The 1975 (left) versus 1981 (right) editions of Read Better, Read Faster from the now defunct Pelican Books, formerly a division of Penguin (from Things Magazine). I love the paragraph on the front cover of the 1975 edition, which summarizes the basic problem (we’re constantly inundated with things to read) that the book is meant to solve (read better, read faster). Given the short attention spans of readers these days, this kind of blurb seems like a useful convention, communicating instantly the basic thrust of the book, right there on the front cover. The 1981 edition shows how this convention was eliminated in future editions, as book design evolved (or devolved).
