Rating: 
Summary: Nice, as long as you don't dig into the book's main purpose
Review: As long as you don't take this book too seriously, you can really enjoy it - it's funny, juicy and has some brilliant points about democracy in America (well, nobody can blame DeTocquille for not being brilliant). However, after 100 pages the book becomes really annoying, as you notice that the only purpose of writing it was designed to justify Young's family reputation as good Britons who help society, Young's failure to date beutiful and famous girls, as well as his failure to understand how the American system works (or, put simply, why Britain is not the huge Empire it used to be 100 years ago). So, to summarize, except of some nice pieces of stuff as to the New York Giants' inner life gossips, the British whining Oxford kid Young has anything really interesting to offer us. oh, I forgot, he also studied in Harvard...
Rating: 
Summary: Disturbing, Funny, Brilliant
Review: My initial reaction while reading How to Lose Friends and Alienate People was one of shock. Young's vivid portrayal of the pathetically shallow lives that are led by those people whose sole purpose is to be a parasite to the celebrity culture is truly disconcerting. In some ways, my emotional response reminded me of the feeling I get while reading a Bret Easton Ellis book. The only difference was that I comfort myself with the idea that Ellis' books are fiction. Young makes it vividly clear that the truth is more disturbing than any fiction.Eventually, Young's ability to find the humor in his actions and in the actions of others subdued my shock. Young's attempts to enter the "celebrity worship" lifestyle are hilarious enough. But even funnier are his attempts to impress Graydon Carter. An unspoken theme throughout the book is Young's desire to become Graydon Carter by emulating his career path: namely, begin one's career by insulting the celebrity culture, and then use the notoriety generated by those actions to become part of that culture. Yet, Young's actions around his would be "mentor" do anything but endear him to the object of his affection. It's tough not to laugh out loud at some of the stupid things that Young does in order to impress Carter. In the end, I wasn't sure if How to Lose Friends and Alienate People was yet another attempt by Young to "crash" the celebrity culture. However, I really didn't care. Young's willingness to put his mistakes and outright failures on paper for all to see, without drenching the text in self pity, made the book enjoyable. It is this self-deprecating approach which makes How to Lose Friends and Alienate People an admirable, accessible portrayal of a lifestyle that most people will (thankfully) never experience.
Rating: 
Summary: How to become a failure and get paid for it!
Review: This book was pretty much what it promised to be until you get to the end. Then Toby begins a whining tirade to justify his failure to make it in Manhattan. He uses the example of George W. Bush to prove his point that you must have connections and family money to suceed in America. Toby, did you ever hear of a guy named Bill Clinton? He was president of the United States the ENTIRE time you lived in this country. The difference between you and Bill (and for that matter George) is that they were willing to start at the bottem and WORK their way up. Also the United States of America does not begin and end within the city limits of NYC, LA and Washington, DC. To bad you never knew us and hasta la vista baby.
Rating: 
Summary: hilarious, shallow, deep...
Review: This book had me in stitches. It's a hilarious look at the interior world not just of a deceivingly high-concept New York-based supermarket fashion and culture magazine, but at the culture of New York society in general. Young's biting and witty prose show both why he was kicked off the magazine, and why he was hired in the first place - he's devilishly insightful and never boring. This book is for the rich-snob-hating, social-climbing bourgoisie in all of us (and if you didn't know you had a part of that in you, you'll know after laughing through the pages of this book). Young cuts fiendishly through the carefully built facades of famous editors, writers, and supermodels, and yet, you may be surprised at what you find at the end. I guess what I'm saying here is: buy this book. You will not be disappointed. It's an enjoyable read, and delightfully illuminating.
Rating:
Summary: He dates old girlfriend's sister??
Review: I thought he was growing up, but then he dates his old girlfriend's younger sister? Just cause she's cute? He has no integrity and no boundries. Yuck...such a sexist. Why do men get away with such a double standard? Can you see a woman going out with her x-boyfriends younger brother. Does it rub anyone the wrong way? Oh well....
Rating:
Summary: So smart, yet so dumb.
Review: Toby Young came from England to live in NYC and work for Vanity Fair. In short order he turned into a drunk, drove away friends, offended just about everyone at work and got fired. It's actually quite funny in places. Young was a self absorbed, shockingly boorish fool and he admits it in the book. On his very first day at Vanity Fair he shows up to work wearing jeans and a T shirt with a vulgarism on it. It never once occures to him that this might not be a good idea. Watching him stumble blindly through Manhattan's VIP land is amusing and horrifying at the same time. The only thing really wrong with this book is Young's inability to really understand why he blew it in NYC. There is a bitterness in this book that clearly shows that Young still doesn't get it.
Rating:
Summary: fun read
Review: Enjoyed this book not as literature but as a fun read. The book, with brutally honesty, recounts the author's failures. He's not the noble failure - he talks about his vanities, his superficial obsessions, and an ongoing jealously of his friend who meets with success in the same world. He ties his experiences with philosophical views, an approach that stops the narrative and I wasn't crazy about at first, but ultimately is consistent with his overall discussion and stories about things Americans do and don't do and why. Reminds me of a Larry David show, where the protagonist gets into a problem that just spirals downward and we're wincing and laughing along the way.
Rating: 
Summary: Repetitive and Dull
Review: All you really need to do is read the first fifty pages over and over and over and you will get the jist of this entire novel. Young comes off sounding so whiny throughout this book that you (like me) might actually be happy he keeps failing. I thought this novel would bring some humor (Sedaris-style) but instead left me wanting to re-read Me Talk Pretty One Day. Pass on this one.
Rating:
Summary: Very Funny and Accurate
Review: I don't see who could be offended by this book, unless they're shameless social climbers themselves. I thought it was hilarious and insightful. I couldn't put it down. A fascinating look at phoniness, celebrity and social climbing. Read the critics reviews, not pretentious, self righteous, anal retentive readers. This book is so good, it trashes the publishing industry and still gets good reviews from critics, because it's so funny and accurate. One of the best books I've read in a while.
Rating:
Summary: A reader from Florida
Review: Please don't believe the surprisingly vitriolic reviews. This book is sharply observed, very well written and honestly and comically reveals the author's saucer eyed infatuation with American glamour (not to mention a few women).
It reveals such interesting facts as the typical reader base of Vanity Fair being a late middle aged housewife in "fly-over country" of modest means, not, as one might expect, the haute monde of NYC and LA. Young also exposes the extremely rigid hierarchies at the magazine and in the entertainment industry, where a ruthless, powerbrokering agent (actually, one woman in particular) will assure their star favorable press, under penalty of crushing a journalist's career.
|
