Dilettante

January 1, 2022
Coming of age at Vanity Fair. In this entertaining memoir, Brown tracks his colorful yet unlikely 25-year career at the iconic publication, which began in the early 1990s when he was hired as Graydon Carter's assistant. The author was working as a barback at a famous New York City restaurant when Carter approached him with this unprecedented opportunity. Though Brown was a self-described club kid and college dropout, Carter recognized something more: a hardy work ethic, loyalty, and genuine likability, which set him apart from the typical moneyed, socially connected candidates. Carter's hunch about Brown would quickly prove accurate. Though the subtitle suggests a tabloid-esque expos�, the author offers grounded and insightful observations--not only about the internal workings at Vanity Fair, but also major shifts in a media world rapidly transitioning to digital platforms and up-to-the-moment information content alongside rapidly evolving American cultural tastes. The author celebrates "the magazine business; the nineties and the aughts; the end of the millennium and the American century; highs and lows of culture, journalism, media, and technology; disruption and change; the zeitgeist; baby boomers; Gen X; millennials and Gen Z; New York the place; New York the idea; generational shifts and rifts; a country attempting to pivot to whatever's next, struggling with an identity crisis and what the hell we are--individually and collectively." Along the way, Brown relates amusing stories of encounters with the likes of Donald Trump, Kim Kardashian, and Caitlin Jenner, yet more notable sections focus on talented journalists such as Dominick Dunne and Buzz Bissinger and showcase moving reflections on writers Christopher Hitchens and A.A. Gill. The author offers sharp and balanced perspectives of Anna Wintour and Tina Brown, recognizing each as formidable, hyperambitious, shrewd, and accomplished businesswomen. Throughout, Carter's larger-than-life presence serves as the narrative lynchpin, and Brown's affectionate portrait is a tribute to Carter's accomplishments and generosity as a quintessential mentor in a high-pressure organization. An immensely engaging memoir and inside view of the magazine world.

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January 31, 2022
“Who am I kidding.... I was a fucking dilettante, a role I assumed and perfected,” writes Brown, former deputy editor of Vanity Fair, in this bawdy account of his decades at the magazine. His aimless days hustling as a barback came to an end when in 1994—after working a number of Graydon Carter’s private salons—the Vanity Fair publisher hired Brown as his assistant, handing him the key to New York City’s vibrant and bustling magazine world. “For the next quarter of a century,” Brown writes, “that key would unlock doors that would define my life.” As he recounts his path from coffee fetcher to respected editor, he courses through an entertaining who’s who of celebrities: smoking weed with Seth Rogen, day-drinking with Vanity Fair writer Christopher Hitchens (“maybe one of the most fun people ever”), and doing a photo shoot with Caitlyn Jenner for the magazine’s 2015 cover story (“one final victory for print in an increasingly pixelated world”). It’s a glittering paean to the bygone golden age of glossy magazines, but also—and perhaps more intriguingly—a riveting behind-the-scenes look at how print media pivoted to meet the needs of a burgeoning era in which “the internet wasn’t a new newsstand, it was the newsstand.” This tour through New York publishing’s hallowed halls is a nonstop thrill.

March 15, 2022
Brown is the poster boy for being in the right place at the right time--until he wasn't. An aimless 21 year old, playing in punk bands and tending bar, he has no contact with the New York glitterati until a side gig, catering at the home of Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter, leads to Carter hiring Brown as his assistant in the mid-1990s. As Brown climbs the perk-strewn editorial ladder, Carter's repeated advice keeps ringing in his ears: ""Don't fuck this up."" He doesn't, learning how to navigate the Vanity Fair culture and eventually rising to Deputy Editor, just as the digital age was exploding and magazines were dying--along with Brown's career after Carter's retirement. Those who read Vanity Fair during those halcyon days when it helped set the cultural agenda will appreciate Brown's style: witty, smart, knowing, and topped with a dollop of wonder at getting as far as he did. There's name dropping but not much dishing, as Brown seems to have liked most everyone he encountered (except Fran Lebowitz). The insider angle will draw readers, but it's the vivid recollections of publishing in the grips of change that will linger.

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