The Look of the Book

Why do some book covers become instant classics? This captivating visual exploration of the book cover sheds light on the creative genius sitting on our shelves. As readers, we're all guilty of judging a book by its cover. The cover is the outward face of the text--done right, a cover can become iconic, but done wrong, it can become an object of ridicule. The Look of the Book examines the art of the book cover through notable covers and the stories behind them, interviews with artists and literary luminaries, galleries of the many different jackets of bestselling books, and more. Authored by legendary designer and art director Peter Mendelsund--who has designed iconic covers for authors such as David Sedaris, Stieg Larsson, Yaa Gyasi, Jo Nesbø, and Kazuo Ishiguro--and Harvard humanities professor David Alworth, this fascinating inside look at the intersection of culture and commerce challenges our notions of what a book cover can and should be.

PETER MENDELSUND is the former art director at Alfred A. Knopf and the author of a design monograph called Cover and What We See When We Read, which has been translated into 14 languages. His writings have appeared in the New York Times, the Paris Review, and other magazines. DAVID J. ALWORTH is John L. Loeb Associate Professor of the Humanities at Harvard University. He teaches and writes about modern and contemporary literature, media, art, and design. He is the author of Site Reading: Fiction, Art, Social Form and his essays have appeared in Public Books and the Los Angeles Review of Books, as well as in various scholarly journals.