Warren's ambition knows no bounds at Esquire
■"An Article That Will Take 5 Years to Read," by Katherine Q. Seelye, New York Times, 8 August 2005, p. C5.
Esquire begins in the September issue the first of many articles in a series on the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site. Scott Raab, a writer at large, gets the job. First story is called "The Foundation."
If it's anywhere near as good as the multi-part piece on the "unbuilding" of the WTC by William Langewiesche that ran in The Atlantic Monthly a while back, it'll be a great read.
The series is the brainchild of my man Mark Warren, editor of PNM and BFA, and it's typical of his ambition. I mean, why be the executive editor of Esquire if you don't take risks?
The biggest risk, as the Times story points out, is that tough reporting will alienate the very players Raab needs to access as this story unfolds over many years. Tough balancing act, but if Raab and Warren pull it off (and I just know Mark will be editing these pieces), then Raab will have himself the making of one helluva book on the far side.