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When the Going Was Good

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

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When the Going Was Good

By: Graydon Carter, James Fox - contributor
Narrated by: Graydon Carter
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About this listen

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, cofounded 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.

With his inimitable voice and raconteur's quip, Carter brings listeners 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 recreates 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.

©2025 Graydon Carter (P)2025 W.F. Howes Ltd. Art & Literature Journalists, Editors & Publishers Social Sciences
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Read beautifully by the author who has a deep Canadian drawl, this is a thoroughly entertaining and revealing book. Some fantastic insights into the New York publishing world and the fascinating, clever people who inhabit it. Thoroughly recommend.

Candid and illuminating

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I think if you’d worked in the industry for a similar amount of time as Grayson then this would be the memoir for you. It just wasn’t gossipy enough. It was safe and spent too long on his time before his magazine editorship.

Not as good as I hoped

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I have been a reader and fan of Graydon Carter’s Vanity Fair and now Air Mail. I have read Tina Brown’s similar memoir, which I enjoyed.
I have always admired Vanity Fair’s world class journalism during and after the 2007/2008 financial crash; and the many other long form stories over the years.

Mr Carter is wonderfully and humorously gossipy without going that step too far into vulgarity.

I never knew that it was he who started the ‘short fingered vulgarian’ line about Trump. Brilliant.

I do wish he could have dealt with two issues a little more sensitivity and giving them a little more time given VF’s orbit and that was Weinstein and Epstein. Didn’t have to be whole chapters, just a bit more than Vicky Ward was an absolute horror left over from Tina Brown days who waxed lyrical about Ghislaine and Jeffery and dropped the ball on ‘the sisters’, Maria and Annie Farmer.

What a riveting life and career.

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The long lists of name dropping got somewhat tedious at times but loved the droll anecdotes and warmth of the story teller. It gelled with moments in my own life. Very entertaining with some gems of life advice.

Warmth

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Fantastic storytelling, really enjoyed the insights into the running of the magazines as well as the wonderful anecdotes

Excellent

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