# Is "The Zimmermann Telegram" by Barbara W. Tuchman a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Zimmermann Telegram by Barbara W. Tuchman (Viking Press, 1958) is identified by: Viking Press first printing, 1958. US true first (The Viking Press, 1958).

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- Viking Press first printing, 1958
- The copyright page reads 'first published in 1958' with no later-printing or additional-impression statement
- A cloth octavo of 244 pages plus preliminaries, with the title stamped on the spine; dealer descriptions of confirmed firsts vary on the cloth shade (recorded as coral, mauve, or light brown), so cloth color alone is not a reliable point
- The first-state dust jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap; that printed price should be present (its exact amount does not matter for identification, and clipping does not by itself disqualify a jacket)
- Publisher imprint reads Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Barbara W. Tuchman |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Year | 1958 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | Viking Press first printing, 1958 |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
Viking Press first printing, 1958. The copyright page reads 'first published in 1958' with no later-printing or additional-impression statement. A cloth octavo of 244 pages plus preliminaries, with the title stamped on the spine; dealer descriptions of confirmed firsts vary on the cloth shade (recorded as coral, mauve, or light brown), so cloth color alone is not a reliable point. The first-state dust jacket carries the original printed price on the front flap; that printed price should be present (its exact amount does not matter for identification, and clipping does not by itself disqualify a jacket).

## Is this the true first?
US true first (The Viking Press, 1958). Tuchman later revised the text for a 1966 edition after moving publishers; that revised text is first-thus, not the first.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No prominent book-club edition noted for the 1958 first; identify the true first by the unqualified 'first published in 1958' statement and the absence of any later-printing line.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Zimmermann Telegram* by Barbara W. Tuchman a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-zimmermann-telegram
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.