David Leser, the Australian journalist, started writing this book as a biography of his father, the legendary magazine publisher who rose from a difficult childhood as a German Jewish refugee in New Zealand, to run the Conde Nast empire with S I Newhouse. Over time, he changed his mind about the project, and set it aside, but felt there was a book in exploring his own relationship with his father's legacy.
He's written an incredibly honest memoir examining family relationships, the truth and burdens of forgiveness, of self-acceptance, of marriage, of work; of life. There's a lot in this book. German Jewish history, Middle East politics, the glamorous but inconstant world of fashion magazines, self discovery, regret, father son tensions..a really good memoir..