AS SURELY AS A BOOK IS JUDGED BY ITS COVER so too is a designer judged by the quality of their book design.  A designer literally has a nano-second where several things have to be accomplished.

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First, it has to jump off of the shelf or be noticeable among a slew of other book covers.

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Second, it has to tell the story of what's inside without giving away the whole story, some mystery has to be there. It cannot spoon feed all the details of the book on the cover.

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Third, it must have the look and feel that is typical of a story of its kind, and while non-fiction books are in-and-of-themselves different than fiction, even a non-fiction book can feel like a movie poster. 

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Finally, an element of surprise or cleverness must be apparent to the reader. That kind of approach tells the reader that you care about them.