# Is "No Third Path" by Jerzy Kosinski (as Joseph Novak) a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of No Third Path by Jerzy Kosinski (as Joseph Novak) (Doubleday, 1962) is identified by: First Edition stated on the copyright page; issued from Garden City, New York by Doubleday in 1962 in a priced dust jacket that should retain its printed price to be first-state. The true first is the 1962 Doubleday edition under the Joseph Novak pseudonym.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- First Edition stated on the copyright page; issued from Garden City, New York by Doubleday in 1962 in a priced dust jacket that should retain its printed price to be first-state
- An interview-based nonfiction study of everyday Soviet life, published under the Joseph Novak pseudonym; the author's second and scarcest early book
- Signed or inscribed copies from this period are unusual, and any contemporary inscription tends to preserve the Novak anonymity rather than reveal Kosinski
- Publisher imprint reads Doubleday
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Jerzy Kosinski (as Joseph Novak) |
| Publisher | Doubleday |
| Year | 1962 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | First Edition stated on the copyright page; issued from Garden City, New York by Doubleday in 1962 in a priced dust jacket that should… |
| Book-club edition exists? | No |

## Points of issue
First Edition stated on the copyright page; issued from Garden City, New York by Doubleday in 1962 in a priced dust jacket that should retain its printed price to be first-state. An interview-based nonfiction study of everyday Soviet life, published under the Joseph Novak pseudonym; the author's second and scarcest early book. Signed or inscribed copies from this period are unusual, and any contemporary inscription tends to preserve the Novak anonymity rather than reveal Kosinski.

## Is this the true first?
The true first is the 1962 Doubleday edition under the Joseph Novak pseudonym. It followed 'The Future Is Ours, Comrade' (1960) as the second of Kosinski's two early nonfiction books written as Novak, preceding all of his fiction under his own name.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
None notable.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *No Third Path* by Jerzy Kosinski (as Joseph Novak) a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/no-third-path
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.