'Ruthie in Wonderland'

Ruth Reichl, editor of the now-defunct Gourmet magazine, plans to write a book about what had been the rarified world of Condé Nast. Past tense is probably appropriate, given the recent round of magazine closures and layoffs. "I had no idea that this particular world existed," Reichl told the NY Observer. "I sort of think of it as 'Ruthie in Wonderland.'"

"The business picture was not good for Gourmet," she said. "It was a magazine that depended on luxury advertising, unlike many of the epicureans. Most of our competition gets a lot of different kinds of advertising. Our main categories were travel, automotive, financial, jewelry--that all went away. That was just the way that it was. I guess at a certain point the company decided that advertising wasn't coming back. I wasn't privy to those discussions."