Anna: The Biography

Description

As a child, Anna Wintour was a tomboy with no apparent interest in clothing but, seduced by the miniskirts and bob haircuts of swinging 1960s London, she grew into a fashion-obsessed teenager. Her father, the influential editor of the Evening Standard, loomed large in her life, and once he decided she should become editor in chief of Vogue, she never looked back. Impatient to start her career, she left high school and got a job at a fashionable boutique in London - an experience that would be the first of many defeats. Undeterred, she found work in the competitive world of magazines, eventually moving to New York. Before long, Anna's journey to Vogue became a battle to ascend, no matter who or what stood in her way. Once she was crowned editor in chief - in one of the stormiest transitions in fashion magazine history - she continued the fight to retain her enviable position, ultimately rising to dominate all of Cond Nast. Based on extensive interviews with Anna Wintour's closest friends and collaborators, including some of the biggest names in fashion, journalist Amy Odell has crafted the most revealing portrait of Wintour ever published. Weaving Anna's personal story into a larger narrative about the hierarchical dynamics of the fashion industry and the complex world of Cond Nast, Anna charts the relentless ambition of the woman who would become an icon.

Amy Odell is a fashion journalist. Her work has appeared in New York magazine, The Economist's 1843, Bloomberg Businessweek and numerous other publications. She is the author of Anna and Tales from the Back Row. Find out more at AmyOdell.com.

Like a nonfiction version of The Devil Wears Prada -- Elizabeth Day An impressively detailed portrait that reveals much about Wintour's management style and early career * Financial Times, Books of the Year * Fascinating * Sunday Times * Odell's book is deeply sourced and rich with anecdotes. Although she's clearly sympathetic to her subject, she's direct in addressing Wintour's missteps. * The Times * Odell's extensive reporting dredges up a wealth of delightful details...You'll walk away knowing every step - and misstep - in Wintour's famous ascent to the heights of magazinedom. * New York Times * The secret to [Anna's] longevity is the subject of Odell's biography, which is drawn from interviews with Wintour's tightknit inner circle. Given that she's famously private and notoriously aloof, the participation of intimates in the book's reporting indicates a green light from Wintour herself. But Odell is unsparing, detailing Wintour's ambitious rise and ruthless power grabs, dotting the narrative with a healthy amount of gossip and color. * Bloomberg Businessweek * A dissection of one of fashion's most controversial figures and a window into the glossy pages of Vogue, Amy Odell's definitive Anna Wintour bio balances criticism with understanding and stories of true sadism: Imagine telling Oprah to lose 20 pounds for a cover * Rolling Stone * A fascinating portrait of the secretive queen of fashion. The devil is in the detail. -- Andrew Morton Odell takes her readers behind Wintour's iconic bob and sunglasses in this deeply researched account, delivering a close-up view of the most powerful woman in fashion. -- Sara Gay Forden, author of THE HOUSE OF GUCCI The details of Anna Wintour's life have been kept as tantalizingly hidden as her eyes behind her trademark sunglasses. This book tells her stunning story. Extraordinarily sweeping, astute and unputdownable. -- Sheila Weller, New York Times bestselling author of CARRIE FISHER: A LIFE ON THE EDGE and GIRLS LIKE US Anna is brilliantly written and well-researched, full of the kinds of details you've always wanted to know about Wintour's early life, and the ways in which she used her considerable gifts to amass astonishing, and enduring, power and influence. -- Laurie Woolever, author of BOURDAIN, THE DEFINITIVE ORAL BIOGRAPHY