Vanity Fair Aug-14

The good people of New Jersey have historically had a soft spot for tough guys. This being the case, Chris Christie, a Republican, would seem to be their dream idea of a governor. Larger than life—or at least larger than most governors—he developed an image as a quick, straight-talking politician who could get things done and who, on the surface at least, played well with others. Even Democrats were expected to get behind him for reelection. His supporters were drawn to his no-nonsense way of governing and his combative style of negotiation, as when he shouted down teachers and other public workers in town-hall meetings—events that were filmed by his staff and then posted on YouTube. That sort of confrontational politics, though, could also be read as threatening and even…

Moscow’s mighty Bolshoi Ballet is here again—this time at the Lincoln Center Festival, starting on July 15, for two weeks. For this engagement David Hallberg, a native of Rapid City, South Dakota, will dance the role of Prince Siegfried in three performances of Swan Lake. Three years ago he became the only American ever invited to be a premier dancer in this venerable company, which was founded in 1776. Hallberg now divides his time between the Bolshoi and American Ballet Theatre. —WAYNE LAWSON…

A brand synonymous since 1967 with creating revolutionary mascaras—Lancômatique, Hypnôse, Ôscillation—Lancôme does it again this August, with Grandiôse. Perpetuating the French tradition of effortless chic, the ergonomic Swan-Neck™ wand design takes lashes to new heights and will forever change the way women apply mascara. The innovative curved stem is designed to coat every lash from root to tip without any fuss. The mascara also serves as a conditioning treatment with Lancôme’s exclusive Native Rose Cell Extract. Lancôme ambassadress Penélope Cruz, the face of the new campaign, proves that eyes can be weapons of mass seduction. –SUNHEE GRINNELL…

An Irish-American family stumbles in their separate pursuits of love and the American Dream in Matthew Thomas’s masterly debut, We Are Not Ourselves (Simon & Schuster). Set in post–W.W. II Brooklyn, Elizabeth Gaffney’s wonderful, richly imagined novel When the World Was Young (Random House) cheers the power and resilience of a societybucking young woman. Jess Row sees the future in Your Face in Mine (Riverhead)—a provocative and exhilaratingly bold examination of race in America, where a white Jewish guy who feels black can undergo racial-reassignment surgery. Nick Davies further exposes indefensibly arrogant Rupert Murdoch’s spying in Hack Attack (Faber and Faber). Maximillian Potter sniffs out a vine-poisoning rogue in Shadows in the Vineyard (Twelve). Rick Perlstein’s The Invisible Bridge (Simon & Schuster) spans the fall of Nixon and the rise…

A PANOPLY OF ECCENTRIC BIOGRAPHICAL DATA RE: THE CULINARY WORLD’S BUSIEST C.E.O. Do not use the word “empire” to Danny Meyer: it makes the hair on his arms stand up, he says. He’s happy to be called a humble restaurateur, thank you very much—despite being the C.E.O. of Union Square Hospitality Group and founder of an almost indecent number of James Beard Award–winning and Michelin Star–earning New York City restaurants. A maestro of high-low dining, Meyer also conjured up Shake Shack, the ever-expanding hamburger-and-fries chain that now sates cravings from Saudi Arabia to Citi Field. After “minor[ing] in the study of trattorias” during college in Rome, he founded the now fabled Union Square Cafe, at the tender age of 27. Successive hits included Gramercy Tavern, Blue Smoke, and Eleven Madison…

AMERICA’S YOUNGEST-EVER U.N. AMBASSADOR NEGOTIATES PLAYDATES AND POWER Samantha Power, at 43 the youngest person to be appointed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations— it’s her first anniversary in the job next month—arrived at her lunch spot of choice, the unpretentious Crave Fishbar, in Midtown Manhattan, boxed in at the entrance by her wary security team, like some rock star. But she proved delightfully approachable, and perhaps her Irish roots account for her transparent warmth, a fierce articulate intelligence in support, a certain humor. “It’s good to get out of the office,” she said as if released for a while from the impossible cares of saving the world. “Guys,” said our friendly waiter. “I’m really hungry,” she announced, adding incongruously, “My husband loves this place because he hates white tablecloths.”…