Description

In 1995 high-flying British journalist Toby Young left London for New York to become a contributing editor at Vanity Fair. Other Brits had taken Manhattan—Alistair Cooke, Tina Brown, Anna Wintour—so why couldn't he? But things didn't quite go according to plan. Within the space of two years he was fired from Vanity Fair, banned from the most fashionable bar in the city, and couldn't get a date for love or money. Even the local AA group wanted nothing to do with him. How to Lose Friends and Alienate People is Toby Young's hilarious and best-selling account of the five years he spent looking for love in all the wrong places and steadily working his way down the New York food chain, from glossy magazine editor to crash-test dummy for interactive sex toys. A seditious attack on the culture of celebrity from inside the belly of the beast, How to Lose Friends and Alienate People is also a "nastily funny read" (USA Today).

Praise for How to Lose Friends and Alienate People

"F Troop meets the A list . . . Young . . . recounts his experience with wit, a flair for comedy, self deprecation and a goodish bit of sociological insight on the side."
—Wall Street Journal

"Hilarious lifestyles of the rich and shameless . . . Young is a self deprecating Tom Wolfe."
—People

"[Young's] sharp humor, fluid style and inside dish make his tale a gossipy confection . . ."
—San Francisco Chronicle

"A very funny book."
—Salon.com

"A Hot Book for Summer . . . a gimlet-eyed insider's account of the status-obsessed, celebrity-beholden glossy magazine mafia."
—GQ

"A nastily funny read. . . . [Young's] failure to blend in with Manhattan's unique panache and success-driven mentality brings a heaping dose of humor to this memoir."
—USA Today

"For those not 'feeling it' at their current jobs, Young's book is better than Paxil."
—Women's Wear Daily

"A scandalous memoir by a former Vanity Fair editor about the magazine industry and the warped New York scene."
—Us Weekly

"A cringingly funny memoir."
—U.S. News and World Report

"Full of amusing dish on the media world."
—Village Voice

"An entertaining look into the peculiar world of one of New York's glossiest magazines."
—Boston Globe

"Delicious."
—Elle.com

"A scathing portrait of the egomaniacal world of New York media and an insightful look at modern American celebrity culture."
—Booklist

"Energetic and engaging . . . [provides] enjoyable bitchy specifics of Conde Nast culture."
—Kirkus

"Carries a startling ring of truth. . . . a slashing insider's view of Vanity Fair."
—Publishers Weekly

Extended Copyright Information

Copyright 2001 by Toby Young. All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.

Previously published by Da Capo Press, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

Cover design by Cooley Design Lab.

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Opening Lines (Experimental)

TO ANYONE WITHIN a ten-block radius of Mortons, the West Hollywood power restaurant, it was obvious something was going on that night. Monday evenings at Mortons usually attract some big industry players but on this particular Monday--March 28, 1994--it was as if the entire Hollywood A-list had ...

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Copyright

Copyright 2001 by Toby Young.

All Rights Reserved.

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