When the Going Was Good by Graydon Carter

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF 2025 IN THE INDEPENDENT, GQ, NEW STATESMAN, FINANCIAL TIMES AND BBC CULTURE

‘Graydon Carter is a brilliant raconteur of his own life…it’s a real yarn of a lost world’ Marina Hyde, The Rest is Entertainment

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, co-founded Spy magazine and edited The New York Observer before catching the eye of CondA (c) Nast chairman Si Newhouse, who tapped him to run Vanity Fair.

With his inimitable voice and raconteur’s quip, Carter brings readers 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 re-creates 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.

From the pages of Vanity Fair to the red carpets of Hollywood to the courtrooms of Fleet Street, editor Graydon Carter’s memoir revives the glamorous heyday of magazines when they were the vanguard of culture.

About the Author: Graydon Carter is the founder of Air Mail. Before this, he was a staff writer for both Time and Life. He co-created Spy, edited The New York Observer, and for twenty-five years was the award-winning editor of Vanity Fair. He is also the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer of more than a dozen documentaries and one hit Broadway play. He and his wife live in Greenwich Village, not far from the Waverly Inn, and have five children.

26 Mar 2026
 

When the Going Was Good: An Editor’s Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines by Graydon Carter ISBN 9781804711033