{"product_id":"when-the-going-was-good-an-editors-adventures-during-the-last-golden-age-of-magazines-9781804711033","title":"When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines","description":"\u003cp\u003eFrom the pages of \u003ci\u003eVanity Fair\u003c\/i\u003e to the red carpets of Hollywood to the courtrooms of Fleet Street, editor Graydon Carter's memoir revives the glamorous heyday of magazines when they were the vanguard of culture.\u003c\/p\u003eA MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2025 IN THE INDEPENDENT, GQ, NEW STATESMAN, FINANCIAL TIMES AND BBC CULTURE\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Graydon Carter is a brilliant raconteur of his own life...it's a real yarn of a lost world' Marina Hyde, The Rest is Entertainment\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen 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 Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse, who tapped him to run Vanity Fair.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith 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.\u003ch4\u003eDetails\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cp\u003eISBN13: 9781804711033\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eFormat: Paperback \/ softback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eNumber of Pages: 432\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eEdition: Main\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication Date: 16 Jun 2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublisher: Atlantic Books\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublication City, Country: London, United Kingdom\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eDimensions (cm): 19.8(H)x12.9(L)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWeight (gm): \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch4\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h4\u003eGraydon Carter is the founder of \u003ci\u003eAir Mail\u003c\/i\u003e. Before this, he was a staff writer for both \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eLife\u003c\/i\u003e. He co-created \u003ci\u003eSpy\u003c\/i\u003e, edited \u003ci\u003eThe New York Observer\u003c\/i\u003e, and for twenty-five years was the award-winning editor of \u003ci\u003eVanity Fair.\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003ch4\u003eReviews\u003c\/h4\u003eThis \u003cb\u003ehighly entertaining\u003c\/b\u003e book has a good story on every page * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003eThe journalism stories and the character analysis, as Elizabeth Hardwick liked to call gossip, are \u003cb\u003efirst-rate.\u003c\/b\u003e * New York Times Book Review *\u003cbr\u003eGraydon Carter is \u003cb\u003ea brilliant raconteur\u003c\/b\u003e of his own life...it's a real yarn of a lost world -- Marina Hyde * The Rest is Entertainment *\u003cbr\u003eA final dispatch from a bygone era of print magazines, \u003cb\u003ea delicious last gasp \u003c\/b\u003eof success and glamour * Independent *\u003cbr\u003e[A] \u003cb\u003ejoyful \u003c\/b\u003ememoir * Guardian *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eEngagingly candid\u003c\/b\u003e * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e[A] \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003ebreezy memoir. \u003c\/b\u003eThere's Hollywood gossip, score-settling and tales from the era of limitless editorial budgets * Monocle *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrisk, bright and full of well-told anecdotes\u003c\/b\u003e about celebrities, artists and other power players in Carter's orbit * New Yorker *\u003cbr\u003eWritten in his signature gait and filled with \u003cb\u003eglorious \u003c\/b\u003edetails * Vanity Fair *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eYes, of course there's tea\u003c\/b\u003e - or dish, as the old folks say. This is \u003ci\u003eGraydon\u003c\/i\u003e, after all. Deep, deep dish * Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003eCarter's wry tone and hard-won insights make this \u003cb\u003ea must-read \u003c\/b\u003efor aspiring journalists and those who lived through the good old days of print magazines. \u003cb\u003eIt's a blast\u003c\/b\u003e * Publishers Weekly *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e[A] rollicking memoir\u003c\/b\u003e and heartfelt paean to the big, glossy, influential magazines of yore...Carter's delight in the chaos, effort, stress, and exhilaration of his editorships generate the effervescence and depth of this enthusiastically detailed chronicle * Booklist *\u003cbr\u003eCarter chronicles the industry and its people with deep love and affection, and it's \u003cb\u003ea story of discovering one's passion, persistence, and undeniably being in the right place at the right time\u003c\/b\u003e . . . An engaging book for lovers of glossy magazines and the people who make them * Library Journal *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat a great read\u003c\/b\u003e - 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 \u003ci\u003eCurb Your Enthusiasm\u003c\/i\u003e, \"That mothafucka lived a life!\" -- Larry David\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003esplendidly-written and warm-hearted\u003c\/b\u003e 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\u003cbr\u003eA tour de force - \u003cb\u003einformative, insightful, droll and delightful\u003c\/b\u003e -- Gay Talese\u003cbr\u003eThere is so much to savour...You emerge from this \u003cb\u003eenormously enjoyable\u003c\/b\u003e memoir with the feeling of having just left an unforgettable party -- Peter Morgan\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cb\u003epage-turning, big-hearted, self-knowing, anecdote-rich and often screechingly funny\u003c\/b\u003e record of a life lived to the full.  A great memoir by one of the great editors - and characters - of our time -- Christopher Buckley","brand":"Graydon Carter","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48880272376025,"sku":"9781804711033","price":32.99,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0502\/9530\/8441\/files\/9781804711033.jpg?v=1783000274","url":"https:\/\/www.arielbooks.com.au\/products\/when-the-going-was-good-an-editors-adventures-during-the-last-golden-age-of-magazines-9781804711033","provider":"Ariel","version":"1.0","type":"link"}