When the Going Was Good

By: Graydon Carter

Published by Penguin Group, 2025-03-25

<b>An Instant <i>New York Times </i>Bestseller<br><br>From the pages of <i>Vanity Fair</i> to the red carpets of Hollywood, editor Graydon Carter’s memoir revives the glamorous heyday of print magazines when they were at the vanguard of American culture</b><br><br>When Graydon Carter was offered the editorship of <i>Vanity Fair </i>in 1992, he knew he faced an uphill battle—how to make the esteemed and long-established magazine his own. Not only was he confronted with a staff that he perceived to be loyal to the previous regime, but he arrived only a few years after launching <i>Spy</i> magazine, which gloried in skewering the celebrated and powerful—the very people <i>Vanity Fair </i>venerated. With curiosity, fearlessness, and a love of recent history and glamour that would come to define his storied career in magazines, Carter succeeded in endearing himself to his editors, contributors, and readers, as well as those who would grace the pages of <i>Vanity Fair</i>. He went on to run the magazine with overwhelming success for the next two and a half decades.<br><br>Filled with colorful memories and intimate details, <i>When the Going Was Good</i> is Graydon Carter’s lively recounting of how he made his mark as one of the most talented editors in the business. Moving to New York from Canada, he worked at <i>Time</i>, <i>Life</i>,<i> The New York Observer</i>, and <i>Spy</i>, before catching the eye of Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse, who pulled him in to run <i>Vanity Fair</i>. In Newhouse he found an unwavering champion, a loyal proprietor who gave Carter the editorial and financial freedom to thrive. Annie Leibovitz’s photographs would come to define the look of the magazine, as would the “New Establishment” and annual Hollywood issues. Carter further planted a flag in Los Angeles with the legendary <i>Vanity Fair</i> Oscar party.<br><br>With his inimitable voice and signature quip, he brings readers to lunches and dinners with the great and good of America, Britain, and Europe. He assembled one of the most formidable stables of writers and photographers under one roof, and here he re-creates in real time the steps he took to ensure <i>Vanity Fair</i> cemented its place as the epicenter of art, culture, business, and politics, even as digital media took hold. Charming, candid, and brimming with stories, <i>When the Going Was Good </i>perfectly captures the last golden age of print magazines from the inside out.