shades of brown and red, illustration credited to David Tran. The jacket should be a priced jacket with the price present at the front flap, not clipped, and the copy not remaindered.

## Is this the true first?
The census claim is CONFIRMED, and the precedence is cleaner than "UK followed" suggests. The US Crown (New York) 2006 hardcover is the true first. The UK issue from Gerald Duckworth & Co (London, 2006, ISBN 0715635964 / 9780715635964) was published as a TRADE PAPERBACK, not a hardcover, so it is not a competing hardcover first and does not challenge the Crown's precedence on either date or format. Written in English; no original-language question. Collectors pursue the Crown hardcover.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The decisive reprint tell is the number line, NOT the edition statement, because Crown left "First Edition" standing on later printings of this title — a copy stating "First Edition" may be a tenth or twenty-sixth printing. Verify that the line still runs to 1. Later paperback issues from Three Rivers Press / Broadway and the Duckworth UK trade paperback are separate formats, not firsts, and post-film tie-in issues are "first thus" at best. No book-club issue is documented, but remaindered and price-clipped copies should be identified as such.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *World War Z* by Max Brooks a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/world-war-z
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.