The Look of the Book: Jackets, Covers, and Art at the Edges of Literature

Price: $50.00 - $30.00
(as of Oct 08, 2025 05:56:25 UTC – Details)


Why do some book covers instantly grab your attention, while others never get a second glance? Fusing word and image, as well as design thinking and literary criticism, this captivating investigation goes behind the scenes of the cover design process to answer this question and more.
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
As the outward face of the text, the book cover makes an all-important first impression. The Look of the Book examines art at the edges of literature through notable covers and the stories behind them, galleries of the many different jackets of bestselling books, an overview of book cover trends throughout history, and insights from dozens of literary and design luminaries. Co-authored by celebrated designer and creative director Peter Mendelsund and scholar David Alworth, this fascinating collaboration, featuring hundreds of covers, challenges our notions of what a book cover can and should be.
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Ten Speed Press
Publication date ‏ : ‎ October 6, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 292 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0399581022
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0399581021
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.28 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.83 x 1.23 x 11.26 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #159,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #16 in Book Design #34 in Business Aspects of Writing #229 in Graphic Design Techniques
Customer Reviews: 4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 138 ratings var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });