Spy: The Funny Years

by Graydon Carter, George Kalogerakis

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.

Genres: Humor, Nonfiction, History, Comedy, Anthologies

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Graydon Carter is a Canadian journalist, editor, and publisher best known for his tenure as editor of Vanity Fair from 1992 to 2017. Before joining the magazine, he co-founded the satirical publication Spy in 1986 alongside Kurt Andersen and Tom Phillips. Under his leadership, Vanity Fair became known for its mix of celebrity profiles and investigative journalism, winning 14 National Magazine Awards and earning Carter a place in the Magazine Editors’ Hall of Fame.
Carter's editorial influence extended beyond print, as he played a key role in producing several documentaries, including Public Speaking (2010), His Way (2011), and Gonzo, a film about Hunter S. Thompson. He was also an executive producer of 9/11, a CBS documentary about the September 11 attacks, which won both an Emmy and a Peabody Award. In 2019, he co-launched the newsletter Air Mail with Alessandra Stanley, targeting a global readership.
Beyond journalism, Carter has been involved in the restaurant business, co-owning The Waverly Inn in New York and previously partnering in the historic Monkey Bar. His contributions to media and culture were recognized in 2017 when he was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada.

Reviews

[Jeff Bursey · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the kind of book it is - an illustrated history of the satirical magazine from the 1980s-1990s- this is pretty good, with full reproductions of some articles (still in the very small print Spy favoured) and a great deal of the history of how it came to be and what it wanted to do in its best years. Even the later years, when the principals had left, are covered, though in fewer pages. Recommended for anyone who wants to go down the road of nostalgia.

[Hank Stuever · Rating 3 out of 5]

Spy's influence is still very much felt (especially in the tone of the default voice of the web). If, like me, you tossed out your carefully saved issues of Spy, you can now find them on Google. This book has some great excerpts and a lot of interesting behind-the-scenes history of the magazine. But be careful: Under close scrutiny and free of nostalgia, not all of Spy is as clever or absorbing as some of us remember. You kinda had to be there.

[Todd N · Rating 3 out of 5]

i work with the ex-publisher of spy but the bastard hasn't autographed it for me yet. when i was going to college at purdue in the cultural hell (well it was to me at the time) of indiana spy magazine was like a letter from the outside world. i had never left ohio and indiana not counting campgrounds so what the hell would i understand in a new york monthly? maybe 1/2 of the jokes? but the stylized layout and the tiny fonts were somehow a great comfort to me. the featured pieces aged very well. it was interesting and humbling to reread parts of the magazine that inspired me to write for two comedy newspapers. the description of the business side of spy magazine will be familiar to anyone who has worked at a silicon valley company run and ruined by demented charismatic geniuses.

[Peter Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I used to be a big fan of Spy magazine back in the early '90's and I bought this book thinking that it would have a lot of the hilarious articles I remember reading way back then. Well it does have some, but mostly this book is an oral history that talks to just about everyone involved. And your enjoyment of that mostly depends on how interested you are in the business of getting a magazine started in New York in the late '80's or the backstage shenanigans with the writing staff. Not that some of that isn't entertaining, but you really don't get the context why Spy was so great. Some of the included articles hinted at that, but really this is just a semi-humorous but somewhat dry overview of the creation of Spy long after it was relevant.

[Eric Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved SPY back in the late 80's when I lived in New York and I still consider it a milestone in American humor. This book is an amazingly well-produced and well written compilation of SPY articles and commentary by the two founders and an important SPY writer. It moves along, it is funny, it recaptures the time, and it has a plot line that reads like the classic startup: difficult birth, making it barely, moving to the mainstream, selling out, and then a long fade to irrelevance. I can't say that I recommend this book. If you were there, you'll love it, if you were not, it might seem much to do about nothing.

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this handsomely designed coffee-table book is more informative than entertaining. Spy was an important part of my development but truthfully its content was more enjoyable to me when I knew less about the priveleged lives of its creators. The reprinted original Spy content is still shockingly great - and its humbling to realize how much the magazine's style actually changed (rather than merely influenced) both the form and content of popular publishing in the years since its timely demise. That said, I would have far preferred to read "The Best of Spy: The Funny Years."

[Reese · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book really only rates three stars because Kurt Anderson and Graydon Carter were too busy resting on their laurels to actually write it, which task they outsourced to editorial bitch George Kelogerakis. Still, all the reprinted stuff is spit-out-your-bourbon funny. Their humor has kind of infused a lot of other writing, but nothin' -- Nothin' -- beats the original SPY for imprecation-hurling strings of pure invective, and some solid political reporting. My mordant sense of humor owes this magazine so much. Thank you SPY.

[Loyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a veritable primer on how not to run a magazine, but somehow, Graydon Carter and Kurt Andersen managed to create a classic that actually holds up well many years after its demise. In fact, many of the departments and innovations found in the original Spy found imitators in the New Yorker, Esquire, crudely done in magazines like Maxim, and elegantly done at Carter's new editorship, Vanity Fair. Spy was an early inspiration to me in both design and writing, and it's still pretty fun to read about now.

[Q · Rating 4 out of 5]

a retrospective of the early (aka the funny) years of SPY magazine. i named my first zine "Smart.Funny.Fearless." after their old tagline. Its funny looking back on this and wondering how as a teenager i could've been into this. High-brow, snarky commentary on politics and culture that fit in well with my love of Bloom County.

[Shawna (endemictoearth) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I really just skimmed this book. It was meant to be skimmed. I really wanted a "Best of SPY" book; I used to love that magazine. I was probably the only person in Youngstown to buy it, and DEFINITELY the only 14-year-old girl in Youngstown to buy it. I missed it heyday, though, and would love to read some of the early issues. Maybe someday . . .

[Curt Hopkins Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you weren't around during Spy, this book does a good job of explaining in part the cultural world you live in. If you were around, it takes you back. In my case, I realized I am who I am to some degree because of Spy. High quality and low cunning. Gleeful viciousness toward self-celebrating boobs. And the Fine Print.

[Cord · Rating 4 out of 5]

put it on your bookshelf to look progressive and sentimental at the same time!

[Tamra · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was really hoping that there would be more FROM Spy and less ABOUT Spy.

[Leonard Pierce]

Ah, Spy. How I loved you, even if you didn't love me back. Only a bit too much inside-baseball stuff about the New York publishing scene saves it from the fifth star; this is really terrific stuff.

[Lynn Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reliving my youth.

[Erin]

I've been wanting a copy of this for awhile, and happened to find it on the sale shelves at Taylor Books - yay!

[Kate]

I think I turned out the way I did because I read my Mom's Spy magazines as a kid (those and Texas Monthly's Bum Steer Awards issues). Hooray for hilarious, corrupting influences!!!

[Paul Madarasz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Truly funny! And for us older folk, it brought back a lot of memories from the time I subscribed to Spy (actually, I kept all my issues, and drag them out every couple years or so).

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

wasn't as funny as i remember the magazine being, but it was a good walk down memory lane.