This book is not hardcover (although it is not exactly typical softcover either). Instead, it has a flexible, durable plastic cover that seems pretty unique. The book itself is a catalog from the current Robert Frank exhibit at the Tate in London, but Frank himself helped put it together and you can tell. I think it is his most exciting book in years, probably since "The Lines of My Hand," although "Moving Out" was very comprehensive. If you are already a Robert Frank fan, I suspect you will NOT be disappointed by "Storylines." If you don't know who he is, check out "The Americans" first because that is his most important book, followed by "Lines of My Hand." I've never seen a good many of the images in "Storylines" before, and I've been absorbing everything I could of Robert Frank's work since 1987, so this is a worthwhile addition to my collection.