George Lois’s Esquire Mag Book Is Out Today

Never judge a book by its cover? Pshaw...especially if it's done by Esquire's creative genius George Lois. In the 1960s, Lois was the mastermind behind saving the nearly bankrupt magazine with his visual rehaul, and two years ago he treated MoMA to some eye candy with his Esquire Covers exhibit. Now Assouline's captured all the controversy of adman Lois's iconic pieces, with a book, George Lois: The Esquire Covers @ MoMa, that had had everything from the portrait of Andy Warhol swimming in a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup to Sonny Liston as the first black Santa. While some of the imagery will have you scratching your head at '60s values, it's a good history lesson. While you're snuggled up in a window seat at Assouline's cozy-chic Plaza shop, you'll be grateful at just how far we've come.