# Is "The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History" by Jonathan Franzen a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History by Jonathan Franzen (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006) is identified by: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2006; the copyright page carries the FSG 'First edition, 2006' statement together with the FSG house number line, the lowest digit 1 present, denoting the first printing. US FSG first edition, 2006, is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2006; the copyright page carries the FSG 'First edition, 2006' statement together with the FSG house number line, the lowest digit 1 present, denoting the first printing
- Memoir of 195 pages (ISBN 0374299196 / 9780374299194)
- Issued in a dust jacket that should retain its original printed front-flap price; the presence of the printed price is a first-issue expectation, and the jacket is not price-clipped in first state
- Publisher imprint reads Farrar, Straus and Giroux
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jonathan Franzen |
| Publisher | Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
| Year | 2006 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2006; the copyright page carries the FSG 'First edition, 2006' statement together with the FSG house… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2006; the copyright page carries the FSG 'First edition, 2006' statement together with the FSG house number line, the lowest digit 1 present, denoting the first printing. Memoir of 195 pages (ISBN 0374299196 / 9780374299194). Issued in a dust jacket that should retain its original printed front-flap price; the presence of the printed price is a first-issue expectation, and the jacket is not price-clipped in first state.

## Is this the true first?
US FSG first edition, 2006, is the true first. A separate first UK edition (Fourth Estate/HarperCollins) exists and should not be confused with the US issue; the US FSG printing precedes.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No notable book-club edition; identify the trade first by the FSG 'First edition, 2006' statement and the number line with 1 present.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Discomfort Zone: A Personal History* by Jonathan Franzen a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-discomfort-zone-a-personal-history
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.