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Kurt Andersen

Graydon Carter

Spy: The Funny Years Hardcover – October 25, 2006

by Graydon Carter (Author), George Kalogerakis (Author), Kurt Andersen (Author)

4.3 63 ratings

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A twentieth anniversary celebration of the ground-breaking humor magazine, Spy offers an anthology containing some of its finest writing, reporting, photography, design, illustration, and more, including such popular features as Separated at Birth, Naked City, The Fine Print, Logrolling in Our Time, the Blurb-o-Mat, and others.

Print length

304 pages
Print length

304 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Miramax
Publication date

October 25, 2006
Dimensions

10 x 10 inches
ISBN-10

1401352391
ISBN-13

978-1401352394
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With equal parts nostalgia and snarkiness, this history /anthology celebrates the now legendary satirical magazine during its heyday—aka 1986 to 1991, when founders and partners Andersen (Turn of the Century and host of [PRI's] Studio 360) and Carter (editor of Vanity Fair) ran the show (the magazine folded as a monthly in 1994). "We were very lucky to catch two waves—the post-'60s ironic mood and the go-go financial mood," observes Andersen, and these pages offer plenty of opportunity to travel back to those heady days of "Separated at Birth?" and "The Spy Guide to Postmodern Everything." Those who wondered what life at Spy was really like will also be rewarded: former deputy editor Kalogerakis [...] has collected plenty of stories about minuscule paychecks, ridiculously tight budgets and bacchanalian parties (Andersen and Carter chime in with extensive annotations). Certain to be on the holiday wish lists of aging hipsters. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Spy was the most influential magazine of the 1980S . . . it was cruel, brilliant, beautifully written and perfectly designed . . ." -- Dave Eggers

"It's a piece of garbage." -- Donald Trump

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Miramax (October 25, 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1401352391
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1401352394
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 3.55 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 10 x 10 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #1,107,157 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7 in Newspapers & Magazines Writing Reference (Books)
- #3,703 in Popular Culture in Social Sciences
- #12,175 in Contemporary Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
4.3 63 ratings

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Kurt Andersen
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New York Times bestselling author Kurt Andersen is host and co-creator of Studio 360, the Peabody Award-winning public radio show and podcast. He co-founded Spy magazine, served as editor-in-chief of New York Magazine, and was a cultural columnist and critic for Time and The New Yorker and contributes to Vanity Fair and The New York Times. Read more about him at his website: http://www.kurtandersen.com/
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Graydon Carter
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4.3 out of 5

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R. W. Rasband

SPY: More Influential Than Ever

Reviewed in the United States on January 16, 2007

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I have several piles of old SPY magazine back issues around my house, so I suppose I am part of the ideal audience for this book, "SPY: The Funny Years." It contains a generous sampling of classic SPY articles that I recognized, as well as a few that I missed from the first few issues when I guess it wasn't very available outside New York City. The book also features a detailed history of the magazine written by former editor George Kalogerakis with notes and commentary by co-founders Graydon Carter and Kurt Andersen.

You ask, "why should I buy a big, sort of expensive book about a magazine from twenty years ago?" Well, first because this book is funny as hell. Two of the first pitches of SPY were "The New Yorker crossed with the National Enquirer and David Letterman", or "MAD Magazine for grown-ups", and those are pretty good descriptions. The famous article about the Bohemian Grove is reprinted here in full, as well as Paul Rudnick and Kurt Andersen's "The Irony Epidemic" (perhaps the quintessential SPY piece), and Joe Eszterhas' flame-thrower letter to Mike Ovitz (with annotations.) The best SPY articles produced belly-laughs and cool investigative journalism at the same time.

The history of the magazine included in this volume might seem a little inside to those who aren't already fans, but if you read it you will learn why SPY was probably the most influential magazine of the last twenty years, certainly since the heyday of the National Lampoon. SPY was reviewing other reviewers before blogs were even thought of, and its brand of radical skepticism towards all things media has been ripped off by VH1, E!, and every other pop culture outfit you can name. Only SPY was smart. I think I got a post-graduate education of sorts from my reading of erudite pieces like the satiric explanation of post-modernism reprinted here. (SPY was the first place I had ever heard of post-modernism, which tells you either how smart it was or how sheltered I was at the time.) Each issue demanded a lot from the reader, which is probably why it wasn't long for this world. (In a just universe, SPY would still be going strong and be universally recognized for inventing "reality" entertainment, for good and ill.)

Co-founders Carter and Andersen have gone on to become solid members of the media establishment (and some would say that "Vanity Fair" editor Carter has become what he once mocked.) Old issues of SPY are avidly sought after on eBay. And "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" try to emulate SPY, not realizing that the old magazine didn't have a political agenda: it made fun of everybody. This book is a valuable keepsake for admirers of the magazine and a good introduction for those who are yet unfamiliar but are curious about the legend. Man, I sure do miss it.

20 people found this helpful

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C. McNair Wilson

Big & Better than hoped for.

Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2022

Verified Purchase

If you ever saw even one issue of the irreverent SPY magazine this is a gift, almost TOO COMPLETE history and anthology of that tongue-in-cheek, thorn-in-the-side of New York City and its cohort smug journalists, pompous pols, and self-important celebs. • BUT ... if you never saw SPY, this is the way in. Grab one.

One person found this helpful

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That Adorable Ghost

You still need a magnifying glass

Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2018

Verified Purchase

The type remains tiny. You'll wind up needing a fistful of non-prescription anti-inflammatories to remedy the crick in your neck after following the flow charts. And on occasion you'll lower the book, stare at the New Yorker print that's certainly on your wall and think: He was merely a short-fingered vulgarian in 1988. And now he's the "leader" of the free world. Still, at least one last time you should revel in "My Kid Could Do That," David Halbfinger's letters to the editor and ads for the Puck Building ballroom, "still the greatest place to have a party" -- and now owned by the Kushners. Sigh.

10 people found this helpful

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SlaveOfLloyd

Not what I expected...

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2022

Verified Purchase

I was expecting a sort of "Best Of" compilation, ala The Onion books. But this is mostly a written history of the magazine. And the pages from the magazine that are in the book aren't the best reprints. Disappointed.

2 people found this helpful

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Joseph C. Russo

You have to have been a fan in the 80's

Reviewed in the United States on October 29, 2020

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Excellent coffee table book and occasional need-a-laugh read. Again, must appreciate satire and history of Spy magazine.

One person found this helpful

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Zabadu

Great book

Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2008

Verified Purchase

I loved Spy. I remember one issue that had autopsy reports on Jim Croce and someone else, in tiny print, in the margins. This was an outstanding magazine, too far ahead of its time to succeed. Hell, it wouldn't succeed now; way too much narcissism today for anyone to find humor in it. This book is a great tribute to a great magazine.

Did anyone ever win the prize for the errors on the cover?

4 people found this helpful

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Jim Yoakum

WHEN PRINT WAS FUNNY

Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2013

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Maybe the days of funny print are over but if so this book tells the tale of the glory years when Spy mag ruled the world. Some of it is dated, sure, it was of its time, but as an avid reader when it was kicking this is a glorious journey back in time. Plus it looks great. A must for short fingered vulgarians everywhere.

3 people found this helpful

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Babaluba

Not as funny as I expected or hoped

Reviewed in the United States on November 26, 2006

Verified Purchase

While it's (marginally) interesting to me to learn about the backstage goings-on that went into creating this magazine that I used to love, what I really wanted was lots of reprints of articles that defined Spy. While a few of them are reprinted here (such as the wonderful piece on "yuppie porn") others are inexplicably printed in extremely small type ("A Spy Guide to Postmodern Everything") that literally require a magnifying glass to read! What a disappointment. I gave it an extra star because it's bound very nicely and obviously took a lot of effort to put together.

26 people found this helpful

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