Mag Men: Fifty Years of Making Magazines

by Walter Bernard, Milton Glaser

For more than fifty years, Walter Bernard and Milton Glaser have revolutionized the look of magazine journalism. In Mag Men , Bernard and Glaser recount their storied careers, offering insiders’ perspective on some of the most iconic design work of the twentieth century. The authors look back on and analyze some of their most important and compelling projects, from the creation of New York magazine to redesigns of such publications as Time , Fortune , Paris Match , and The Nation , explaining how their designs complemented a story and shaped the visual identity of a magazine.

Richly illustrated with the covers and interiors that defined their careers, Mag Men is bursting with vivid examples of Bernard and Glaser’s work, designed to encapsulate their distinctive approach to visual storytelling and capture the major events and trends of the past half century. Highlighting the importance of collaboration in magazine journalism, Bernard and Glaser detail their relationships with a variety of writers, editors, and artists, including Nora Ephron, Tom Wolfe, Gail Sheehy, David Levine, Seymour Chwast, Katherine Graham, Clay Felker, and Katrina vanden Heuvel. The book features a foreword by Gloria Steinem, who reflects on her work in magazines and her collaborations with Bernard and Glaser. At a time when uncertainty continues to cloud the future of print journalism, Mag Men offers not only a personal history from two of its most innovative figures but also a reminder and celebration of the visual impact and sense of style that only magazines can offer.

Genres: Design, Writing, Nonfiction

288 pages, Hardcover

Published December 31, 2019

Reviews

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun visually amazing book about two of the most important and influential magazine designers in American history (well, world history too). It's also a wonderful trip through late 20th century history as, of course, many of their magazine articles and covers relate to important moments from Watergate to Women's Lib to You Name it.