The Agony of Defeat

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Related Books:


How To Lose Friends and Alienate People
(Toby Young)

Power Failure
(Mimi Swartz, Sherron Watkins)
How To Lose Friends and Alienate People
09.07.2003

Toby Young thought he had it made.  He had a prestigious job at Vanity Fair magazine, a press pass that got him in everywhere, and a suave British accent to boot.  He was poised to take Manhattan.  Then everything went wrong.  In this hour of To the Best of Our Knowledge, flops, failures and debacles.  Also, jumping the shark: how to pinpoint the exact moment something goes bad, from Seinfeld to Spielberg.

  1. Toby Young on "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People"

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    “How To Lose Friends and Alienate People” is the title of Toby Young’s memoir of his experience working for “Vanity Fair” magazine. The book was so successful, Young turned it into a play. 

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    Average: 3 (1 vote)

  2. Jason Zasky on Comeback Stories

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    Jason Zasky edits the failuremagazine website.  He just loves a good comeback story and shares a few with Anne Strainchamps.

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    Average: 3 (1 vote)

  3. Jay Allison on Artists and Rejection

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    Public Radio veteran producer Jay Allison has a new venture - a website called Transom. He prepared this sound portrait on artists and rejection.

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    Average: 3 (1 vote)

  4. Jon Hein on Jumping the Shark

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     Jon Hein uses the term “jump-the-shark” to describe the precise moment when things begin to go bad. 

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    Average: 3 (1 vote)

  5. Sherron Watkins on Enron

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    Sherron Watkins is the whistle-blower who tried to tell Ken Lay what was going on at Enron. With co-author, journalist Mimi Schwartz, Watkins lays out the story in her book “Power Failure.”

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    Average: 4 (1 vote)