THE ACCIDENTAL LIFE

u003cbu003eAn Amazon Best Book of 2016u003cbru003eu003cbru003eA celebration of the writing and editing life, as well as a look behind the scenes at some of the most influential magazines in America (and the writers who made them what they are).u003c/bu003eu003cbru003e u003cbru003e You might not know Terry McDonell, but you certainly know his work. Among the magazines he has top-edited: u003ciu003eOutside, Rolling Stone, Esquire, u003c/iu003eand u003ciu003eSports Illustrated. u003c/iu003eIn this revealing memoir, McDonell talks about what really happens when editors and writers work with deadlines ticking (or drinks on the bar). His stories about the people and personalities he's known are both heartbreaking and bitingly funny—playing "acid golf" with Hunter S. Thompson, practicing brinksmanship with David Carr and Steve Jobs, working the European fashion scene with Liz Tilberis, pitching TV pilots with Richard Price.u003cbru003eu003cbru003e Here, too, is an expert's practical advice on how to recruit—and keep—high-profile talent; what makes a compelling lede; how to grow online traffic that translates into dollars; and how, in whatever format, on whatever platform, a good editor really works, and what it takes to write well.u003cbru003eu003cbru003e Taking us from the raucous days of New Journalism to today's digital landscape, McDonell argues that the need for clear storytelling from trustworthy news sources has never been stronger. Says Jeffrey Eugenides: "Every time I run into Terry, I think how great it would be to have dinner with him. Hear about the writers he's known and edited over the years, what the magazine business was like back then, how it's changed and where it's going, inside info about Edward Abbey, Jim Harrison, Annie Proulx, old New York, and the Swimsuit issue. That dinner is this book."