All of our books use the same binding- from softcovers to through all the hardcovers. We use a synthetic glue with about a 22lb pull which is the same as the sewn bindings. The old perfect bounds generally had a hot animal glue with a 6-9 lb pull and the sewn bindings are around 18-24 depending on the quality.
Except in rare cases caused by a production error the pages do not EVER come out of books we have produced ourselves in the last couple of years. The paper rips first- have experimented many times and even when the book spine is bent and creased completely the pages do not come out.
The weakest point of all the bindings is actually the cover. It is easier to rip the cover off then it is to rip out a page. This is even true of the various hardbounds. I am not saying it is easy to rip the covers off but it is the weakest point.
The normal hardcovers are normal laminated stock mounted on hard board. The "leather" is mounted on the same hard board with some foam padding so it has a very nice feel The leather is a good quality faux top grain leather and feels very nice.
The best are the clothbounds in my opinion. They use a very sturdy cloth covering the same foam padding on the hard board. This cloth has a good "hand" and is a bit rough. It is not that smooth linen you get on some hardbounds with slipcovers. This is exremely tough cloth that is resistant to pretty much anything including being cut with a utility knife as I found out by accident one day.
