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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Accurate Title, 23 Jun 2006
Well, they really nailed the title -- cause magazine covers are exactly what you get with this coffee-table book. Namely, scads of nice reproductions (around 300 or so) of magazine covers from the last hundred years. These are arranged into five sections, four of which are thematic (magazines which cover design, news, popular culture, and lifestyle), and one on illustrated covers. Given the mostly thematic arrangement, it seems strange to segregate the illustrated covers into their own chapter, especially as all the other chapters include illustrated examples as well.... In any event, each spread has about 3-5 images along with a brief blurb which doesn't generally say anything particularly illuminating. About halfway through the book I started concentrating on the images and skipping the text. Most of the images are from the U.S. and U.K. from the 1950s onward, although there are a smattering of examples from Germany, Poland, the USSR, and a few other places. Similarly, most of the examples are of mainstream consumer magazines, with a few nods here and there to the counterculture (a spread on punk 'zines, feminist mag "Spare Rib", "Adbusters" et al). Overall, it's good overview of the evolution of mainstream magazine cover design.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
20th century Magazine covers, 29 Oct 2009
While the book itself is aptly titled (as mentioned in other reviews) it should be said that very little is discussed from the last decade of magazine covers. The book was originally published in 2003 and still shows very little from the 21st century. The majority of the book looks at the new ideas, innovation, and the boundaries pushed by magazine covers from the mid 1800's to modern day. A strong focus is given to publications from the USA, UK, and Europe in that order. The layout of the book is excellent and easy to read. A true coffee table book.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A pretty good coverage, 12 April 2005
I thought this was a fascinating overview of essentially American and English covers, from past decades and especially from the Fifties onwards. Divided into five chapters and covering a whole range of consumer titles with over three hundred covers shown. Each one has a caption and frequently there are several covers from one title, National Geographic or Ray Gun for instance. The author supplies a short overview of the various genres but it is the actual images that held my interest, frequently whole page or two, three or four to a page but all large enough to appreciate what the various art editors were trying to achieve.
Nearly all the magazines shown are examples of editorial design rather than just cover elements thrown together, like the 1962 'Confidential' (though even this is credited to Len Kabatsky) or the English title 'Hello' from 2000. There are three covers from my favorite, the German magazine 'Twen' (1963 to 1967) but I was disappointed not to see some examples of Henry Wolf's 'Show' and nothing from Herb Lubalin.
If you work in publishing or collect magazines I think this book is worth getting.
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