This must be the ultimate in name dropping,made possible by the author's well rewarded job as editor of Vanity Fair based in New York. She writes well but the diary is most interesting when it mentions people we all know rather than the self-publicised. She denigrates Donald Trump with comments now of intense relevance. There are glimpses too of her family life which bring the rich lifestyle down to earth. It is unfortunate that like so many English celebrities she seems to think English and British are the same thing.

Unable to complete book as it was archived so cannot comment.

I have been absorbed in this book for days. Tina Brown writes compelling diary entries for her years spent editing Vanity Fair in the mid Eighties. I think her introduction is absolutely key to remembering just what a different time it was. It paves the way for the outrageous excesses of the time to be rather less of a shock. It's a particularly interesting read given what she has to say about Trump and a certain Boris Johnson. It clearly sets them on the trajectory of where they've ended up. There is also a fair bit of correlation between the Reagan years and what we're living through now. Fascinating, scurrilous, rather horrifying and a bit sad. A really compulsive read

I've recently read a few books by former magazine editors, so was really looking forward to this one. However, it didn't deliver.
With this kind of diary format, I think there is an expectation that there will be a certain amount of celebrity scandal. Tina Brown was editor of one of the biggest popular culture magazines in the world. I didn't know the majority of the 'celebrities' mentioned (perhaps because she wasn't allowed to talk about the real ones?), and the supposed scandals didn't really excite me.
There's a lot of information about the practicalities of running a magazine and turning the publication around. It's unfortunate that the content of these sections is quite dull and heavy on detail. Under Brown's editorship, Vanity Fair became a really exciting, vibrant magazine - this doesn't really translate to the pages of her own book.
I'm sure this is a really interesting read for people who have worked in the magazine industry, but it wasn't for me.

Wow, what a story! I was swept along by a narrative which took me everywhere as an observer. I'm not interested in fashion and I don't read the quality glossies like Vogue or Vanity Fair. But I enjoy quality biographies and I knew Tina Brown was married to Harold Evans, a former SUnday Times editor whose journalistic work I admired.

This is the story of Tina Brown's years as editor of VF. What an accolade and what struck me from the outset was the fact that she was incredibly young when she took over running the Condé Nast flagship publication. Not only that, she was dropped into an alien world of publishing in NYC. A young, female Brit abroad; many would have been out of their depth and floundered quickly. But Tina Brown seemed to thrive and flourish whatever difficulty she encountered. Her diary jottings really capture the early problems; older males who felt threatened by her and how she managed them, being ripped off, the glamour and excitement of a city that never seems to sleep. I could visualise the view from her rooftop apartment, I was there when she went to parties, eavesdropping on her conversations with the rich, famous and powerful. But throughout, she appears grounded.

An exciting and fascinating insight into a totally different world. I raced through it and really enjoyed it.

Fascinating read from one of the top rated editors of a highly popular magazine...

An interesting and gossipy read which I devoured in a few sittings. Would recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley and Orion Publishing Group for a review copy of these diaries which I received in return for a fair and unbiased review.
Thanks must also go to the author - putting ones diaries out for everyone to read takes courage. I really enjoyed the book - I hadn't expected to but it took me over. For anyone interested in social history especially that of the recent pre-internet past when magazines had audiences equally interested in the copy and the photography than the mass imagery of today where the voyeuristic hunger of the masses dictates the tumbling standards of journalism, this book is for you. It also offers plebs like me an insight into the world of power and influence of the time - albeit dusted with glitter and privilege. The writing is clear, concise and uninhibited from one who was a member of the elite of whom she wrote lifting the veil on an era of quality in the magazine world. Well worth the read.

This was a big let down and I didnt finish it because I did not enjoy it .

It was so perfect and polished, it would have been nice if we could have had some real truths on people. It was like the author was too scared to actually say what she was feeling and how she felt about people a big let down.

Vanity Fair Diaries is the daily diaries of Tina Brown through her years as the editor of Vanity Fair in New York. We are first introduced to Tina’s background with her expulsion from a number of school before settling and being accepted into an Oxford Girls College.

From here she studied English and worked to become an editor for an English magazine. From here we see her travelling to New York, unfortunately this is where the book went down hill for me. I have read books in the past in a diary form but I as much as I wanted to I didn’t connect to the book. I really enjoyed the beginning and the style of writing there so that may have been why I didn’t enjoy it as I wanted to.

I’m also not the target audience for this, I don’t know the people she is name dropping and there was a lot of that going on! I think for people a little older and have followed the magazine it might be nice to understand what was going on in those years.

I did notice some people really enjoyed the audio book so if you are unsure on a large book but really want to read it that might be your route.

The Vanity Fair Diaries: 1983 - 1992
Tina Brown

Book Review: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Tina Brown's Vanity Fair Diaries. A glimpse into her life. A rich girl who finds a love for journalism and luckily it loved her back. This is her life story the glitz, glam and ambition.

Tina Brown was the editor of Tatler, Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. She is an award-winning writer and has met some interesting characters. This isn't a tell-all book, but she shares some interesting stories. Some good, some bad and some have a touch of humour. This is an interesting read with some great pictures. Tina Brown has had a wonderful life that others could only dream of. She moved from England to New York and into the fast lane. Her husband was an editor too and their relationship started with a scandal. This book reads like a memoir and has diary entries. In places, I would have liked a little more emotion to understand Tina's motives but I still enjoyed this book.

4 stars out of 5.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kindle Edition £9.99 or £17 Hardcover, 448 pages
Published November 14th 2017 by Weidenfeld & Nicolson

An interesting topic but too many names that mean nothing to me and difficult to follow. The excesses of the 1980s seem rather vulgar now. Lavish expenses and long lunches a thing of the past in the modern workplace.

I've had subscriptions to Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harpers for a long time now so Brown's diaries are a delicious and welcome deep dive into a familiar world, packed with well-known names from the past and the present. At her best when coolly eviscerating the character flaws of bombasts like Trump and Boris Johnson, less so when detailing the endless switch and bitch of magazine hirings and firings, Brown nevertheless manages to throw in enough juice and colour to keep readers turning the page.

Can't wait for volume two!

I really enjoyed reading Tina Brown 's Diaries.It was lovely to revisit the 1980's again .I loved the gossip Tina Brown writes very well and I found her diaries an amusing and interesting insight into her life.It was a very long read though !

Gossipy, insightful and fun. Tina Brown's Diaries from her time at the head of Vanity Fair are all of these. Although I'm too young to remember much of the 80's and therefore not all the names mentioned mean anything to me some obviously did - Trump anyone? This was a hugely entertaining read from a woman who clearly takes pleasure in her work as well as being very good at it.

Thank you Netgalley and Orion for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Firstly let me say I enjoyed this stype of writing... the premise was exciting to see into the world of Vanity Fair, however I found I did not know mostrich of the people mentioned so for me this was had going at times, probably not the case if you have more knowledge of this world. I loved the story if this strong woman balancing life and her struggles in doing so, remembering we are talking about a world that was nto as progressive as now. A good read overall.

<i>The 'he' in question was Donald Trump! She saw his familiar Elvis coif making off across the Crystal Room. The sneaky, petulant infant was clearly still stewing about her takedown in VF over a year ago and had taken a glass of wine from the tray and emptied it down her back! What a coward! He couldn't even confront her to her face!</I>

Brown has a strong and lively voice but some of the in-house negotiations, the constant stream of job offers and the number of hires and fires of people who are pretty much unknown made this a slog at times.

I preferred the sections on turning Vanity Fair around with snappy ideas and visual flair. Many of the celebrities during the 80s were unknown to me, though there are interesting photo shoots with the Reagans in the White House. Meetings with Michael Jackson, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Demi Moore in the 90s are fun and more accessible.

There's less gossip than I expected, and more on the impact of issues than their planning. Anyone involved in 1980s glossy media would no doubt get more insider enjoyment than I did. A fun read but I felt like an outsider most of the time.

The Vanity Fair Diaries: 1983-1992 by Tina Brown this was a thought provoking and interesting read. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting when I started this read, but it definitely wasn’t what I got but that being said I enjoyed the writing. What I loved most of this story was the fact that it’s a woman’s journey through her life, yes we get to hear some stories of her time at Vanity Fair and that’s the main pull for most people, but I enjoyed seeing behind the name. You get to see the honest woman and how at times she struggled to maintain the happy life and family balance. It was honest and refreshing as sometimes this type of books gloss over the day to day of life and that’s where we see the true person. That being said some of the story’s about her working life were very interesting, we got to see a little behind the scenes of things that made our future the one we have, some of the decisions made changed the way we think, where once it was scandalous to have a naked pregnant woman on the cover of a magazine now it seems almost common place.
Tina Brown is a character that I would love to have around a dinner table to be able to pick her brain and ask her some questions I still have would be amazing. Thank you for the chance to peek behind the curtain.