These Foolish Things
A Memoir
Published on 20. March 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
464 pages
978-1-4087-1986-2 (ISBN)
Description
Few people can say they have shaped the cultural landscape of the last four decades while crossing paths with some of the most extraordinary personalities on the planet. But then, of course, Dylan Jones isn't just anyone.
These Foolish Things captivatingly charts Dylan's life: from his peripatetic childhood and late adolescence in 1970s London - a city then alive with possibility - to his award-winning tenure at what would become one of the most dynamic magazines of its era, GQ. It details how he came to be in that hot seat: a journey through the Swinging London slipstreams of punk and new romanticism, and through i-D, The Face and Arena, which created the platform on which GQ was based, with Dylan as a common denominator.
Littered with a gold-star cast of characters - including a who's who of celebrity from David Bowie and Bryan Ferry to Alastair Campbell and Prince Charles, via Samuel L. Jackson, Piers Morgan and Rihanna - this memoir reflects on how GQ became an established style and how Dylan sought to stir up music, politics and fashion.
Witty, perceptive and deliciously entertaining, but by turns bravely vulnerable, These Foolish Things is a memoir like no other: a dazzling retelling of the start of the twenty-first century from one of the world's most fascinating media giants.
These Foolish Things captivatingly charts Dylan's life: from his peripatetic childhood and late adolescence in 1970s London - a city then alive with possibility - to his award-winning tenure at what would become one of the most dynamic magazines of its era, GQ. It details how he came to be in that hot seat: a journey through the Swinging London slipstreams of punk and new romanticism, and through i-D, The Face and Arena, which created the platform on which GQ was based, with Dylan as a common denominator.
Littered with a gold-star cast of characters - including a who's who of celebrity from David Bowie and Bryan Ferry to Alastair Campbell and Prince Charles, via Samuel L. Jackson, Piers Morgan and Rihanna - this memoir reflects on how GQ became an established style and how Dylan sought to stir up music, politics and fashion.
Witty, perceptive and deliciously entertaining, but by turns bravely vulnerable, These Foolish Things is a memoir like no other: a dazzling retelling of the start of the twenty-first century from one of the world's most fascinating media giants.
Reviews / Votes
He is always in the room where it happens -- Hadley Freeman * Sunday Times * An insider's take on a wild world of egotistical celebrities, wayward columnists, tricky cover pop stars and, oh yes, the parties * Telegraph * A glittering career, on paper * Strong Words * Transported to a world of scarcely imaginable glamour, of sybaritic indulgence unrivalled since the days of Rome * Guardian * These Foolish Things is the glittering chronicles of [Dylan's] adventures in media, music, politics and fashion * i * An absorbing and unstintingly entertaining memoir * Independent * Hilariously indiscreet -- Nick Duerden From the heart of punk and the New Romantic Movement, he would eventually end up at the centre of Britain's shifting political discourse * National News * An extraordinary trip through modern British culture taking in some of the biggest names in pop, rock, media and art -- Matthew d'Ancona A very personal memoir * New Statesman * Absolutely extraordinary * Esquire * Dylan has run some of the most important newsrooms and magazines in the country. The story is anything but foolish -- James Harding * Tortoise *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Little, Brown Book Group
Illustrations
2 x 8pp colour plates
Dimensions
Height: 196 mm
Width: 124 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
396 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4087-1986-2 (9781408719862)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Person
New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Dylan Jones has written or edited over twenty-five books. In the eighties, he was one of the first editors of i-D, before becoming a Contributing Editor of The Face and Editor of Arena. He spent the next decade working in newspapers - principally the Observer and the Sunday Times - before embarking on a multi-award-winning tenure at GQ. During his editorship, Conde Nast's flagship magazine won more awards than any other title - over eighty. A former columnist for the Guardian, the Independent and the Mail On Sunday, he is a Trustee of the Hay Festival and an independent BBC television producer. In 2012 he was awarded an OBE for services to publishing. He is currently the editor-in-chief of the Evening Standard.