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Mans World
A MAN'S WORLD is a collection of 20 profiles of fascinating men by author and magazine writer Steve Oney. Written over a 40-year period for publications including Esquire, Premiere, GQ, Time, Los Angeles, and The Atlanta Journal & Constitution Magazine, the stories bring to life the famous (Harrison Ford), the brilliant (Robert Penn Warren), the tortured (Gregg Allman), and the unknown (Chris Leon, a 20-year-old Marine Corps corporal killed in the Iraq war). Several of the articles are prize winners. The Talented Mr. Raywood won the City and Regional Magazine Association Award for best profile in an American city magazine. Herschel Walker Doesnt Tap Out won the Chicago Headline Clubs Peter Lisagor Award for best magazine sports story. Hollywood Fixer won the Los Angeles Press Club Award for best magazine profile. The Casualty of War was a finalist for Columbia Universitys National Magazine Award.
340 pages, Hardcover
First published May 2, 2017
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February 14, 2021
There was a time (pre internet) when the world of publicity included being interviewed by magazine writers and having those articles published in regional and national publications. Movie studio had their stars reveal themselves in magazines like Premier, Playboy, A Man's World , Esquire and the like. In this era (2020's) that numbers had been reduced to Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair and a few others. Pre-internet there were dozens of these magazines and young writers who wrote for them. Mr. Oney was one of these writers. This book is a collection of his articles written between 1979 and 2011 in various publications.
The articles are good. Mr Oney is a good writer and had a fine career. The problem with this book is the most recent article is from 10 years ago. The profile on Robert Penn Warren is from 1979. There are few people who know who Mr. Warren is in 2021. Is that fair to Mr. Warren? No but that the culture we have in 2021. Marshall McLuhan once suggested everyone would have 15 minutes of fame. That's been reduced to a fraction of that in 2021. Two of the interviewees, Harrison Ford and Nick Nolte are fine actors, but are barely relevant in 2021. Do they deserve to be cast aside? Of course not, but are you interested in them enough to read an article about them when you can find more information than you want on the internet?
My suggestion for anyone reading this book. Find the subjects you have a personal interest in and read those sections first. If you're still interested after reading those, continue. One thing I object to is the longest essay in the book is about a grifter, someone who ends up with a jail sentence from swindling others in Los Angles. That article was a complete waste of time. In fairness, the book was originally published in 2017. It was more relevant then, and less now. And even less in 5 more years.
The articles are good. Mr Oney is a good writer and had a fine career. The problem with this book is the most recent article is from 10 years ago. The profile on Robert Penn Warren is from 1979. There are few people who know who Mr. Warren is in 2021. Is that fair to Mr. Warren? No but that the culture we have in 2021. Marshall McLuhan once suggested everyone would have 15 minutes of fame. That's been reduced to a fraction of that in 2021. Two of the interviewees, Harrison Ford and Nick Nolte are fine actors, but are barely relevant in 2021. Do they deserve to be cast aside? Of course not, but are you interested in them enough to read an article about them when you can find more information than you want on the internet?
My suggestion for anyone reading this book. Find the subjects you have a personal interest in and read those sections first. If you're still interested after reading those, continue. One thing I object to is the longest essay in the book is about a grifter, someone who ends up with a jail sentence from swindling others in Los Angles. That article was a complete waste of time. In fairness, the book was originally published in 2017. It was more relevant then, and less now. And even less in 5 more years.
Displaying 1 of 1 review