In the Land of Men: A Memoir

Written by Adrienne Miller

Narrated by Cassandra Campbell

One of Vogue’s Most Anticipated Books of 2020

One of Parade’s Most Anticipated Books of 2020

One of Esquire’s 15 Best Books of the Winter

One of Bitch Magazine’s 17 Memoirs Feminists Should Read in 2020

One of Maclean’s 10 Books to Watch in 2020

“The memoir I’ve been waiting for: a bold, incisive, and illuminating story of a woman whose devotion to language and literature comes at a hideous cost. It’s Joanna Rakoff’s My Salinger Year updated for the age of She Said: a literary New York now long past; an intimate, fiercely realist portrait of a mythic literary figure; and now, a tender reckoning with possession, power, and what Jia Tolentino called the ‘Important, Inappropriate Literary Man.’ A poised and superbly perceptive narration of the problems of working with men, and of loving them.” — Eleanor Henderson, author of 10,000 Saints

A fiercely personal memoir about coming of age in the male-dominated literary world of the nineties, becoming the first female literary editor of Esquire, and Miller's personal and working relationship with David Foster Wallace

A naive and idealistic twenty-two-year-old from the Midwest, Adrienne Miller got her lucky break when she was hired as an editorial assistant at GQ magazine in the mid-nineties. Even if its sensibilities were manifestly mid-century—the martinis, powerful male egos, and unquestioned authority of kings—GQ still seemed the red-hot center of the literary world. It was there that Miller began learning how to survive in a man’s world. Three years later, she forged her own path, becoming the first woman to take on the role of literary editor of Esquire, home to the male writers who had defined manhood itself— Hemingway, Mailer, and Carver. Up against this old world, she would soon discover that it wanted nothing to do with a “mere girl.” 

But this was also a unique moment in history that saw the rise of a new literary movement, as exemplified by McSweeney’s and the work of David Foster Wallace. A decade older than Miller, the mercurial Wallace would become the defining voice of a generation and the fiction writer she would work with most. He was her closest friend, confidant—and antagonist. Their intellectual and artistic exchange grew into a highly charged professional and personal relationship between the most prominent male writer of the era and a young woman still finding her voice. 

This memoir—a rich, dazzling story of power, ambition, and identity—ultimately asks the question “How does a young woman fit into this male culture and at what cost?” With great wit and deep intelligence, Miller presents an inspiring and moving portrayal of a young woman’s education in a land of men.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Feb 11, 2020
• ISBN: 9780062958136

Adrienne Miller

Adrienne Miller was the literary and fiction editor of Esquire from 1997-2006. She is the author of the novel The Coast of Akron (FSG), and has taught writing at the University of Pennsylvania, Haverford College, and Bryn Mawr. She lives in New York City with her husband, son, and Italian Greyhound.

Reviews for In the Land of Men

[suesbooks · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

well-written interesting short stories, most with no definitive ending.

[seriousgrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Nelson, Antonya. In the Land of Men: Stories. New York: William Morrow & Company, 1992."In the Land of Men" is a twelve page enormously powerful tale. What would you do if you lost your mother to cancer and left you alone with a father and three teenage brothers; left you living "in the land of men?" What would you do if said brothers, Les, Sam & Donald, find and kidnap your rapist? He's in the trunk of the family car and their only question to you is, what do you want to do? The story leaves you hanging, holding your breath."Goodbye Midwest" could also have been called "Goodbye Roxanne." It's the story of an adult woman looking back on a lost friendship from childhood. Best friends from middle school, Roxanne was her opposite in everything. Why they were even friends in the first place is a mystery...but that's the beauty of coming of age. Everything is a mystery.

[pattylee-621744 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read some of the reviews before I began this book, so I cheated a bit; even so the book was about being a woman in a man’s world and her observations are pretty cogent on that score. (Nothing has changed, by the way.) On the other hand, it was also about being a literary editor (a rare bird these days, at least in magazines). Finally, and probably most importantly, it was about the author’s very personal and professional relationship with David Foster Wallace. Frankly, I haven’t much interest at all in the so-called literary world (I read for fun and escape these days), but I found the book extremely well-written and quite philosophical on the meaning of work, the rule of men, the struggle of women in the workplace and the emergence of “self-“ all through a very personal filter; her voice was a voice I could listen to and hear.

[narshkite · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a pretty wonderful book. Yes, as the other reviews state this book spends a good deal of time looking at Miller's relationship with David Foster Wallace. That relationship was a truly formative one, clearly one of the most important of Miller's life, and through the anger and meanness its clear that she loved him. I think he loved her too, but that is less clear, and since this is her story it is also less important.DFW was a deeply troubled man, but also a genius - not because people say so, but because every time I read his work (I have read most of what he wrote, and he was really prolific) even the puff pieces, I see something I have never seen before. He was a true original. He was also sick and cruel and manipulative, but that does not make him less than he was or diminish his impact on literature or on Adrienne Miller. I found the DFW sections fascinating. I also enjoyed the reminiscences of the very last moments of the heyday of print journalism. Some people are interesting in their marrow, DFW, Hunter Thompson, Abraham Lincoln are great examples. Some people are interesting because of what they have done, and what has happened around them, and Adrienne Miller is a great example of that. (I am sure she is a wonderful person, she seems smart and lovely and grounded, but most of us are good and not inherently fascinating.) I know its supposed to be all feministy to reject great male writers who are not feminist. I reject that rejection. If you want me to turn in my feminist card I am happy to do that, but I have been fighting for women's autonomy, physical and intellectual, since before most of the pearl-clutching reviewers were born so I'm good. People treat each other like shit in relationships (whether family, friends or lovers), that is especially true of narcissists who hate themselves (I recently read Marquis deSade 120 Days of Sodom and oh.my.god!) That does not make either party less-than, and it does not make the relationships less interesting. Recommended. I did think the beginning dragged a little given that it covered a point where her rise was meteoric, but once Miller got to Esquire it moved with alacrity. A very high 4, but not quite a 5.