# Is "Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms" by Stephen Jay Gould a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms by Stephen Jay Gould (Harmony Books, 1998) is identified by: Harmony Books (Crown Publishing / Random House), New York, 1998; subtitled Essays on Natural History, Gould's eighth collection of his Natural History essays, 422 pages, ISBN 0-609-60141-5. The US Harmony (Crown/Random House) hardcover of 1998 is the true first edition, preceding the UK Jonathan Cape edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Harmony Books (Crown Publishing / Random House), New York, 1998; subtitled Essays on Natural History, Gould's eighth collection of his Natural History essays, 422 pages, ISBN 0-609-60141-5
- First edition, first printing has a full descending number line on the copyright page ending in 1 and carries a first-issue dust jacket with the printed price present on the front flap
- Later Harmony trade-paperback issues carry a different ISBN (0-609-80475-8)
- Publisher imprint reads Harmony Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Stephen Jay Gould |
| Publisher | Harmony Books |
| Year | 1998 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Harmony Books (Crown Publishing / Random House), New York, 1998; subtitled Essays on Natural History, Gould's eighth collection of his… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Harmony Books (Crown Publishing / Random House), New York, 1998; subtitled Essays on Natural History, Gould's eighth collection of his Natural History essays, 422 pages, ISBN 0-609-60141-5. First edition, first printing has a full descending number line on the copyright page ending in 1 and carries a first-issue dust jacket with the printed price present on the front flap. Later Harmony trade-paperback issues carry a different ISBN (0-609-80475-8).

## Is this the true first?
The US Harmony (Crown/Random House) hardcover of 1998 is the true first edition, preceding the UK Jonathan Cape edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No prominent book-club edition point of concern; a Harmony trade paperback (ISBN 0-609-80475-8) followed and is distinguished by binding and ISBN.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Leonardo's Mountain of Clams and the Diet of Worms* by Stephen Jay Gould a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/leonardos-mountain-of-clams-and-the-diet-of-worms
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.