This is one of those days when English words look really funny to me. Salt, for example, looks totally bizarre. That notwithstanding, Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky is the title of today’s us vs uk book. Thanks to Meredith for inspiring this post!
US
UK
From the UK publisher’s site:
Homer called salt a divine substance. Plato described it as especially dear to the gods. As Mark Kurlansky so brilliantly relates in his world encompassing new book, salt has shaped civilisation from the beginning, and it’s story is a glittering, often surprising part of the history of mankind.
If you take a look at Random House’s Salt website, you can see that they have a little animation that relates back to the UK cover design. But I still don’t get it. The hand looks weird, and the desert photo just doesn’t say anything special to me. I do like the Salt lettering, though. Very much. I’m not thrilled by the US cover, but I think it works and makes sense and looks good. But it mainly wins here because I dislike the UK cover and feel somewhat neutral about the US cover. What do you think?
I think the US cover especially works since the sole graphic is a salt shaker that is (or at least, once was) ubiquitous here. So, for those living here, it works as a symbol.
I think the UK design overuses graphic elements (the hand especially was unnecessary)
The desert thing is throwing me off, too. In this case, the American cover does it for me, simple and to the point.
I have to agree that the US cover wins this round. The illustrated hand and lettering of the UK edition almost makes it feel like a novel, rather than the history/science book it is.
on the american cover the saltshaker is actually a cut out, when you flip the cover you get a full page image of salt…
unfortunately neither cover can make up for the fact that the book is ridiculously, ridiculously boring! there was so much promise in the introduction/opening/first chapter (can’t remember what now), which totally fizzled. i had to force myself to get halfway through during a cross-europe backpacking trip (had no other reading material!) just to thankfully abandon it in a hostel in france… not even my literary foodie friends could make it through that book.
The UK Salt lettering would look good on the US cover. I agree about the hand on the UK cover, the whole UK cover doesn’t seem to gel I don’t think.
Yikes! I think both covers are wanting. The first one–Is that the Penguin logo I see?–looks like an amateur’s use of a one-size fits all template, the elements, including the title, just dropped into “usual” positions. But the second looks like there was no plan. I see the camel and the sharply pointed peaks and think, “the Pyramids … where’s the Sphinx?” Completely distracted and overlooking the title. And the title is too cute by half. (But I haven’t had coffee yet, so maybe I’m just being mean. But I don’t think so.)