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Rating: 
Summary: Perfect
Review: A great book about new styles in typography design..really helpful to broaden your point of view if you are interested in creation of an unexpected effect with simple fonts
Rating: 
Summary: Good Historical Value, But No Applicable Lessons
Review: As other reviewers have written before me, this book surely has an historical value to it. It allows the reader to have a quick glance to a particular historical moment of typography in pre-WWII Germany, written in a Marxist tone. Also, the layout of the book is a beauty in itself, with its glossy paper and sans-serif Futura font. But that is pretty much it, unless you want to read it because you are a student in History of Typography. Do not expect to learn basic or advanced typographic elements here. If you want that, read "The Elements of Typographic Style" by Robert Bringhurst instead.
Rating:
Summary: Impresionante estudio historico y psicologico
Review: Este libro introduce en el estudio de las nuevas tipografias que surgen a principio de siglo en Alemania. Si bien el traductor reconoce que el autor esta equivocado en algunas de sus apreciaciones (tengan en cuenta que se escribio a principios de siglo) no deja de ser una forma de comprender los cambios mentales que surgen de las tipografias, y como estas interactuan con la sociedad.
Rating:
Summary: Get the Hardcover Version
Review: I don't want to repeat what others have already said, so here's a word of additional advice. Avoid the paperback copy and spend a few extra dollars on the hardcover version. Part of what made "The New Typography" what it was when it was printed was not only the contents inside, but the outside of the book as well. In sharp contrast to the classical title boxes on the spine of most books, 'The New Typography' was released in black cloth with silver / metallic ink on the spine, with the sans serif title reversed. Looks rather normal now, but imagine the response in the late 1920s. I have seen both the paperback version and the hardcover, and there's no comparison. If you want the total package, outside of finding a long lost copy of the first edition, get the hardcover. It's worth it, especially for purists.
Rating:
Summary: Best for those interested in pre WWII type history
Review: I was expecting something more contemporary when bought this book. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the book and have been glad I bought it. It is true, the author overstates his points on what constitutes good vs. bad typography, even going so far as to make philosphical "natural law" arguments in favor of good type! The social scientist in me enjoyed the Marxist overtones to his diatribe, and the artist in me enjoyed the period type of his Weimar Republic era work. While I won't suggest that one couldn't learn a thing or two from his principals of the "new typography", to my mind this is a book for art/social historians.
Rating:
Summary: A Manifesto for a Typographic Revolution
Review: Jan Tschichold wrote this book while still a young man, in reaction to the horrible typographic styles of the late 19th and early 20th century. As such, it is more an expression of a revolutionary spirit than a guide to good typography. The author himself rejected most of the ideas in the book a decade or so later. But it remains greatly influential, particularly in the field of graphic design for periodicals. Definitely worth reading, as a balance to the conventionality of most typographic books.
Rating:
Summary: A founding document of modern history
Review: Typographic history, at least. This book was first published in 1928, and seems to have been the founding manifesto of the "Swiss school" of typography. This is a must-read for all serious students of type, and for a few others as well. First, the messages for typographers. The book itself is part of that message: sanserif body text, bright white paper, and geometric red and black graphics. Tschichold uses a few conventions that I quite like. Footnotes are indicated inline and at the end of the page by a heavy black mark. At first, it looked like a blot on the gray of the body type. After seeing it a few times, though, I realized that the heavy mark was very helpful for recovering my place in the reading after my eyes moved away to read the footnote. Emphasis is shown with heavy rules in the outer margins around text, much the way I mark books myself. My only complaint about the book as a whole has to do with indistinct paragraph breaks - there is clue from indentation or line spacing, so it is actually possible to miss a pragraph break altogether. The second half of the book shows a number of examples, good, bad, and (today) historically interesting. Almost all examples are bold red and black - the first two colors to be used up in most sets of crayons. It is easy to forget that these examples were often designed for letterpress, since photocompostion barely existed as we understand the term. Despite Tschichold's passion for modernity, the style now looks as dated as Bauhaus, streamlined locomotives, and Art Deco. The first half of the book is for typographers, but also for any modern student of polemic. Not many people have strong feelings about typography, so the ranting can be considered by itself. Tschichold's style is based on "the spirit of our age" somehow revealed to him alone, and on Germanic philosophical absolutes. It is ironic that, during the cultural purges of pre-WWII Germany, Tschichold was among those rounded up for politically incorrect artwork - another absolute in conflict with his own. Happily, Tschichold was able to emigrate to Switzerland before war broke out. He had a long and influential career, and later regretted the strident excesses of youth that this book captures. This is useful as a guide to typographic style, but beginners will probably get more from modern texts. It gives a very informative view of the DIN standards for paper and business correspondence. Most of all, however, it captures a time and a mentality that no longer exist, but that guided one strong school of typographic practice for over 80 years.
Rating:
Summary: A founding document of modern history
Review: Typographic history, at least. This book was first published in 1928, and seems to have been the founding manifesto of the "Swiss school" of typography. This is a must-read for all serious students of type, and for a few others as well. First, the messages for typographers. The book itself is part of that message: sanserif body text, bright white paper, and geometric red and black graphics. Tschichold uses a few conventions that I quite like. Footnotes are indicated inline and at the end of the page by a heavy black mark. At first, it looked like a blot on the gray of the body type. After seeing it a few times, though, I realized that the heavy mark was very helpful for recovering my place in the reading after my eyes moved away to read the footnote. Emphasis is shown with heavy rules in the outer margins around text, much the way I mark books myself. My only complaint about the book as a whole has to do with indistinct paragraph breaks - there is clue from indentation or line spacing, so it is actually possible to miss a pragraph break altogether. The second half of the book shows a number of examples, good, bad, and (today) historically interesting. Almost all examples are bold red and black - the first two colors to be used up in most sets of crayons. It is easy to forget that these examples were often designed for letterpress, since photocompostion barely existed as we understand the term. Despite Tschichold's passion for modernity, the style now looks as dated as Bauhaus, streamlined locomotives, and Art Deco. The first half of the book is for typographers, but also for any modern student of polemic. Not many people have strong feelings about typography, so the ranting can be considered by itself. Tschichold's style is based on "the spirit of our age" somehow revealed to him alone, and on Germanic philosophical absolutes. It is ironic that, during the cultural purges of pre-WWII Germany, Tschichold was among those rounded up for politically incorrect artwork - another absolute in conflict with his own. Happily, Tschichold was able to emigrate to Switzerland before war broke out. He had a long and influential career, and later regretted the strident excesses of youth that this book captures. This is useful as a guide to typographic style, but beginners will probably get more from modern texts. It gives a very informative view of the DIN standards for paper and business correspondence. Most of all, however, it captures a time and a mentality that no longer exist, but that guided one strong school of typographic practice for over 80 years.
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