Lads

July 12, 2004
After graduating from Princeton in 1998, Itzkoff entered the world of lad magazines, first at Details
and then at Maxim
. His book's central irony is that at the center of the hot babes–filled men's mag world, one of its editors can't get no satisfaction. So much of Itzkoff's time in New York is spent being teased, led on and rejected by neurotic women that the book sometimes resembles an ode to onanism. It's fantastic gallows humor; even in the bleakest scene—an attempted suicide—Itzkoff maintains his satirical flair, marveling that drugstores allow crying, inebriated customers to buy as many bottles of sleeping pills as they can carry. But beyond the pleasures and pains of reading a glint-eyed insider's account of the publishing world and its denizens, this is a more universal story of a troubled father-son relationship. Itzkoff's dad is a manic-depressive furrier struggling to stay straight and sane after a decades-long cocaine addiction. Itzkoff eventually leaves Maxim
and reconciles with his father—the move from lads to dad a sign of a late-but-redemptive maturity. Unlike with MAD
or National Lampoon
, there are arguably few things of lasting value that have come out of Maxim
's success so far, but Itzkoff may be the exception. Agent, Nina Collins. (Sept. 14)

Forecast:
Promotions targeting "gossip Web sites" and "men's trend-setting magazines" will attempt to market this book to the elusive lad-lit market.

September 15, 2004
Itzkoff, currently an editor at Spin magazine, has authored a modern-day coming-of-age story that recalls Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War and John Knowles's A Separate Peace. As in those classics, this work features someone struggling with issues of identity and trying to fit in while facing ridicule and criticism from peers, family, and friends. After graduating from Princeton in 1998, Itzkoff ends up first as an assistant to the editor in chief at Details, then as an editor at rival magazine Maxim. Not only does he have grave doubts about his ability to handle the various jobs that he was assigned, but he also questions the content of the very publications for which he is working. In addition, he doubts his ability to maintian a normal relationship with a woman and wrestles with issues of his own sexuality. Itzkoff's wit and candor give this memoir an edge. Besides being a captivating read, it provides insight into a niche of popular magazine publishing that experienced rapid growth in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Recommended for public libraries and academic libraries supporting media, publishing, or journalism programs. Valeda F. Dent, Hunter Coll. Lib., New York

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2004
Arriving on the New York publishing scene in 1998 with a newly minted liberal-arts degree from Princeton, Itzkoff seized the moment and moved back into his parents' suburban home. And that was his best move. What followed was a dead-end mailroom stint at the William Morris Agency and short, desultory editing jobs at " Details" and " Maxim" magazines, which devolved seamlessly into substance abuse, a suicide attempt, failed romances, soliciting prostitutes online, and near-complete disaffection at work: "It was every half-assed man for his own stultified self." Itzkoff 's world here is very dark, but it's described unflinchingly. And it's redeemed, barely, by the author's reconciliation with his family and by his sly, deadpan humor. Since it's still early days for the twentysomething Itzkoff--he's now an editor at " Spin--"he would be wise to keep them both.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)