almost a pretty good cover design

Russel Wright was a fan of function. For a possible cover design, I considered a highly functional item: a chair. Considering how the type is placed (in some areas), the chair also serves as an invitation to the passerby to sit down and read this book.

cover options viewed as spreads:
covers viewed as (would be) folded:
Creating a design with the spread in mind is a good idea; another good idea is to consider how the design will be disrupted by the fold. For instance, my placement of a chair in the center area with type pleasantly stacked above and below (see top spread) was the worst idea on earth. Upon folding the book I realized the tip of the chair does not give enough information to the viewer.