Graydon Carter on life "When the Going Was Good"

The former editor of Vanity Fair for 25 years, Graydon Carter is a family man, father of five grown children, better known for his signature white hair and urbane elegance, never without a handkerchief – Hermès, he has 30 of them ("This is my greatest luxury," he says) – chronicler of the privileged set of which he is a member, though not born to it. Growing up middle class, in Ottawa, he credits a mix of Canadian affability and inner strength for his enduring career at the top of the glittering world of magazines."Canadians are not weak," he said.

"We may look affable on the outside, but if you can survive playing hockey on an open rink in 30° weather, you develop a spine."He tells the story of watching a super liner flitting by: "And I could see in the light, the sort of the amber light of the window, a very attractive couple, and they were sort of dressed up having, I guess, cocktails or dinner.And I realized I wanted to be on that side of the window rather than this side I was standing on."I asked, "Before that, would you have described yourself as having driving ambitions?""No.

I had absolutely no ambition whatsoever," he replied.He left college before graduating, but with a passion for magazines, and in 1978, set his sights on New York.

It was summer in the city.He was not dressed for success.

"I had a Canadian tweed coat on, and it was about as thick as this chair.And I've never felt heat like this in my entire life.

And I was drenched in sweat.Water was squirting out of me! So, I had the interview.

But he said, 'Why don't you just sit in front of the air conditioner for a while?' So I sat there for a half an hour … trying to cool down."He left with a job that launched a career in the golden age of magazines, as he writes in his memoir: "When the Going Was Good: An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines" (to be published Tuesday by Penguin Press). And the timing was golden, too.In 1985, New York City was ri...