Her father, Charles Wintour, was the influential editor of London’s, The Evening News and she was keen to follow in his footsteps and become a journalist. As a child and teen she was influenced by seeing her father’s dedication to work even when they were supposed to be on holiday. Her loving mother was also a great influence. Her father was very proud of what she had achieved.

Anna’s love of fashion began early and so it seems this would be a natural course for her to follow. Even as a student under Peggy Angus, who had two works in The National Portrait Gallery, bored her.

She’d rather skip classes, with forged notes saying she was sick so she could go shopping in Leicester Square. The timing of the swinging 1960s was perfect for this fashion obsessed teenager living in London. 

Her father decided that she should become an editor at Vogue which propelled her career. While her initial goal was to be the editor at Vogue in the UK what she really wanted, was to be editor-in-chief of Vogue America.

One can only imagine the atmosphere when, during an interview with the then editor-in-chief Grace Mirabella, Anna was asked what role she would like at the magazine and she answered, “yours”. It would be quite a few years, and working at other publications like Viva, before she would achieve her goal.

Her dedication to detail, demanding working ethic, with her perfectly styled hair and hiding behind those famous sunglasses even while watching a Miramax private movie screening, much to Harvey Weinstein's chagrin, has made her seem to be like someone who most people think of as ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ woman. 

But, as we read, Anna is also a very sensitive person. She cries when things don’t go well or meet her expectations. She dearly loves her family - her son and daughter, their partners and her grandchildren. It was interesting to read why "The Devil Wears Prada "was written - I won’t give any spoilers here, you will have to read the book,  

She became a powerful person in the fashion industry. Known as the general manager of fashion, the person to whom fashion designers, heads of fashion houses and others in the industry would turn to for advice. She also helped launch the careers of many of the top international fashion designers.

The 1980s and part of the 1990s were times when lavish amounts of money were spent on production of Vogue, when photos from international photography shoots were simply discarded and never published. If Anna didn’t quite like an angle, she would require a re-shoot was done, often at considerable cost. But through her influence the magazines generated many millions of dollars, as did her fundraising events such as the Met Gala. 

This book also mentions Anna’s influence on the issue of overly thin models on the fashion runways and in fashion magazines. Anna, is an interesting and fascinating biography of Anna Wintour.

At times, the flow can be confusing to follow. The author tends divert into multiple tangents while explaining an event, or conversation with the journalists, stylists, photographers as well as senior executives. On several occasions, I found it necessary to re-read sentences, however, it is a most worthwhile and enjoyable book about one of the scions of the fashion and publishing industries and must read for anyone interested in pursuing a career in these fields. 

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