It can be difficult to know you're in a golden age. You might be too busy working. You might be too caught up in the hum of everyday life. You might live in Omaha. But here's a hint: there are usually a lot of white guys in bow ties smoking indoors.

The Golden Age of publishing was no exception. In today's New York Times Book Review, novelist and screenwriter Bruce Jay Friedman reviews The Time of Their Lives by Al Silverman, about publishing's best years, which he defines as from 1946 to the early 80s. (Bad boy book editors Morgan Entrekin and Gary Fisketjon just make the cut.) Granted, there were many great books published in those years, but there have been many published since. Maybe Friedman and Silverman are just old guys trying to mythologize their past, since it always looks good over your shoulder, the farther over the better. But maybe not. But you don't need hardcovers to have a golden age. When future historians look back, when will they place the golden age of blogging? Suck.com? Are we in a Golden Age of blogging? Will the likes of us never again this way come? Or has the wave crested and rolled back? Should we start smoking indoors in hopes of a chance at posterity? One For the Books [NYT Book Review]