The Grand Surprise

March 5, 2007
Writing about the Ike and Tina Turner show at Carnegie Hall in 1971, Lerman notes, "Tina and Ike are primitive, outdoor water-closet... turns them on with stupid smut. My father would have found them provocative." And while it is no surprise that Lerman, longtime features editor at Vogue,
later editor-in-chief of Vanity Fair
and all-round arts devotee, disliked them—his tastes ran more to Lotte Lenya singing Kurt Weill—it demonstrates that he was omnivorous in his desire to experience the full range of culture and entertainment. This broad, selection of Lerman's journals is filled with great gossip (on everything from Ruth Gordon's eating habits to architect Philip Johnson's sex life) and some astute remarks on art. Lerman (1914–1994) is a great diarist: the details are precise, the information careening from idiosyncratic to important, and his tone endlessly amused and amusing. While he can be peevish and even mean, he is also frequently funny and generous. The casual reader may be lost at times, but if you are moderately conversant with high art and high society—or just want to know what Princess Marina, duchess of Kent, wore to the Metropolitan Opera in September 1956, Lerman's journals are perfect. 24 pages of photos, 8 in color.

April 15, 2007
Pascal began his career at Condé Nast Publications in 1981 as assistant editor to Leo Lerman (191494), a longtime features editor at "Vogue". Toward the end of Lerman's career, Pascal recorded the writer/critic/editor's dictated reminiscences for a proposed autobiography that was never completed. However, following Lerman's death, a cache of journals and letters surfaced, which became the impetus for this book. Working with Lerman's former lovers Richard Hunter and Gray Foy, Pascal transcribed, translated, arranged, and compiled journal entries, letters, an unfinished memoireven guest lists from Lerman's legendary partiesto give insight into the life of this remarkable and influential New York socialite. He has admittedly taken liberties with spelling, punctuation, and the arrangement of text to make the work more comprehensible and readable. Readers will delight in the observations, stories, gossip, and humor concerning New York cognoscenti, literati, entertainers, and artists of the 1940s to the 1990s (e.g., performer Judy Garland, writer Truman Capote). Not always pleasant, the book also divulges Lerman's insecurities, doubts, and ruminations about being openly gay and Jewish and the loss of the European é migré culture. An enjoyable and insightful read recommended for all public and academic libraries.Mark Williams, Library of Congress

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