Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar

First American edition published by Pantheon in 1966 

Let me begin by saying that this is my favorite book cover, ever. I think it's pretty easy to see why this jacket designed by acclaimed designer George Salter is so amazing, and why in a lot of ways more important to me than the contents of the book itself. If you've read Hopscotch by Julio Cortazar, the cover illustrates and condenses the feel of the book's contents incredibly well, which is something Salter was considered revolutionary for being able to do. Without question one of the world's most important book designers who did covers for every major 20th century author, Salter designed this beautiful cover of Hopscotch the year before he died at the end of his career of many decades. Between the covers Cortazar's novel is an interesting one, and there was definitely nothing like it before its publication—it is, however, not an easy book to read for a lot of reasons. It is very long and can often be tedious, but it is also absurd, witty, inventive, and sad. What makes Hopscotch so interesting is that Cortazar devised the book to be read either in a linear fashion, from chapters 1 through 56, or by playing "hopscotch" so to speak, and jumping to the chapter Cortazar tells you to at the end of the one you're reading. By reading it using the "hopscotch" method you end up reading all six hundred pages or so. Although very daunting, I think it's more fun to read it that way.

Back cover author photo of Cortazar sporting a nice unibrow

The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass

First American edition of The Tin Drum

Originally published in Germany in 1959, pictured above is the cover of the first American edition of The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass. Published by the Pantheon imprint of Random House in 1961—which specialized in foreign titles—The Tin Drum was first translated into English by superstar translator Ralph Manheim. Gunter Grass' first novel is, simply put, one of my favorite books; there is nothing quite like it, and in my opinion none of his other books really compare. A war ballad combined with proponents of magical realism, The Tin Drum recounts the epic of Oskar Matzerah and his family in Danzig, Germany before, during and after World War II. Oskar willed himself to stop growing at the age of 3, only maturing mentally, and can shatter glass with his voice. He dons a tin drum, which he can play to conjur any memory from the past. It is a ridiculous and special book. The cover drawing is one of my favorites—drawn by Grass himself—and has been incorporated in some way or another into nearly ever future edition (see below).

Oskar character on the back cover of a later Pantheon paperback

Another Oskar from the cover of a British Penguin paperback