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Title: Some Times in America by Alexander Chancellor ISBN: 0-7475-4337-2 Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Pub. Date: 01 June, 1999 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $55.01

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Average Customer Rating: 4.5 (4 reviews)

Rating: 4
Summary: LIGHTWEIGHT, SILLY AND MARVELOUSLY MOCKING!
Comment: If he can make it there, he can make it anywhere. But Alexander Chancellor did not make it in New York, N.Y. -- the British writer was hired in 1995 by then-"New Yorker" Big Cheese Tina Brown to edit the magazine's mythical "Talk of the Town" section, and he failed. Miserably. His book -- the latest to join the rather long list of tomes "celebrating" the fabled magazine's 75th anniversary -- dishes as much dirt as Renata Adler's "Gone: The Last Days of 'The New Yorker'" (the best of the bunch), but Chancellor's Brit wit keeps them tamer -- with himself often the brunt of the jokes. He admits Brown had "her blind spots" and that "maybe appointing me had been one of them." Largely lightweight, sometimes silly, marvelously mocking.

Rating: 4
Summary: Alex and Tina
Comment: I was one of the many New Yorker subscribers who were dismayed at the announcement of Tina Brown's editorship of The New Yorker. This Brit, who came fresh from the glitzy "Vanity Fair", was to be at the helm of our elegant New Yorker? I felt her tenure was a disaster, and the only thing of which I approved was the addition of a much-needed Table of Contents.

Mr. Chancellor, an English journalist, recounts his recruitment by Ms. Brown and his subsequent year as the editor of the Talk of the Town segment of the magazine. Why Ms. Brown selected a fellow-Englishman for this task is a mystery to us and Mr. Chancellor. The "Talk of the Town" is the heart of The New Yorker, and it is well nigh unimaginable for an editor who is not only a Brit, but had no familiarity with New York City to be in charge.

The book is enjoyable written with a light, deft, slightly acidic style. Alex is fond of Tina in an edgy way. She is damned with faint praise. He is intrigued by the peculiarities of the New Yorker staff and general outlook. This is nothing new, for the ways of The New Yorker are passing strange.

Mostly the book recounts the author's adventures, which were first class in every sense of the word. He is on a chummy basis with the richest, the most social and powerful Americans. He is a guest in their homes, on their party lists, and an intimate confidante. When he wishes to have a weekend home in the country, a cottage is provided for him on a huge estate. I read and reread Mr. Chancellor's description on the book jacket and still could not make a connection between his modest attainments and background and his scintillating friends. I am sure he is a very appealing man as he writes in an attractive manner. That charm must carry him a long way.

If you ever wanted to live the high life for a year on an unlimited expense account, this is your book.

Rating: 5
Summary: A "must" for any fan of the New Yorker magazine.
Comment: A British journalist examines behind the scenes life at the New Yorker magazine in a blend of biography, gossip, Americana and social observation. Some Times in America provides an outsider's view of American culture and New Yorker politics, with a special focus on Tina Brown. A 'must' for any fan of the publication.