Another Life: A Memoir of Other People [Paperback]

Michael Korda (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 9, 2000

From world leaders to Mafia dons, from Hollywood stars to the literary world's most eccentric writers, the notable and notorious alike have entrusted their life's work to Simon & Schuster's preeminent editor, Michael Korda. In this masterful memoir, Korda reveals the unforgettable cast of characters and outrageous anecdotes behind four decades of blockbuster publishing, bringing us face-to-face with dozens of larger-than-life figures: Richard Nixon, who maintained his "presidential" persona long after his public life was over; Joan Crawford, whose autobiography reflected a life she would have liked to have lived but did not; Joseph Bonanno, the retired Mafia don who'd do anything to keep from being killed by the reviewers.

And in a revelatory account that reads as compulsively as fiction, Another Life paints a vivid picture of publishing's glitterati, including Jacqueline Susann, who liberated women's fiction--and terrorized a publishing house, and Tennessee Williams, who nourished his genius on four-course vodka lunches. A veritable Who's Who of stage, screen, and letters, Another Life is the deft interweaving of publishing at it most fascinating--and storytelling at its finest.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Michael Korda has spent 41 years at Simon & Schuster--most of them as editor in chief--and it proves to be a front-row seat for observing book publishing's transition from a gentlemanly trade to a hard-nosed business. He chronicles that evolution with impressive perceptiveness and tearing good spirits in this juicy memoir. Korda has a novelist's gift for capturing people's personalities in a few paragraphs, and he nails everyone from bestselling fantasy mongers Jacqueline Susann and Harold Robbins to his boss and good friend, S&S's notoriously dictatorial publisher, Richard Snyder. But he also seems to be incapable of bearing a grudge or truly disliking anyone, so his smart, razor-sharp portraits never appear nasty, just good fun. The key to Korda's appeal is his zest for all manner of books and people, from the highest to the lowest brow, so long as they sincerely believe in what they're doing. (He's amused rather than outraged, for example, by Ronald Reagan's ability to recount with total conviction events that never occurred.) Korda gives a brief, frank account of his personal life, including a failed first marriage, but--luckily for his readers--it's clear that he spent most of his time at the office. --Wendy Smith --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Readers of the New Yorker will already have encountered some choice passages from this gloriously funny, charming and ultra-readable book: those that deal with Jacqueline Susann (soon to be the basis of a movie), Irving (Swifty) Lazar and two noted S&S authors, Richard Nixon and Ronald ReaganAthough neither of their books sold nearly as well as those of their editor, the present author. It is a piece of hoary folk wisdom that books about publishing don't sell, because the people most interested don't have to buy books, and the people who do buy aren't interested. If any book can give that old saw the lie, this is the one. A more candid, engaging and warmly knowledgeable survey of the past 40 years of American publishing cannot be imagined. From the time he joined the firm that was to become his life, at the end of the 1950s, Korda saw the business change almost beyond recognition, from a cozy occupation performed almost like a hobby to one where stakes were almost as high as Hollywood's and the market ruled. Korda creates for himself a persona of guileless innocence coupled with quiet sophistication, and it works wonders in his countless trenchant character studies of S&S's founding family and such colleagues as editor-in-chief Bob Gottlieb and CEO Richard Snyder. His picture of Snyder, though it does not disguise the man's less agreeable aspects, is arguably too sunny, but most people of whom he writes are as entertaining as characters in an endless comic novel. Korda even treats his own workAwhich has embraced such major hits as Charmed Lives, Queenie and Power!Awith bemusement, quite without vanity and rather as an excuse to poke fun at author tours and the perils of overnight success. Nobody who loves the book business with Korda's hopeless and enduring passion can fail to be delighted and touched by this endearing saga. Long may he edit. First serial to the New Yorker.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Delta; First Edition edition (May 9, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385335075
• ISBN-13: 978-0385335072
• Product Dimensions: 1.1 x 6.3 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #279,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #61 in Books > Education & Reference > Writing, Research & Publishing Guides > Publishing & Books > Book Industry

More About the Author

Michael Korda is the New York Times bestselling author of Horse People,
Country Matters, Ulysses S. Grant, Cat People, Journey to a Revolution, and Ike.
He lives with his wife, Margaret, in Dutchess County, New York.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating glimpse at world of publishing August 8, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Two television shows -- Brian Lamb's Booknotes, and Kitty Kelley's reception honoring Michael Korda (her editor and the author of this book)-- convinced me to read Another Life, and the decision was most rewarding. Korda had told Lamb that the common trait shared by best-selling authors -- regardless of style or genre -- is the ability to tell stories. Who would know better than someone who has been an editor at Simon & Schuster for 41 years? A voracious reader who has worked with hundreds of writers (one wonders just how many manuscripts he has absorbed during his career), Korda is a clever writer himself. Another Life is basically a string of hilarious anecdotes involving authors (not all of them household names) whose work he has edited. Excerpts from this book have appeared in The New Yorker (Korda's memories of legendary playwright Tennessee Williams and his ventures into other forms of writing ran in the magazine just this year), and Another Life can be enjoyed as a collection of magazine-length pieces. Writers as diverse as Jacqueline Susann, Richard Nixon, Joan Crawford, Truman Capote, Harold Robbins and Graham Greene (among dozens and dozens of others) are discussed, and Korda also intermixes am ample sprinkling of stories about his co-workers at S&S and his competitors at other publishing houses. Another Life not only lived up to my lofty expectations, it exceeded them. Highly recommended to anyone interested in how books come to fruition.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Life in Books and Publishing November 10, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

What a wonderful tour guide Korda turns out to be in this ultimate insider's look at trade publishing in the last half of the American Century. He's smart, self-deprecating, generous and altogether enthusiastic about his life's work and times. Almost every page of this book features an anecdote about a publishing legend. The publishing behind-the-scenes stuff is fascinating. If you've wondered where the more romantic notions people have about authors and their editors come from, this book will explain much. Korda is like a very entertaining teacher, and beneath the fun lies an inspiring, dedicated, hard-working, dues-paying professional. I would think this is a must read for anybody interested in publishing today.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A rousing story of a life in publishing June 18, 2000

By J. Gifford

Format:Paperback

Those who love the story of writing and how stories are made will love this book. Those who work closely with authors to help them develop their work will appreciate it even more.

Korda gives us a rare inside look at how publishers publish. He shares with us how he got into the business, how he climbed the S&S ladder, and how he came to run the editorial department of one of the most successful houses in publishing history. He tells us hilarious and eye-opening stories of Tennessee Williams and Jacqueline Susann and Harold Robbins. We learn just how much work editors put into creating bestsellers. We find out who the authors are and who the writers are. If you're like me, you'll read these stories as you would a bowl of candy. You'll eat and eat until you're scratching at the bottom of the bowl for more.

I don't recommend this book without reservation, however. Michael Korda, the famous editor, could have used even a junior editor to help him dig out his story. At times, the book thuds along, caught up in Korda's telling of the history of publishing in the United States. His asides into the money side of the business -- how publishing developed from a cottage industry into a mere cog in larger multinational entertainment companies -- is numbing. Still, I soaked in these parts of his story to get to the good parts.

Korda is not a great writer, though he worked with many, and has a wonderful story to tell. Skip past the dull moments if you like, but most definitely read this book.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Many empty stretches with a few interesting parts October 27, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Michael Korda has written some interesting, gossipy books so I looked forward to more of the same. However, writing about the book publishing business is a let down for the reader expecting the same spice as in "Charmed Lives" or the semi-fictional "Queenie". Korda is at his best writing about his family and the famous and/or notorious people he has met. His style in "Another Life" is ponderous, over-explanatory, S L O W. He's trying to educate the reader about the publishing business AND do his name dropping tricks at the same time and it's a bad fit. After the first half, when I realized there was to be more exposition on book publishing, I started to skip parts and was relieved when I finished the book. And despite the protestations of humility, the author comes across as a snob and elitist. In his elliptical way, we he lets us know all about his positive attributes, but we are left to wonder about what he omits about his private life, mentioning such a minimum. For a book about other people, there was too much about the author, too much about HIS business career and too little about other lives.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Keep on Writing March 8, 2006

By Kira Gale

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Michael Korda's family biography, Charmed Lives, remains one of my all time favorite reads. This book, Another Life: A Memoir of Other People, came to my attention while doing research on the web regarding the meaning of memoir/biography. There has been some recent controversy over whether a memoir is based on facts or simply on subjective opinion. I will take Michael Korda's facts, and subjective opinion, anytime. He has a balanced point of view, and the gift of seeing us all as people. He also understands the nature and the nuturing of creative talent.

Another Life is a memoir of the publishing industry; it presents a view of how publishing used to be in the old days, the Golden Age of the famous name publishing houses. Though I think we are in another and very different Golden Age at present. I am entering the publishing business myself, and it gave me insights into truly how the business operates on a personal level.

I am now reading his biography of Ulysses S Grant, and am very much interested in his assessment of Grant. It stays with me. I hope Mr. Korda continues to write historical biographies. He has a lot to share with the world.