When the Going Was Good

An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines

By: Graydon Carter

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Paperback | 27 January 2025

At a Glance

Paperback
432 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.4 x 15.6 x 3.4

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A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2025 IN THE INDEPENDENT, GQ, NEW STATESMAN, FINANCIAL TIMES AND BBC CULTURE

When the Going Was Good is Graydon Carter's lively recounting of how he made his mark as one of society's most talented editors and shapers of culture. Carter arrived in New York from Canada with little more than a suitcase, a failed literary magazine in his past and a keen sense of ambition. He landed a job at Time, went on to work at Life, co-founded Spy magazine and edited The New York Observer before catching the eye of Conde Nast chairman Si Newhouse, who tapped him to run Vanity Fair.

With his inimitable voice and raconteur's quip, Carter brings readers inside the drawing rooms of the great and not-always-good of America, Britain and Europe. He assembled one of the best-ever stables of writers and photographers under one roof, and here he re-creates in real time the steps he took to ensure that Vanity Fair during his 25-year run cemented its place as the epicentre of art, culture, business and politics. Charming, candid and brimming with humour, When the Going Was Good perfectly captures the last golden age of print magazines from the inside out.

About the Author

Graydon Carter is the founder of Air Mail. Before this, he was a staff writer for both Time and Life. He co-created Spy, edited The New York Observer, and for twenty-five years was the award-winning editor of Vanity Fair. He is also the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer of more than a dozen documentaries and one hit Broadway play. He and his wife live in Greenwich Village, not far from the Waverly Inn, and have five children.

Industry Reviews

Carter's wry tone and hard-won insights make this a must-read for aspiring journalists and those who lived through the good old days of print magazines. It's a blast * Publishers Weekly *

What a great read - but it had a downside. It served to remind me how unexciting, unremarkable, and uninteresting I am, especially compared to this Carter fellow, the charming, colourful raconteur that he is. As Leon once said to me in a scene from Curb Your Enthusiasm, "That mothafucka lived a life!" -- Larry David

A splendidly-written and warm-hearted handbook for how to live, for how to be a friend and a leader and a parent and a partner and a dining companion that gets invited back, and it's precisely the sort of book that makes one a better person after reading it -- Lisa Taddeo

A tour de force - informative, insightful, droll and delightful -- Gay Talese

There is so much to savour...You emerge from this enormously enjoyable memoir with the feeling of having just left an unforgettable party -- Peter Morgan

A page-turning, big-hearted, self-knowing, anecdote-rich and often screechingly funny record of a life lived to the full. A great memoir by one of the great editors - and characters - of our time -- Christopher Buckley

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