When the Going Was Good

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

By: Graydon Carter, James Fox

Narrated by: Graydon Carter

One of NPR's Best Books of the Year • An Instant New York Times Bestseller

From the pages of Vanity Fair 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

When Graydon Carter was offered the editorship of Vanity Fair 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 Spy magazine, which gloried in skewering the celebrated and powerful—the very people Vanity Fair 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 Vanity Fair. He went on to run the magazine with overwhelming success for the next two and a half decades.

Filled with colorful memories and intimate details, When the Going Was Good 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 Time, Life, The New York Observer, and Spy, before catching the eye of Condé Nast chairman Si Newhouse, who pulled him in to run Vanity Fair. 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 Vanity Fair Oscar party.

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 Vanity Fair cemented its place as the epicenter of art, culture, business, and politics, even as digital media took hold. Charming, candid, and brimming with stories, When the Going Was Good perfectly captures the last golden age of print magazines from the inside out.

GC’s reading is great. It’s like a dinner with him, where he tells you his life’s story.

Great book. Some of the chapters are much more entertaining than others. Feels like some punches got pulled and some of the recounts of facts are tailored to meet today’s social requirements. I’d recommend it - truly a reflection of golden days that seem long gone - A double sided gravestone

I loved all his parties

I liked everything and will read again, I miss him being the editor at vanity fair.

You have got to like Grayson the prey

To paraphrase and turn around F Scott the rich and famous are different than you and me. That is not necessarily bad.

Refreshing life story

Funny, enlightening, inspiring and massively entertaining. And the best part: It is read by the author.

Vanity Fair days

Great stories. Food and friends. Not a diverse group though. A solid run of stories from the publishing world