Jason Epstein, a powerhouse in the literary industry, looks at the crisis facing the book industry and anticaptes the tremendous changes that will arise.  "Many valuable books - most, in fact - are not meant to be best-sellers, and these tend to be slighted in the triage of contemporary publishing and bookselling" (13).  In other words, with the increasing attention to blockbuster publishing, even though a wide variety of books continues to be published, only those with great selling potential receive much specialized attention from the publishing house.  There has been a critical shift from the days in which publishing a best seller was a rare event (Epstein likens it to winning the lottery) to today's market, in which major publishing houses are bestseller factories. 

Epstein recounts his role in the transformation of paperbacks, from cheaply made drugstore pulp fiction, to the higher quality editions of old favorites that we are familiar with today. A key moment in the changing nature of book covers occurred in 1944, when Kathleen Windsor's best-selling Forever Amber was promoted by adorning the book with a glamorous portrait of the author.

Technology, of course, is the impetus for change in almost any industry, and the publishing world is no different.  Epstein describes the shifts in business practices as a result of technology - specifically, the internet.  It was a big step when stores' inventories could be linked to computers; but now the computers are the only interface for many stores, such as Amazon.com.  Epstein and his peers in publishing try to anticipate the next step.    

Server conveys the seductive nature of many paperbacks in post-WWII America.  He describes this area as a "brief but gloriously subversive era in the history of American publishing.  These cheap, pocket-sized editions came wrapped in lurid cover art and screaming headlines, hyping stories about crime, lust, and violence.  Casting a neonlike glow from wire racks in drugstores and bus depots across the nation, they conveyed an alluring collective vision of a corrupt and sensual world" (9).  The covers Server presents are shocking to a modern sensibility, what we would consider highly politically incorrect.  He features titles such as 12 Chinamen and a Woman (which replaced the original title of 12 Chinks and a Woman), A Swell-Looking Babe, Love Hungry Doctor, and Indiscretions of a TV Sinner.  Common to these books and almost all of the others depicted here is the overt sexualization of women.  They are often depicted in the nude, in varioust states of undress, and in seductive poses.  The books are riddled with triumph of the heroic man - over attractive women as well as over other various threats to society, such as mobs and drugs.  These paperbacks were not critically acclaimed, but did have a wide readership - due in large part to their sensational covers. 

Schiffrin offers insight into the international publishing world with this narrative history. He recounts his experiences in the publishing world, describing pivotal moments (acquisitions of companies, market censorship, the emergence of blockbuster best-sellers) through his personal lens. This book provides an interesting and accessible introduction to the evolution of the publishing industry over the second half of the 20th century.

The authors take the reader through a history of American book cover designs, from the inception of the book jacket as a utilitarian object in the 1820s to the incredibly influential and indicative introduction to the text that we now know them to be.  Drew and Sternberger trace the technological, political, and social trends that contributed to the evolution of book jackets.  The book is visually engaging, as well, with numerous color photographs to illustrate the text.  Each chapter begins with an introduction to the chapter's theme (with ambiguous or difficult terms and concepts helpfully explained), and then progresses on to numerous case studies.  In general, supplementary sources are helpful to elaborate on the grand themes of the book, but the basic ideas are more than adequately supported with examples.