Top Covers from UChicago Press
They say not to judge a book by its cover, but sometimes the cover is good enough to make an exception. As life as usual is suspended and many people are working from home, it’s the perfect time to pick up a beautiful book and delve into the stories inside. Here are the picks from a few of our colleagues at the UChicago Press for covers (and contents) worth checking out.
Lisa Cohen | Financial Administrator, UChicago Press
What is your favorite book cover design from UChicago Press? Volume 61, Number 5 of Current Anthropology, set to publish in October 2020.
Why? The supplied image is one of a series of six images that will become the covers for the journal Current Anthropology for the CY20 volume of issues. Together, they represent our first foray into the field of visual anthropology. The photographer, Benjamin Fogarty-Valenzuela, was down in Rio de Janeiro during a 64-day Occupy Schools protest staged by the local students and culled these six from all the pictures he took to form a photo essay to take us inside that experience. I’m blown away by the combination of story-telling and function that these covers became.
Priya S. Nelson | Anthropology, History, and Gender & Sexuality Studies, The University of Chicago Press
What is your favorite book cover design from UChicago Press? Going All City by Stefano Bloch, designed by Mike Brehm.
Why? The first time I saw the accomplished design for this unflinching memoir of a graffiti writer growing up hard and fast in 1990s LA, I felt I could almost smell the thick air of the highway hot with exhaust, burning rubber, and aerosol spray. It was the first confirmation that one of the books readers—the designer Mike Brehm—had understood the book in a deeply felt way. That one of the book’s pivotal scenes is a hit-and-run on the highway is just the beginning. The more I have pondered the design, the more layers it has revealed. The slow exposure photograph captures the disorienting sense of speed and light that echoes the trauma of growing up adrift on America’s unforgiving streets. The only tag in the photo is simple—quick letters on the merging sign on the right. And the typography is as elegant and unadorned as the author’s own voice. This multisensorial design, like Going All City, makes its case quietly but with a persistent intelligence that becomes unforgettable.
Devon Dubiel | International Rights Associate, UChicago Press
What is your favorite book cover design from UChicago Press? Wow, this is quite a difficult task! I have tons of favorite covers, but of course the minute someone asks “what’s your favorite cover?” they all fly out of my head! My two would be Why Learn History (When It’s Already On Your Phone) and Ahab’s Rolling Sea.
Why? The first cover I’ve chosen is that of Why Learn History (When It’s Already On Your Phone). I like this one because it’s simple and creative. I like the contrast of the old scroll with the new iPhone. It’s one of those covers that if I was strolling through the “History” section of a bookstore I’d definitely stop and pick it up to read the synopsis on the back.
The second cover I’ve chosen is that of Ahab’s Rolling Sea. This was the cover of UCP’s Fall 2019 catalog and everyone loved it. The blue that was chosen is fantastic and I think it’s very aesthetically pleasing with the layering of the whales. I think this cover really hits it out of the park!
Saleem Dhamee | Director, Client Services and Business Operations, UChicago Press
What is your favorite book cover design from UChicago Press? Other Criteria by Leo Steinberg and Systems We Have Loved by Eve Meltzer.
Why? At first, I was going to select An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. My copy has inhabited almost every space I’ve ever lived in, looking at me from a shelf, table, or a desk as I’ve pondered its pages over the years. It’s also so enmeshed in my UChicago experience, I can’t imagine looking at or reading another edition. But, then, it’s not really my favorite cover.
Leo Steinberg’s Other Criteria is outstanding – emblematic of his subject and approach. But, in my mind, one the best covers we ever put out and that still puts a smile on my face is Eve Meltzer’s Systems We Have Loved. The blue cloth and the notecard – just genius.