Publisher · founded 1972 · New York City
Harmony Books
Harmony Books is a Crown imprint at Penguin Random House, founded in 1972, that issued the first American editions of Douglas Adams's Hitchhiker's books and now publishes wellbeing titles.
- Editions tracked
- 42
- First editions
- 26
- Books
- 42
- Years
- 1974 to 2012
Harmony Books is a publisher based in New York City, founded in 1972. We track 42 editions it published between 1974 and 2012, 26 of them first editions across 42 books. How Harmony Books marked its first editions is set out below, with a checker for the year on your title page.
About Harmony Books
Harmony Books is a New York non-fiction imprint of the Crown Publishing Group at Penguin Random House, founded in 1972 and now focused on health, relationships, self-improvement and spirituality.
The Crown executive Bruce Harris started the imprint. Its early list was broad: Jill Freedman's photography book Circus Days (1975), Leni Riefenstahl's Vanishing Africa (1982), Mark Lewisohn's The Beatles Recording Sessions (1988) and Stephen Jay Gould's Full House (1996). Harmony also published the first American editions of Douglas Adams's five Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy novels, from the first volume in 1980 to Mostly Harmless in 1992.
Harmony came to be known for mind-body-spirit books. In November 2012 Crown widened its remit to take in health, diet, relationships and self-improvement, in a memo from Tina Constable, who is now listed as its publisher. Its authors include Deepak Chopra, Daniel G. Amen, Jillian Michaels, Suzanne Somers and Timothy Ferriss, and recent titles include Outlive by Peter Attia with Bill Gifford and John Gottman and Nan Silver's The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work.
Holding a copy? The first edition checker shows Harmony Books's practice for the year on your title page.
Identification
How to identify Harmony Books first editions
Authors
Books
Published by Harmony Books
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify a Harmony Books first edition?
How many Harmony Books books does MyVolumes track?
We track 42 editions published by Harmony Books, 26 of them first editions, across 42 books.
Where these facts come from
- Harmony Books, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Crown Expands Focus at Harmony, Publishers Weekly, 2012 (publishersweekly.com)
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (five volumes), Bauman Rare Books (baumanrarebooks.com)
- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The First Edition Rare Books (thefirstedition.com)
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 17 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.