# Is "Might as Well Be Dead" by Rex Stout a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Might as Well Be Dead by Rex Stout (Viking Press, 1956) is identified by: Nero Wolfe novel published by The Viking Press, New York, in 1956 (published October 26, 1956). The US Viking Press edition is the true first, preceding the UK Collins Crime Club edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Nero Wolfe novel published by The Viking Press, New York, in 1956 (published October 26, 1956)
- The first edition is bound in bright blue-green boards with a chartreuse cloth spine stamped in blue-green; front and rear covers are blank
- It is issued in a mainly blue pictorial dust wrapper
- On a first-issue jacket the printed price should be present on the flap (though genuine firsts are sometimes price-clipped when given as gifts)
- Later collected in the omnibus Three Aces (Viking, 1971)
- Publisher imprint reads Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Rex Stout |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Year | 1956 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Nero Wolfe novel published by The Viking Press, New York, in 1956 (published October 26, 1956) |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
Nero Wolfe novel published by The Viking Press, New York, in 1956 (published October 26, 1956). The first edition is bound in bright blue-green boards with a chartreuse cloth spine stamped in blue-green; front and rear covers are blank. It is issued in a mainly blue pictorial dust wrapper. On a first-issue jacket the printed price should be present on the flap (though genuine firsts are sometimes price-clipped when given as gifts). Later collected in the omnibus Three Aces (Viking, 1971).

## Is this the true first?
The US Viking Press edition is the true first, preceding the UK Collins Crime Club edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
The Viking first is dark-blue cloth with a yellow spine, a printed back flap, and a the printed price flap price with colophon (~0.83 x 5.6 x 8.3"); the book-club copy has a completely blank back flap, a different cover, and is taller and wider but thinner. No 'Book Club Edition' flap marking. (identification per rexstoutfirsts.com)

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Might as Well Be Dead* by Rex Stout a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/might-as-well-be-dead
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.