Search Results for: Vanity Fair

Lewis does his best to ignore what he calls “the noise.” “I’m sensitive enough to criticism that if I pay attention to it, it may make me a worse writer,” he says, maneuvering his car through the Berkeley Hills. “When I sit down to write, I like to think everybody’s going to love me,” he adds. “Or at least I don’t think anybody’s going to hate me. It’s pronoia, right, is that the word? Everybody’s out to love me, not everybody’s out to hate me? I think basically that way as I move through the world.”

“It’s Good to Be Michael Lewis.” — Jessica Pressler, New York magazine

See also: “It’s the Economy, Dummkopf!” — Michael Lewis, Vanity Fair, Aug. 10, 2011

It’s Good to Be Michael Lewis

Longreads Pick

He can write about these kinds of people with such skill in part because he is one of them. At a time of peril for his industry, Lewis has managed to build what amounts to a personal empire of long-form journalism, with a Warren Buffett-like collection of brands and eye for the next big thing. “He’s got good instincts for the individual story and for the broader picture of where that story belongs,” says Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter. “The big story of the day is the world financial crisis, and he’s the most kick-ass business writer out there.” His aptitude for translating and enlivening financial concepts has made him an indispensable observer of the crisis: In May 2010, Politico reported that The Big Short had been name-checked on the official Senate record at least fifteen times since its publication just two months before, and that Hill staffers had been calling Lewis at home for advice.

Published: Oct 2, 2011
Length: 16 minutes (4,217 words)

Top 5 Longreads of the Week: Stories from London Review of Books, The New Yorker, GQ, Vanity Fair, Orion Magazine, and a guest pick from arts journalist Suzi Steffen.

Remembering “Rapper’s Delight” producer Sylvia Robinson, who died yesterday.

“He would say something every now and then, like ‘Throw your hands in the air,’ and they’d do it. If he’d said, ‘Jump in the river,’ they’d have done it.” Inspiration struck. “A spirit said to me, ‘Put a concept like that on a record and it will be the biggest thing you ever had.’”

“Hip-Hop Happens.” — Steven Daly, Vanity Fair, 2005

See more #longreads from Vanity Fair

“Which city do you pity most?” I ask just before the elevator doors close. 

They laugh and in unison say, “Vallejo!”

“California and Bust.” — Michael Lewis, Vanity Fair

See more #longreads from Michael Lewis

A Declaration of Cyber-War

A Declaration of Cyber-War

The Rude Warrior

The Rude Warrior

Bohemian Cove: Inside Malibu's Hottest Trailer Park

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When Irish Eyes Are Crying

When Irish Eyes Are Crying

The Wave-Maker: On Big Wave Surfer Ken Bradshaw

The Wave-Maker: On Big Wave Surfer Ken Bradshaw