# Is "The Third Mind" by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of The Third Mind by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin (Viking Press, 1978) is identified by: US first English-language edition, cloth in dust jacket, 194 pages with black-and-white illustrations; states first published 1978 with number line. The French 'Oeuvre croisee' (Flammarion, 1976) is the true first; the 1978 Viking Press hardcover is the first English-language edition.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- US first English-language edition, cloth in dust jacket, 194 pages with black-and-white illustrations; states first published 1978 with number line
- The French 'Oeuvre croisee' (Flammarion, 1976) precedes it in French
- Publisher imprint reads Viking Press
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin |
| Publisher | Viking Press |
| Year | 1978 |
| True first | — |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | US first English-language edition, cloth in dust jacket, 194 pages with black-and-white… |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
US first English-language edition, cloth in dust jacket, 194 pages with black-and-white illustrations; states first published 1978 with number line. The French 'Oeuvre croisee' (Flammarion, 1976) precedes it in French.

## Is this the true first?
The French 'Oeuvre croisee' (Flammarion, 1976) is the true first; the 1978 Viking Press hardcover is the first English-language edition.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
No book club.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *The Third Mind* by William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/the-third-mind
CC BY 4.0. Part of the Canonical First-Edition Points of Issue dataset (https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/api/first-edition-titles.json). Last reviewed 2026-07-03.