# Is "Half of Paradise" by James Lee Burke a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Half of Paradise by James Lee Burke (Houghton Mifflin, 1965) is identified by: Houghton Mifflin (Riverside Press, Cambridge) first printing, 1965, with no statement of later printings on the copyright page. US Houghton Mifflin is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Houghton Mifflin (Riverside Press, Cambridge) first printing, 1965, with no statement of later printings on the copyright page
- Bound in light brown cloth with a dark brown spine panel/label, the title and author stamped in white; collation pp
- (viii), 312
- Issued in the first-issue pictorial dust jacket, which should carry the printed price on the flap (present or clipped is condition, not a printing point)
- Publisher imprint reads Houghton Mifflin
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | James Lee Burke |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Houghton Mifflin (Riverside Press, Cambridge) first printing, 1965, with no statement of later printings on the copyright page |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Houghton Mifflin (Riverside Press, Cambridge) first printing, 1965, with no statement of later printings on the copyright page. Bound in light brown cloth with a dark brown spine panel/label, the title and author stamped in white; collation pp. (viii), 312. Issued in the first-issue pictorial dust jacket, which should carry the printed price on the flap (present or clipped is condition, not a printing point).

## Is this the true first?
US Houghton Mifflin is the true first. Burke's debut novel; genuinely scarce in the first edition, and dealers consistently treat the first printing in the vibrant first-issue pictorial jacket as the collectible state.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club edition to distinguish for the true first; scarce early title.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Half of Paradise* by James Lee Burke a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/half-of-paradise
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.