Question

Not sure if this is the right forum as this is not a technical question but I am quite intrigued about the cover image of the famous Manning in Spring , Hibernate books. What does that image signify? I cannot relate that image with java technology. Any inputs from anyone as why the publisher uses the image of a man with some dress and stick (Apologies as I don’t know what kind of outfit is that).

That man belongs to which culture and is it that the author is any way related to that culture? Curiosity is killing this bird. Help me !!

Answer 1

For Spring in Action #1

The figure of the cover page of Spring in Action is an “Officer of the
Grand Signior“. The illustration is taken from a collection of
costumes of the Ottoman Empire published on January 1, 1802, by
William Miller of Old Bond Street, London.

For Spring in Action #2 and #3

The figure on the cover of Spring in Action, Third Edition, is a “Le
Caraco”, or an inhabitant of the province of Karak in southwest
Jordan. Its capital is the city of Al-Karak, which boasts an ancient
hilltop castle with magnificent views of the Dead Sea and surrounding
plains. The illustration is taken from a French travel book,
Encyclopédie des Voyages by J. G. St. Sauveur, published in 1796.
Travel for pleasure was a relatively new phenomenon at the time and
travel guides such as this one were popular, introducing both the
tourist as well as the armchair traveler to the inhabitants of other
regions of France and abroad.

The book also says that for a short reason of why these images:

We at Manning celebrate the inventiveness, the initiative, and the fun
of the computer business with book covers based on the rich diversity
of regional life two centuries ago brought back to life by the
pictures from this travel guide.

It is said the same in all Maning books I have, for example in the AspectJ in Action the cover comes from:

The figure on the cover of AspectJ in Action is an “Ysleno Moluco,” an
inhabitant of the Molucan Islands, also known as the Spice Islands, a
southwestern province of Indonesia. The illustration is taken from a
Spanish compendium of regional dress customs first published in Madrid
in 1799.

And the same explanations as above is given.