The Vanity Fair Diaries: 1983-1992, by Tina Brown
I began reading Vanity Fair magazine in the late 1980s when Tina Brown was the editor, so when I came across this new book I had to dig in. I wasn’t sorry. This book is an exciting, passionate, fast-paced diary recounting how Tina went from her experience of editing magazines in London to her big move to New York City to be editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair. Throughout the book, her dated diary entries move us chronologically through the years, her voice coming through loud and clear, describing everything from her nerves in meeting the head of Conde Nast Publishing, to her frustrations with various staff, to managing the competitive world of New York media and its myriad back-stabbing rivalries.
What’s most delicious, however, is hearing about her daily life, filled with deadlines, glamorous meetings, dinners, and parties involving wealthy socialites, publishing company executives, Hollywood producers, actors, and the multitude of lunches at the Four Seasons in Manhattan. And she does all this while being a parent. As a British citizen, she successfully navigates her way through American politics and the intrigue of a new publishing environment, and becomes the go-to person for everything involving high society and pop culture, reinventing herself as well as her magazine.
She describes the stresses of buying her first apartment in Manhattan with the same energy and imagination she uses to come up with the best fresh headlines and timely cover stories. She recruits a team of people she can finally trust comprising eloquent and insightful writers who are still at Vanity Fair today, including famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, famous for many of the magazine’s iconic cover photos.
The expression of her emotions throughout the book resonated with me, as a woman, as a parent, and a communications professional. She addresses these thoughts and feelings with honesty, grace, and determination. I now have something to add to my bucket list: meet Tina and pick her brain; I wouldn’t hesitate to lunch with her in a New York minute.
