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This book cover of Upton Sinclair’s //The Jungle// was published in 2006 by Penguin Publishing House. Penguin Publishing House is known for publishing all types of classics that incorporate many different genres. This publishing house has many different covers for Sinclair’s novel, and has adapted them to adjust to their contemporary demographic; this cover in particular is the 100th anniversary of the book’s publication.

When choosing a book, the first thing we judge are their covers. Even though the old adage, "don't judge a book by it's cover," tells us we shouldn't, we do. We use the cover because that is the first thing presented to us. Publishers know this, so they attempt to make them as eye-catching and engaging as possible. Books have a lot of competition on store shelves or on the search pages of internet vendors, and publishing companies want to make sure their book is the one chosen for purchase. Book covers not only must include something relevant to the content of the book, but they must make a bold, eye-catching statement about that content. This book cover is a prime example of a publishing company doing just that.

Initially, a viewer might respond to this book cover with a knee-jerk reaction of repulsion for the image of the skinned and dismembered cow head on the front, or the creepy tentacled red organisms on the back. This book cover, however, is trying to sell the voice of the novel to the viewer of the cover, and gain reader curiosity through shock value. The images on the front and back, with the text on the inside, play with the viewer’s inherent point of view and evoke curiosity within them. The potential reader’s initial emotional response to the cover invites them to mitigate their curiosity about the conversation the book is implicating through its front and back images. Such conversations might be: our values, our expectations, and our curiosity about the topic and the curiosity of the book’s stance on questions of animal rights, quality of food, and where our food comes from.

An aside: This version of //The Jungle// has a forward by Eric Schlosser, who is the author of //Fast Food Nation//. This information is printed relatively prominently at the bottom of the front cover, and it would make this version of this book instantly appeal to anyone who has also read the book (or seen the movie) //Fast Food Nation//. Eric Schlosser has frequently been compared to Upton Sinclair, because his book, Fast Food Nation, is also intended to raise awareness of the processes involved in the meat-packing industry (among other things). Check out the link on the Food For Thought page for more information on how //Fast Food Nation// pairs with //The Jungle//