Why do European books have the words on the spine the opposite way around?

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The tradition to write on the spine top-to-bottom is older; its roots can be traced back to the time when books were few. The reasoning was that if a book is lying on the table (or in a small stack) face-up, reading its title should be easy.

The tradition to write on the spine bottom-to-top is younger; it’s more concerned with how easy it is for the bookshelf owner to handle the book. Reading bottom-to-top is easier, because this direction is more in keeping with the European left-to-right writing tradition, which is especially apparent when there are several lines of text on the spine (an urge to read the lines left-to-right is only natural).

The Western Europe and the US opted for the more venerable tradition, while the Eastern Europe and Russia aligned themselves with the more modern one. What the reader should remember is that both traditions are centuries old.

On June 5, 2002 the Intergovernmental Council for Standardization, Metrology, and Certification (which includes all former Soviet republics except Baltic states) adopted the intergovernmental standard GOST 7.84–2002 “Print Editions, Covers, and Bindings. General Requirements and Design Rules”. In Russia this standard has been effective since January 1, 2003.

The text of the standard contains the clause 6.2 that reads in flagrant defiance of the Russian book printing tradition: “the data on the cover ought to be printed […] top-to-bottom”. The thin silver lining here is that the silliness of the provision is redeemed by one’s discretion to disregard it.

In the end everyone will stick to their guns: folks in the West will cling to the belief that the title on the spine should be readable when the book is lying face-up; local folks will remain committed to the belief that when the book is lying face-up, its spine is of little value, because you can read all you want on the cover.

http://www.artlebedev.com/mandership/122/