Grynbaum charts the history of media dynasty Condé Nast and its influence on culture in this meticulously researched and dishy account. Based on the cover, we know we're going to get Tina Brown, Anna Wintour and Graydon Carter, Vogue, Vanity Fair, the New Yorker. We also get the story of Si Newhouse, the man with something to prove (to his media mogul father, of course), the publisher behind the meteoric rise of Condé Nast.

As an avid reader back in the day, I was excited to read about those glory days of Vanity Fair, when Tina Brown came in and blew up the place: Dominick Dunne's courtroom reporting, the Annie Leibovitz photographs, irreverent profiles, the elaborate spreads and pages and pages of high-end glossy ads. Those covers were legendary and we get the backstories, with all the sordid and extravagant details.

I wish there were pictures, but luckily we have the ability to look things up. And the internet's rise contributed to the downfall of Condé Nast as people move away from magazines and curated articles and went online, putting their own collections together. While the financial collapse of 2008 was on the horizon, Condé Nast was publishing a new 300+ page magazine, Portfolio, an over-the-top business magazine.

Empire of the Elite is a nostalgic trip down memory lane, a road filled with unlimited expense accounts, when the instruction was to "do it all grandly" and editors had total freedom.

My thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the Advance Reader Copy. (pub. date 7/15/2025)

The O.G. of Influencers.

That's what Conde Nast has proven to be. Print media has gone to the wayside. The Conde Nast unlimited coffers for its editors and writers will never be replicated and yes, a number of iconic magazines (Self, Gourmet) may have folded . Yet, Conde Nast's influence is still felt in today's digital age.

At it's zenith, the Conde Nast influence sprawled over a diverse swath of sectors: from the culinary, literary, fashion, to architecture. Learned quite a bit about familiar names like Tina Brown, David Remnick and Anna Wintour and introduced to the (diminutive in size but not in influence) Si Newhouse. For instance, how Anna Wintour revitalized the then stodgy Costume Institute Benefit (currently known as the Met Gala), the inception of Vanity Fair's Hollywood issue (and why it was so significant), and Tina Brown's trailblazing editorial actions taken with Vanity Fair.

This ARC was provided by the publisher, Simon & Schuster ,in exchange for an honest review.

This is a well-reported and insightful examination of Condé Nast. The author does a terrific job of balancing the storytelling of the singular people who made the company and its publications unique with analysis of how it both shaped and reflected America’s trajectory over the last fifty years.

Highly recommended!

A detailed, thorough explanation of how the media elite dominated culture and dictated to others what is true.

An eye opening behind the scene look at the Condé Nast empire. I’ve read & still read some of the magazines they publish.This is a juicy gossipy read full of well known names,Tina Brown ,Ann winter ,Grayson Carter and many more.The fun reading about thee
Perks of working there privatev limos great hotels and on and on ,if you’ve enjoyed their magazines are aware of things like the star studded Met Gala you will enjoy this well written book.#NetGalley #s&s