# Is "The Mountain Valley War" by Louis L'Amour a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Mountain Valley War by Louis L'Amour (Bantam Books, 1978) is identified by: Bantam paperback original, 1978 (Kilkenny #2), no hardcover precedes it. True first is the 1978 Bantam paperback original; no earlier hardcover.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Bantam paperback original, 1978 (Kilkenny #2), no hardcover precedes it
- Bantam's practice for paperback originals was to print NO edition or printing statement on the copyright page for the first printing; later printings were explicitly noted, so a true first printing shows a clean copyright page with no later-printing line
- Reworked and expanded from the 1947 West magazine story 'A Man Called Trent' (published as by Jim Mayo)
- Publisher imprint reads Bantam Books
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Louis L'Amour |
| Publisher | Bantam Books |
| Year | 1978 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Bantam paperback original, 1978 (Kilkenny #2), no hardcover precedes it |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Bantam paperback original, 1978 (Kilkenny #2), no hardcover precedes it. Bantam's practice for paperback originals was to print NO edition or printing statement on the copyright page for the first printing; later printings were explicitly noted, so a true first printing shows a clean copyright page with no later-printing line. Reworked and expanded from the 1947 West magazine story 'A Man Called Trent' (published as by Jim Mayo).

## Is this the true first?
True first is the 1978 Bantam paperback original; no earlier hardcover. Identify the first printing by the absence of any later-printing statement on the copyright page.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Not applicable; paperback original. Later Bantam reprints are distinguished by an added printing statement on the copyright page.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Mountain Valley War* by Louis L'Amour a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-mountain-valley-war
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.