CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX -- ALL THIS, AND FIRE ISLAND TOO

(Did You Sleep With the Models?)

I'm not fond of magazine special issues. That’s because they exclude the wider interests of many readers, and for that reason I balked when several of my staff lobbied for an entire issue of Mandate devoted to New York. As we discussed the concept, however, I was converted to their side. After all, New York at the time was not only a major world city but also the nerve center of this country: Wall Street, the publishing industry, network television, major museums and department stores, landmark architecture, historic sites, international tourism, Broadway -- and of course gay life.