Among the most influential writers in the book trade are those anonymous few who produce the blurbs on the back of the dust jacket of most volumes. If the blurbs are crafted cleverly, the result is part advertisement, part summary of contents, part identification of the book's intended audience, and (if warranted) quotes from other authors who are held in high regard by the potential buyer/reader.

For a professional book, these dust jacket blurbs should also indicate the conditions in today's world that make this new book not only useful but perhaps even necessary to understand certain situations and problems encountered by readers in the course of their work or their daily lives.