From a New York Times media correspondent, a dishy history of the Condé Nast magazine empire, home of Vogue, Vanity Fair, the New Yorker and more, focusing on its glitzy heyday from the 1980s through to the 2000s.

'Glamour! Taste! Prestige! Monsters! I loved this gorgeous romp through a lost world' MARINA HYDE

For decades, one company in New York told the world what to buy, value, wear, eat, and even what to think.

From its glitzy heyday in the 1980s through to the 2000s, American publishing empire Conde Nast and its magazines - including Vogue, Vanity Fair, the New Yorker and GQ - defined how to live the good life, with its editors and writers creating a vision of luxury and sophistication that shaped cultural and consumer trends and political beliefs the world over.

The ultimate influencers, Conde Nast amassed great power but failed to foresee and keep up with the digital revolution that would reduce it to a shadow of its former self.

Full of fresh insider reporting and venerated names like Anna Wintour, Tina Brown and Graydon Carter, Empire of the Elite is a groundbreaking exploration of how Conde Nast established itself as a global authority. But it is also a cautionary tale, exposing how class, hubris and technological change shook the dominance of the old media gatekeepers, even as Conde Nast's aesthetic and prestige remain undeniably influential to this day.

Details

ISBN13: 9781399707220
Format: Paperback / softback
Number of Pages: 384
Edition:
Publication Date: 29 Jul 2025
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Publication City, Country: Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Dimensions (cm): 23(H)x15.2(L)x3.4(W)468
Weight (gm): 468

Author Biography

Michael M. Grynbaum is a correspondent for The New York Times, where he covers media, politics, and culture. Since joining the newspaper at age twenty-two, he has reported on three presidential campaigns and the transformation of the media world in the Trump era. He graduated from Harvard with a degree in history and literature, and lives in Manhattan. This is his first book.

Reviews

"Glamour! Taste! Prestige! Monsters! I loved this gorgeous romp through a lost world, and the emperors and empresses who made it. Mike Grynbaum is the perfect smart and wry chronicler of that long age of haute hubris, which has been replaced with something a lot less spirited and fun. This book should be served with cocktails and a cackle." -- Marina Hyde
'A spyhole onto the end of a fabulous, doomed era. Glossy, glamorous, pure indulgence' * Sunday Times bestselling author Erin Kelly *
'As someone who grew up worshipping several Condé Nast titles and using them to become an adult, I've been waiting for a book like Empire of the Elite for decades. Michael Grynbaum does not disappoint. Every page is entertaining, smart, and generous toward the many players in this unique saga. Grynbaum also has a wicked sense of humour that made me grin and sometimes even helplessly laugh.' * New York Times bestseller Gary Shteyngart *