The C.O.B.: 50 Most Captivating Book Covers of All Time

Can you judge a book by its cover?

Saturday morning diversion: went looking for original 1951 cover of the late J.D. Salinger's classic The Catcher in the Rye and stumbled into this amazing resource that had so many favorites.

Judging the Book: 50 Most Captivating Covers of All Time

The author states in part:

“They say that you can’t judge a book by its cover, but every year publishers spend loads of time and effort getting designers to create covers that will stand out from the crowd of books on the shelf and get consumers to take them home. The cover may not tell the story, but it is certainly an important part of how people choose and remember their favorite books.”

There was a categorized list of the various “captivating covers,” many of which this reader was able to not only identify, but had actually read over the ages. The covers truly “have stood out for their innovative designs, great artwork or just plain eye-catching images…” Here are the categories represented:

Classics
Many of these covers have become as iconic as the books they represent.
Non-Fiction
From memoirs to philosophy tomes, these books have covers that make them stand out.
Modern Works
Take a look at these covers to see some inspiring and intriguing artwork.
Innovative Designs
The cover designs on these books take the art form to new places with fresh ideas and new ways to bring in readers to the material.
Science Fiction and Fantasy
From the bold minimalism of Chip Kidd to the lush illustrations of Michael Whelan, these book covers are hard to forget.
Children’s Literature
These books have memorable artwork both inside and out.

Found it quite interesting that the cover for Jack Keroac’s On the Road had been illustrated by none other than Len Deighton, the British military historian, cookery writer, and novelist, perhaps most famous for his spy novel The Ipcress File. He obviously went on to become a great author in his own right, but before all that he designed the cover for Keroac’s classic beat generation book.

Another was Shel Silverstein’s Where the Sidewalk Ends, the children’s classic which he wrote and did the cover art and illustrations. This poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter, and author of children's books sometimes styled himself as Uncle Shelby, especially for his early children's books. Lesser known was that he also wrote for Playboy, and his writing was in a class of its own… but his drawings are whimsical and endearing enough to stand alone.

In any case, visit the page and see how many if them that you recognize. You may be surprised at what you’ll find.