# Is "Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile" by Ralph Nader a First Edition?

> **Quick answer.** A first edition of Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile by Ralph Nader (Grossman Publishers, 1965) is identified by: The true first is Grossman Publishers, New York, 1965, an octavo bound in red cloth with a red top-stain, collating xiv, [1]-365 pp. US only: Grossman Publishers, New York, 1965 is the true first.

**Checklist — a true first has these:**
- The true first is Grossman Publishers, New York, 1965, an octavo bound in red cloth with a red top-stain, collating xiv, [1]-365 pp
- It is genuinely uncommon in the first printing, and the first-issue dust jacket (priced at the front flap, unclipped) is notoriously difficult to find in collectible condition
- Grossman first printings carry no later-printing statement, so identification rests on the 1965 Grossman imprint, the red cloth / red top-stain binding, the xiv+365 collation, and the priced first-issue jacket, with no additional printing line on the copyright page
- Publisher imprint reads Grossman Publishers
- Not a book-club edition (see below)

| | |
|---|---|
| Author | Ralph Nader |
| Publisher | Grossman Publishers |
| Year | 1965 |
| True first | US edition |
| Format | Hardcover (trade) |
| Key point | The true first is Grossman Publishers, New York, 1965, an octavo bound in red cloth with a red top-stain, collating xiv, [1]-365 pp |
| Book-club edition exists? | Yes |

## Points of issue
The true first is Grossman Publishers, New York, 1965, an octavo bound in red cloth with a red top-stain, collating xiv, [1]-365 pp. It is genuinely uncommon in the first printing, and the first-issue dust jacket (priced at the front flap, unclipped) is notoriously difficult to find in collectible condition. Grossman first printings carry no later-printing statement, so identification rests on the 1965 Grossman imprint, the red cloth / red top-stain binding, the xiv+365 collation, and the priced first-issue jacket, with no additional printing line on the copyright page.

## Is this the true first?
US only: Grossman Publishers, New York, 1965 is the true first. No competing UK or original-language edition takes precedence.

## Telling it from reprints & book-club editions
Later reprint issues and price-clipped or later-state jackets are the common traps; a first-issue jacket is priced at the flap (identification only, no value stated). No standard book-club edition is documented — confirm the copyright page lacks any later-printing statement.

## Source
New Mexico Literacy Project — Is *Unsafe at Any Speed: The Designed-In Dangers of the American Automobile* by Ralph Nader a first edition? https://newmexicoliteracyproject.org/first-edition/unsafe-at-any-speed-the-designed-in-dangers-of-the-american
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.