# Is "The Social Conquest of Earth" by E. O. Wilson a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Social Conquest of Earth by E. O. Wilson (Liveright / W. W. Norton, 2012) is identified by: First edition, first printing, Liveright (a division of W. US true first (Liveright / W.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First edition, first printing, Liveright (a division of W. W. Norton), New York, 2012 (ISBN 978-0-87140-413-8), octavo of approximately 330 pages, in a priced dust jacket
- Following modern Norton/Liveright practice, the first printing states First Edition on the copyright page with a number line that includes the numeral 1; the first-issue jacket retains its printed price on the flap (present, not clipped, on an unclipped copy)
- Publisher imprint reads Liveright / W. W. Norton
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | E. O. Wilson |
| Publisher | Liveright / W. W. Norton |
| Year | 2012 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First edition, first printing, Liveright (a division of W. W. Norton), New York, 2012 (ISBN 978-0-87140-413-8), octavo of approximately 330… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First edition, first printing, Liveright (a division of W. W. Norton), New York, 2012 (ISBN 978-0-87140-413-8), octavo of approximately 330 pages, in a priced dust jacket. Following modern Norton/Liveright practice, the first printing states First Edition on the copyright page with a number line that includes the numeral 1; the first-issue jacket retains its printed price on the flap (present, not clipped, on an unclipped copy).

## Is this the true first?
US true first (Liveright / W. W. Norton, New York, 2012).

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No prominent book-club edition; the first-printing Liveright octavo hardcover with the First Edition statement, a number line including 1, and unclipped priced jacket is the true first.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Social Conquest of Earth* by E. O. Wilson a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-social-conquest-of-earth
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.