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107 reviews for:
The Vanity Fair Diaries: Power, Wealth, Celebrity, and Dreams: My Years at the Magazine That Defined a Decade
Tina Brown
3.71 AVERAGE
107 reviews for:
The Vanity Fair Diaries: Power, Wealth, Celebrity, and Dreams: My Years at the Magazine That Defined a Decade
Tina Brown
3.71 AVERAGE
Boring as hell. Nowhere near as juicy as I thought it would be
I head Tina Brown on Alec Baldwin’s podcast and was surprised how likeable and self-deprecating she was. I must have formed my impressions of her when she took over the New Yorker and everyone was aghast at her presumption.
In this book we meet her a decade earlier and there’s no presumption at all - she shares what she is nervous and worried about. It’s interesting to see the up-close inner monologue of someone who seemed so comfortable in a world of celebrities and power by her mid-twenties. I was never a big fan of her VF, and her details about why she thinks this or that issue were such a wonderful combination of high and low are lost on me. But the rest was quite enjoyable.
In this book we meet her a decade earlier and there’s no presumption at all - she shares what she is nervous and worried about. It’s interesting to see the up-close inner monologue of someone who seemed so comfortable in a world of celebrities and power by her mid-twenties. I was never a big fan of her VF, and her details about why she thinks this or that issue were such a wonderful combination of high and low are lost on me. But the rest was quite enjoyable.
informative
inspiring
reflective
Have to be honest I have never purchased a copy of the magazine Vanity Fair and I may have read a copy while in any number of waiting rooms. So why read Tina Brown's diaries? Insight, you are given an intimate view of history and some of the major players.
Brown takes you from her days at Tattler to Vanity Fair and allows you to understand the politics behind putting a magazine together. It is a fascinating read as you appreciate the effort to design the layout and create an edition that will sell. There is a considerable amount of name dropping but done in a reporters way, she was at a dinner and met so and so. Some of the character descriptions are humorous and insightful. It is not all fame, Brown also lays bare some of her own private moments. One of the saddest moments is when you realise how many of Brown's friends and colleagues were struck down by AIDS.
These diaries give a really wonderful personal perspective on a period of time where was a great of deal of change.
Brown takes you from her days at Tattler to Vanity Fair and allows you to understand the politics behind putting a magazine together. It is a fascinating read as you appreciate the effort to design the layout and create an edition that will sell. There is a considerable amount of name dropping but done in a reporters way, she was at a dinner and met so and so. Some of the character descriptions are humorous and insightful. It is not all fame, Brown also lays bare some of her own private moments. One of the saddest moments is when you realise how many of Brown's friends and colleagues were struck down by AIDS.
These diaries give a really wonderful personal perspective on a period of time where was a great of deal of change.
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Diary? Heavily-edited diary I'll parie. Extremely entertaining if you like New York 'Wealth' and upmarket Bohemians GOSSIP of the period. Which I do. A more serious literary version of this can be found in Gottlieb's, Avid Reader. Nevertheless, Tina Brown is fearless. I admire her moxie and ability to manoeuvre in the world of press, big bucks and mostly men. I listened to the audiobook narrated by herself. That adds something in the way of what her voice conveys (you decide). Her omissions and gloss-overs are as interesting as what she chooses to expose. It will be hard for me to forgive her for her 'flying-scissors' attack on Jaqueline Kennedy-Onassis. I didn't quite understand her motivation. Trump cameos are aplenty and always deeply disturbing.
The Vanity Fair Diaries is, at once, a deeply personal account of a period of time as well as a cultural document more fascinating than any history book you may read.
In her fascinating diaries, Tina Brown gives the reader a sneak-peak into the world of celebrity and news journalism. We see the cutthroat attitude towards women in the media and the battle that pioneering writers took on to make sure that they held their place in a male dominated environment.
Beyond that, we have Brown’s personal life held on display for us to see the worlds as they run parallel. What is interesting to think about is whether or not Tina Brown did use total disclosure when sharing her diaries with the world. If not, imagine the saucy secrets those books still hold.
The Vanity Fair Diaries 1983 – 1992 by Tina Brown is available now.
In her fascinating diaries, Tina Brown gives the reader a sneak-peak into the world of celebrity and news journalism. We see the cutthroat attitude towards women in the media and the battle that pioneering writers took on to make sure that they held their place in a male dominated environment.
Beyond that, we have Brown’s personal life held on display for us to see the worlds as they run parallel. What is interesting to think about is whether or not Tina Brown did use total disclosure when sharing her diaries with the world. If not, imagine the saucy secrets those books still hold.
The Vanity Fair Diaries 1983 – 1992 by Tina Brown is available now.
Conde Nast and New York in the 80s were surely going to be an interesting read, especially from the perspective of someone like Tina Brown, and that's basically what this book is. If you like that idea, you'll probably like this book, it's that simple.
That's also far too simple. This is obviously touted as diaries, and the rather long prelude of life at Tatler in London included a big point about how diaries have a rawness that an autobiography lacks, and yet I frequently found myself wondering how polished and curated these diary entries were once they finally started. Sure, I wasn't expecting a completely untouched account of events in the style of Samuel Pepys, but at times the writing seemed incredibly deliberate. Partly this is explained in the wrapping up, where Brown points out that she had added descriptions of various people to help those of us who didn't live New York in the 80s understand who some of those involved were, but it came a bit late and left me with a slight unease as I read. I don't know why, had it been pitched simply as an autobiography with dates I would've been fine, but the diary tag kept niggling away at me. If a lot of this polish was really included when originally written it somewhat bursts the bubble that this is any different to an autobiography because the writing is just too deliberate to be a behind the curtain view of that world.
That small irritation did slow my reading somewhat, however, when I could put it to one side and just sink into the moment I found the entries often very interesting. Naturally, some of the events and people involved were more interesting than others. None felt expendable and boring, but some did catch my attention more than others.
The surprising pleasure of this book proved to be Brown's life away from work. She is a figure I have been aware of, and her reputation, whilst not always entirely flattering, has been pretty impressive. The glimpses of family life showed a completely different person. When she first started talking about motherhood I expected to find those entries tiresome and a distraction from the tales of powerplays and tantrums, but they quickly felt like they belonged. Yes, fighting with the nanny may not be a typical snippet of motherhood, but it fits the lifestyle of a high chic New York lifestyle with a place in the Hamptons. There's something reassuring in knowing that even when you have a publishing empire helping you relocate to a new city you can still end up with a weird landlord and want to get out of the apartment quickly.
Back at work, you do get amusing tales of celebrity stresses, of managing staff and bosses, of art and creativity, even a good view of the more practical side of publishing with the politics and logistics involved. There's a gossipy feel to some of the anecdotes, but it never feels snide. Sure, some of the stories made me wonder how well they went down with those involved, but I also get the impression there would be surprisingly few grudges, and not just because 30 years on some of those involved are too old to care. Throughout the book Brown makes reference to the way people would be upset at articles but would warm up afterwards, or if warned beforehand, and that tone seems to be carried over here.
If you want to see the Tina Brown behind the image, I feel this delivers something. If you want a New York soap opera, this also delivers. If you want both you're set with this book. A nice gentle read that's well suited to dipping in and out of.
That's also far too simple. This is obviously touted as diaries, and the rather long prelude of life at Tatler in London included a big point about how diaries have a rawness that an autobiography lacks, and yet I frequently found myself wondering how polished and curated these diary entries were once they finally started. Sure, I wasn't expecting a completely untouched account of events in the style of Samuel Pepys, but at times the writing seemed incredibly deliberate. Partly this is explained in the wrapping up, where Brown points out that she had added descriptions of various people to help those of us who didn't live New York in the 80s understand who some of those involved were, but it came a bit late and left me with a slight unease as I read. I don't know why, had it been pitched simply as an autobiography with dates I would've been fine, but the diary tag kept niggling away at me. If a lot of this polish was really included when originally written it somewhat bursts the bubble that this is any different to an autobiography because the writing is just too deliberate to be a behind the curtain view of that world.
That small irritation did slow my reading somewhat, however, when I could put it to one side and just sink into the moment I found the entries often very interesting. Naturally, some of the events and people involved were more interesting than others. None felt expendable and boring, but some did catch my attention more than others.
The surprising pleasure of this book proved to be Brown's life away from work. She is a figure I have been aware of, and her reputation, whilst not always entirely flattering, has been pretty impressive. The glimpses of family life showed a completely different person. When she first started talking about motherhood I expected to find those entries tiresome and a distraction from the tales of powerplays and tantrums, but they quickly felt like they belonged. Yes, fighting with the nanny may not be a typical snippet of motherhood, but it fits the lifestyle of a high chic New York lifestyle with a place in the Hamptons. There's something reassuring in knowing that even when you have a publishing empire helping you relocate to a new city you can still end up with a weird landlord and want to get out of the apartment quickly.
Back at work, you do get amusing tales of celebrity stresses, of managing staff and bosses, of art and creativity, even a good view of the more practical side of publishing with the politics and logistics involved. There's a gossipy feel to some of the anecdotes, but it never feels snide. Sure, some of the stories made me wonder how well they went down with those involved, but I also get the impression there would be surprisingly few grudges, and not just because 30 years on some of those involved are too old to care. Throughout the book Brown makes reference to the way people would be upset at articles but would warm up afterwards, or if warned beforehand, and that tone seems to be carried over here.
If you want to see the Tina Brown behind the image, I feel this delivers something. If you want a New York soap opera, this also delivers. If you want both you're set with this book. A nice gentle read that's well suited to dipping in and out of.
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced