November 18, 2023

DESPERATELY SEEKING BARBRA

Barbra Streisand’s memoir is full of glitz, glamour, and name-dropping—spanning 992 pages. Thanks to AIR MAIL’s exclusive, unauthorized index, you can now zip right to where you need to go!

CAVEAT EMPEROR

Ridley Scott’s Napoleon is Barbie for men, writes Air Mail’s Co-Editor Alessandra Stanley, a glorious toy-soldier fantasy that ignores the emperor’s feats of statesmanship, including what he did for Jews …

SOMETHING FISHY

When the hot, young art dealer Alberto Fis branched out into the high-end-sushi-restaurant business, the result left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth, reports Elena Clavarino, in a story of omakase, impersonation, and fraud …

SEA OF HEARTBREAK

Bubbling under the surface of J.F.K.’s last cruise aboard the presidential yacht were familial strife and threats at home and abroad, which foreshadowed his assassination just 10 weeks later, writes Richard M. Cohen …

Nip and Happening

Flora Gill traces the triumphant return of the exposed nipple, from Florence Pugh and Rihanna to Kim Kardashian’s new bra …

Kubrick’s Waterloo

With Napoleon set to storm the cinema screens, Sam Wasson revisits Stanley Kubrick’s doomed attempt to film his own biopic on the emperor, for which the director amassed the largest private archive of Napoleoniana on the planet …

INSPECTOR GADGET

From the AIR MAIL test lab, Jonathan Margolis is flabbergasted by the new Apple Watch—a wrist-borne control panel for your whole life—but dumbfounded by its 398-page user guide …

BUT, WAIT, THERE’S MORE!

Slovenia is the place to be … how Lee Eisenberg developed Lessons in Chemistry … Lee Harvey Oswald did it for his mother! … Nia DaCosta is the first Black female director of a Marvel movie …the erratic brilliance of Bob Mack … AIR MAIL’s London party … Emerald Fennell will see you in hell!

Issue No. 227

The View from Here Ridley Scott’s new movie, Napoleon, is all sabers and sex. But what’s forgotten about the emperor of France is that he was also an enlightened protector of Jews

By Alessandra Stanley

Read On

Bait and Switch Impersonating a Mexican mogul was just the tip of the iceberg for Alberto Fis, a young art-and-sushi aficionado whose Manhattan omakase restaurant disguised a vast web of Inigo Philbrick–style fraud

By Elena Clavarino

Read On

My Name Is Barbra’s Index Streisand refused to give readers any shortcuts to her 992-page memoir, so we did it for you

By Michael Hainey, Ted Heller, George Kalogerakis, David Kamp, and Jack Sullivan

Read On

Sailing Toward Disaster On his last pleasure cruise with Jackie and friends, President John F. Kennedy didn’t reveal how besieged he was by Vietnam, civil rights, the Mob, and Fidel Castro. Three months later, he was assassinated

By Richard M. Cohen

Read On

Best-Guest List

As the summer season arrives, so too do invitations for weekend getaways. No matter if you RSVP out of duty or delight, make Emily Post proud—and secure your status as a gold-medal guest—with these gestures of gratitude, each of which has been specially selected to please even the most particular of hosts

Shop

Photo: Bruno Bruni/Reporters Associati & Archivi/Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images (Luttazzi, Milo, and Salerno)

My Favorite Things Ahead of her eponymous brand’s 10th anniversary, Rosetta Getty shares her exacting essentials, from opulent tableware to the gift she gives every friend

By Rosetta Getty

Shop

Photo: Paul Mpagi Sepuya (Getty)

“I don’t think you’re genetically modifying these foods at all. I think you’re just putting googly eyes on fruit.”

Ones to Watch An Apple Watch for the books (and manuals)! The simplest way to keep tabs on your canine and feline friends! A barometer from a simpler time! And more …

By Jonathan Margolis

Read On

There’s a Nip in the Air Loved, lusted over, and frowned upon throughout history, nipples are making a comeback, thanks largely to a single, ultra-perky bra

By Flora Gill

Read On

Watch Colin from Accounts You’d be forgiven for wondering if most of the recent romantic-comedy films have plotlines…

Visit Gucci It’s almost time to strap on our boots again and head to Colorado. But if you are lacking some cool windbreakers, sleek ski pants…

Carry Rimowa You probably know Rimowa as the fashion It Girl trunk of choice for jetting from St. Barth’s to Stockholm to Paris. Perhaps…

Read Day It’s an exciting moment for fans of The Hours, Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, which was turned into an Academy…

Write Mr. Boddington’s Studio Keep the Christmas spirit alive with the Santa Writes Back Kit from Mr. Boddington’s Studio…

Savor The River Cafe Pro tip: a plane ticket to Heathrow, three nights at Claridge’s, taxi to Hammersmith, and a reservation at the River Cafe is perhaps the best…

Watch Colin from Accounts You’d be forgiven for wondering if most of the recent romantic-comedy films have plotlines…

Visit Gucci It’s almost time to strap on our boots again and head to Colorado. But if you are lacking some cool windbreakers, sleek ski pants…

Carry Rimowa You probably know Rimowa as the fashion It Girl trunk of choice for jetting from St. Barth’s to Stockholm to Paris. Perhaps…

Read Day It’s an exciting moment for fans of The Hours, Michael Cunningham’s Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, which was turned into an Academy…

Write Mr. Boddington’s Studio Keep the Christmas spirit alive with the Santa Writes Back Kit from Mr. Boddington’s Studio…

Savor The River Cafe Pro tip: a plane ticket to Heathrow, three nights at Claridge’s, taxi to Hammersmith, and a reservation at the River Cafe is perhaps the best…

Stanley Kubrick’s Waterloo Having just tackled the end of the world and the mysteries of the universe, the obsessive director set his sights on Napoleon. Tens of thousands of index cards later, he waved the white flag

By Sam Wasson

Photo Illustration by Chop Choppish Shop

Read On

“I’ve been out of the dating scene a long time. Is kissing still a thing?”

Making Up for Lost Time After a decade-long wait, a follow-up to the best-selling debut thriller I Am Pilgrim is here

By James Owen

Read On

From The Office to the Lab Lee Eisenberg knows funny. But he and his wife, Emily Jane Fox, learned a lot working together on Lessons in Chemistry

By Sam Kashner

Read On

A Head for Business, a Body for Sin From Virginia Woolf to Carolee Schneemann, a new book explores the role of the female body in art

By Lauren Elkin

Read On

Party People Graydon Carter and Maison Valentino toasted AIR MAIL’s London List at Upstairs at Langan’s

By Ashley Baker

Photographs by Daniel Paik

21

*Top,* the scene at Langan’s; *above,* Daniel Millar.

*Top,* Nicola Dinan (in Valentino); *above,* Nicky Haslam, Nikolai von Bismarck, and Graydon Carter.

*Top,* Dafydd Jones; *above,* Hale Zero’s Carl Haley, Rafael Haley, and Greg Haley.

*Top,* David Downton and Virginia Bates; *above,* Hugh Laughton-Scott.

*Top,* Freddie Garland and Charlie Casely-Hayford; *above,* Gene Gallagher (in Valentino).

*Top,* Rejina Pyo; *above,* John Lahr and Graydon Carter.

*Top,* Luke Edward Hall; *above,* Coco Cottam.

*Top,* Poppy Coburn, Will Lloyd, and Ash Carter; *above,* the custom swizzle sticks were one of the hotly desired party favors.

*Top,* Isabelle Harvie-Watt, J. J. Martin, and Ashley Baker; *above,* Joy Labinjo, Bay Garnett, and Dafydd Jones.

*Top,* MyAnna Buring; *above,* Paul Cox and George Pendle.

*Top,* William Franklyn-Miller; *above,* Daisy Knatchbull and Alexandra Carello.

*Top,* Graydon Carter, Rachel Johnson, and Nicky Haslam; *above,* Basil Walter and Zoë Wanamaker.

*Top,* Tomos Parry and Jeremy King; *above,* Gabriel Chipperfield, Constantin Rojahn, Laura de Gunzburg (in Valentino), and Lawrence Van Hagen.

*Top,* Eliza Clark; *above,* Henry Porter, Nick Hooker, and Anna Scott Carter.

*Top,* Paula Fitzherbert, Hannah Betts, and Nancy Cadogan; *above,* Mark Cornell.

*Top,* Charlotte Colbert and Dafydd Jones; *above,* Guy Walters.

*Top,* Archie Henderson; *above,* Zoë Zimmer.

*Top,* James Fox and Philip Colbert; *above,* Edward Cumming, Charlie Porter, Charlie Kinnersley, and Tomos Parry.

*Top,* Carl, Rafael, and Greg Haley of Hale Zero; *above,* Vassi Chamberlain.

*Top,* Natasha Fairweather, Skye McAlpine, and Fiona McCarthy; *above,* Amalie Gassmann.

Are You in Barbra Streisand’s Memoir? On this week’s podcast, George Kalogerakis reveals how we created the Streisand Index

Read On

Alexander Calder, with his sculpture Flight, 1957.

It happened during lockdown. The Seattle collectors Kim and Jon Shirley were poring over a thousand-piece wooden puzzle on their dinner table when they began to hear “dings” above them. For 15 years an Alexander Calder mobile, with a bell, had hung silently above the table, “but this was really the first time we heard the work ring,” Jon Shirley tells AIR MAIL. “It just had to happen in that right moment.” READ ON

Read On

Helen Schulman On

The House of Doors

by Tan Twan Eng

Read On

Jonathan Darman On

American Confidential: Uncovering the Bizarre Story of Lee Harvey Oswald and his Mother

by Deanne Stillman

Read On

Nia DaCosta With The Marvels, 34-year-old Nia DaCosta is now the youngest director of a Marvel movie, and the first Black woman to have a go at the franchise

By Bridget Arsenault

Read On

Lunch with Nicole Avant On this week’s episode of Table for Two, host Bruce Bozzi is joined by the former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas to talk about family, grief, and growing up in Hollywood

Read On

Bob Mack Charming, brilliant, and contrarian in his tastes, the Spy reporter and editor of the Beastie Boys’ magazine, Grand Royal, was as lovable as he was unreliable

By David Kamp

Read On

Suddenly, Slovenia Vacationing in Italy gets more expensive by the minute. But a two-hour drive from Venice leads to an equally appealing destination

By Marcia DeSanctis

Read On

“You just keep him away from my kid, O.K.?”

Emerald Fennell

The writer, director, and co-producer of Saltburn answers 71 of life’s most pressing questions

Read On

George S. Kaufman, the celebrated playwright, director, producer, humorist, and drama critic, also wrote several musicals for the Marx Brothers. This illustration depicts him in the early 1950s, when he appeared as a regular panelist on *This Is Show Business,* a variety show on CBS. His 134th birthday fell on November 16.

Is Edited By

Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley

Creative Director

Angela Panichi

Deputy Editors

Ashley Baker Ash Carter Chris Garrett Nathan King Julia Vitale

Chief Technology Officer

John Tornow

Editor at Large

George Pendle

Books Editor

Jim Kelly

Arts Intel Report Editor

Laura Jacobs

Senior Editors

Elena Clavarino Jensen Davis

Photo Director

Ann Schneider

Copy Editor

Adam Nadler

Research & Legal Editor

Matt Kapp

Production Editor

H. Scott Jolley

Associate Editors

Carolina de Armas Lucy Horowitz Clara Molot Paulina Prosnitz Jack Sullivan

Art Director

Paloma Huerre

Senior Photo Editor

Emine Gözde Sevim

Designer

Zoé Gillette

International Editor

Isabelle Harvie-Watt

London Editor

Bridget Arsenault

Communications Director

Harrison Vail

Columnists

Cazzie David Lisa Henricksson Walter Isaacson
Pico Iyer Rachel Johnson John Lahr
Jonathan Margolis Linda Wells James Wolcott

Writers at Large

Lili Anolik Johanna Berkman Joseph Bullmore Vassi Chamberlain William D. Cohan Rich Cohen Michael Hainey Stuart Heritage George Kalogerakis Sam Kashner James Kirchick Alexander Lobrano Alexandra Marshall Daphne Merkin Sam Wasson

Contributing Artists

Monica Ahanonu Barry Blitt André Carrilho Paul Davis David Downton Andrea Ferolla Josh Gosfield Cathy Graham Eric Hanson Angelica Hicks Pip Johnson Hilary Knight Danielle Kosann Michael Lindsay-Hogg Ross MacDonald Joe McKendry James McMullan Donald Robertson Charles Dare Scheips Grant Shaffer Ed Sorel Ralph Steadman

Contributing Photographers

Jonathan Becker Justin Bishop Alex Board James Emmerman Marcos Fecchino Daniel Paik Art Streiber Sharon Suh Justin Weiner

Architectural Consultant

Basil Walter

Head of Audience Development

Rachel LeSage

Audience Growth Manager

Merritt Johnson

Cartoon Editor

Bob Mankoff

Music Supervisor

Randall Poster

Technology

Brooks Oakley Justin Rubaloff Sade Singleton

Intern

Gasper Tringale-White

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Bill Keenan and Emily Davis

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Anjali Lewis

Advertising Director

Michael Pescuma

European Sales Director

Selim Mataraci

Financial & Business Operations

Marc Leyer

Account Manager

Dillon Freeman

Chief Strategy Adviser

Adam Mendelsohn

AIR SUPPLY

Chief Merchant

Jennifer Noyes

Shop Editor

Zoe Ruffner

E-Commerce Manager

Isaac Metlitsky

E-commerce Associate

Lilly Schoenbaum

In Memoriam

Peter Bogdanovich Duncan Hannah Douglas McGrath Richard David Story André Leon Talley

The View from Here Ridley Scott’s new movie, Napoleon, is all sabers and sex. But what’s forgotten about the emperor of France is that he was also an enlightened protector of Jews

Bait and Switch Impersonating a Mexican mogul was just the tip of the iceberg for Alberto Fis, a young art-and-sushi aficionado whose Manhattan omakase restaurant disguised a vast web of Inigo Philbrick–style fraud

My Name Is Barbra’s Index Streisand refused to give readers any shortcuts to her 992-page memoir, so we did it for you

Sailing Toward Disaster On his last pleasure cruise with Jackie and friends, President John F. Kennedy didn’t reveal how besieged he was by Vietnam, civil rights, the Mob, and Fidel Castro. Three months later, he was assassinated

My Favorite Things Ahead of her eponymous brand’s 10th anniversary, Rosetta Getty shares her exacting essentials, from opulent tableware to the gift she gives every friend

Ones to Watch An Apple Watch for the books (and manuals)! The simplest way to keep tabs on your canine and feline friends! A barometer from a simpler time! And more …

There’s a Nip in the Air Loved, lusted over, and frowned upon throughout history, nipples are making a comeback, thanks largely to a single, ultra-perky bra

Stanley Kubrick’s Waterloo Having just tackled the end of the world and the mysteries of the universe, the obsessive director set his sights on Napoleon. Tens of thousands of index cards later, he waved the white flag

Making Up for Lost Time After a decade-long wait, a follow-up to the best-selling debut thriller I Am Pilgrim is here

From The Office to the Lab Lee Eisenberg knows funny. But he and his wife, Emily Jane Fox, learned a lot working together on Lessons in Chemistry

A Head for Business, a Body for Sin From Virginia Woolf to Carolee Schneemann, a new book explores the role of the female body in art

Party People Graydon Carter and Maison Valentino toasted AIR MAIL’s London List at Upstairs at Langan’s

Are You in Barbra Streisand’s Memoir? On this week’s podcast, George Kalogerakis reveals how we created the Streisand Index

Nia DaCosta With The Marvels, 34-year-old Nia DaCosta is now the youngest director of a Marvel movie, and the first Black woman to have a go at the franchise

Lunch with Nicole Avant On this week’s episode of Table for Two, host Bruce Bozzi is joined by the former U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas to talk about family, grief, and growing up in Hollywood

Bob Mack Charming, brilliant, and contrarian in his tastes, the Spy reporter and editor of the Beastie Boys’ magazine, Grand Royal, was as lovable as he was unreliable

Suddenly, Slovenia Vacationing in Italy gets more expensive by the minute. But a two-hour drive from Venice leads to an equally appealing destination

The writer, director, and co-producer of Saltburn answers 71 of life’s most pressing questions

Is Edited By

Creative Director

Deputy Editors

Chief Technology Officer

Editor at Large

Books Editor

Arts Intel Report Editor

Senior Editors

Photo Director

Copy Editor

Research & Legal Editor

Production Editor

Associate Editors

Art Director

Senior Photo Editor

Designer

International Editor

London Editor

Communications Director

Columnists

Writers at Large

Contributing Artists

Contributing Photographers

Architectural Consultant

Social Media Manager

Head of Audience Development

Audience Growth Manager

Cartoon Editor

Music Supervisor

Technology

Intern

OUR CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER AND CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER ARE

Air Supply General Manager and Brand Partnerships

Advertising Director

European Sales Director

Financial & Business Operations

Account Manager

Chief Strategy Adviser

Chief Merchant

Shop Editor

E-Commerce Manager

E-commerce Associate

In Memoriam