British journalist Young scored big with How to Lose Friends and Influence People, a dishy account of his dire mishaps in the world of glossy New York magazine publishing, and inevitably came to Hollywood's attention. Though his own book was considered, a more lucrative writing offer came from a big-league producer, known here only as "————," or "Mr. Hollywood," who wanted "a biopic about a notorious '70s record producer," who was also "a spectacularly unpleasant human being." This would seem to be a sufficient frame for a follow-up about misadventures in the magazine world, but curiously, it isn't. Instead, Young wanders (literally) all over the map, recounting his experiences on his book tour; as a newlywed and new father; as a screen-writing student, underqualified drama critic and monologist. Naturally, nothing goes right in this unfocused memoir. Young gets in some good anecdotes, but the outcome of the Hollywood adventure is obvious from the start—marital bliss is, alas, less compelling than laddishness; an anonymous producer and subject are no match for colorful Graydon Carter and Vanity Fair. 100,000 first printing.(July)
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From Booklist
In the best-selling How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2002), British journalist Young hilariously tracked his rise and fall in the New York media world. After that debacle, he turned his attention to L.A., where he endured a trial-and-error period attempting to be a Hollywood screenwriter. Young tackled Tinseltown looking for glamour, but what he found had more to do with his personal and domestic life than his career. His screenwriting remembrances are interspersed with recollections of family life, from his engagement and marriage to his first child and the process of getting used to fatherhood. Alas, Hollywood didn't pan out, and his "return to London was a bitter disappointment." But readers won't be disappointed with this warm, funny, self-effacing memoir, which will appeal to anyone who has ever tried to accomplish anything--and that amounts to all of us. Expect part 2 of Young's story to follow its predecessor onto the best-seller lists. Brad Hooper