Eheu fugaces, etc. etc.

I have a strict policy to refrain from bemoaning the passing of the good old days (which were mostly pretty bad), but today I'm willing to make an exception, prompted by the amusing profile of Regan Books publisher Judith Regan in the January Vanity Fair. Money quote:

"'Does anybody think there would be a Paris Hilton autobiography if it weren't for Judith?' asks HarperCollins executive editor David Hirshey."

Hirshey said this, mind you, to praise Regan.

When I was a starry-eyed young editor, I was impressed by accolades like, "There would be no Look Homeward Angel if it weren't for Maxwell Perkins." Sorry, but Regan's achievement doesn't strike me as the 2004 equivalent . . .