At least for me, getting to see the cover of a new book for the first time is a great morale boost. The designer usually finishes it up right around the time when I’m starting to wonder if the book will ever become real. Recently I got the new cover of Microcosm: E. coli and the New Science of Life. I wrapped it around another book and stuck it on my mantelpiece, to remind myself that soon (May, actually), the book will be in bookstores. But I can show it to you now, because it’s been posted at Amazon and at the Random House web site.
There’s still plenty of work for me before it becomes more than a cover. This week I have to bear down and finish working my way through the copy-edited manuscript. Now’s the time when the window begins to close, when I begin to hope against hope that nobody does any important research on E. coli until well after the book comes out.
One reason I like this cover is that it’s not the typical computer visualization of a microbe. There’s something about Petri dishes that can convey more. You feel that something is emerging–something that fascinates us, but something a bit ominous as well. I’m also starting to get the feeling that designers really love Petri dishes. Two of my recent articles were cover stories, and in both cases, a Petri dish became the cover. Here’s a dish for piece on the work of evolutionary biologist Paul Turner I wrote for the Yale Alumni magazine, and here’s a video of the making of the dish that went on the cover of Seed magazine for my story about the meaning of life. So the book cover makes three.
I’ll have more to say about Microcosm in the spring. But if you can’t wait to pre-order, be my guest.
Go Further
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- Animals
- Feature
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Environment
- This ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrificeThis ancient society tried to stop El Niño—with child sacrifice
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- Food systems: supporting the triangle of food security, Video Story
- Paid Content
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History & Culture
- Strange clues in a Maya temple reveal a fiery political dramaStrange clues in a Maya temple reveal a fiery political drama
- How technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrollsHow technology is revealing secrets in these ancient scrolls
- Pilgrimages aren’t just spiritual anymore. They’re a workout.Pilgrimages aren’t just spiritual anymore. They’re a workout.
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- This ancient cure was just revived in a lab. Does it work?This ancient cure was just revived in a lab. Does it work?
- See how ancient Indigenous artists left their markSee how ancient Indigenous artists left their mark
Science
- This 80-foot-long sea monster was the killer whale of its timeThis 80-foot-long sea monster was the killer whale of its time
- Every 80 years, this star appears in the sky—and it’s almost timeEvery 80 years, this star appears in the sky—and it’s almost time
- How do you create your own ‘Blue Zone’? Here are 6 tipsHow do you create your own ‘Blue Zone’? Here are 6 tips
- Why outdoor adventure is important for women as they ageWhy outdoor adventure is important for women as they age
Travel
- Slow-roasted meats and fluffy dumplings in the Czech capitalSlow-roasted meats and fluffy dumplings in the Czech capital
- Want to travel like a local? Sleep in a Mongolian yurt or an Amish farmhouseWant to travel like a local? Sleep in a Mongolian yurt or an Amish farmhouse
- Sharing culinary traditions in the orchard-filled highlands of JordanSharing culinary traditions in the orchard-filled highlands of Jordan