Jackets Required: Terror and Consent
By Fwis -- Publishers Weekly, 5/22/2008 11:22:00 AM
This is the latest installment in a weekly column by Fwis, a graphic design group that blogs on book jacket design. The Fwis designers judge a recent book by its cover each week on PublishersWeekly.com.
Title: Terror and Consent: The Wars for the Twenty-First Century
Designer: Carol Devine
Author: Philip Bobbitt
Publisher: Knopf
In Terror and Consent, constitutional scholar Philip Bobbitt presents his broad argument for the West's need for a new approach to terrorism; a strategy in which large states may fight the newest form of terrorism; decentralized, distributed and hard to defeat. He balances his arguments and addresses counterpoints thoroughly, and the volume extends beyond 600 pages.
The jacket says very little about the contents. We know that its to be taken seriously, but also that it is contemporary and forward-looking. The type, Century Schoolbook, reeks of traditional thought and classic Americana and is set in black and red on faded parchment. The subtle slant leans into the future and breaks the stodginess of the type—not to mention the fact that all the type on the cover is treated the same way. It’s a striking effect on a book that needs little introduction, and a strong statement without a single raised voice creates a persuasive argument for the potential buyer.
