Customer Reviews

Idiot Letters

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is one of the funniest books I've ever had the fortune to stubmble upon, it had me laughing out loud, which is quite rare. In his outrageous book Paul Rosa crafts numerous letters to corporations, from the perspective of an idiot. Also included in the book are the responses from the companies.

One of his letters is to the m&m company, in which he complains that their slogan "Melts in your mouth, but not in your hands" is discriminatory and insensitive to those who don't have one or more hands. He then goes on to explain how he lost his arms in an encounter with a grizzly bear, and suggests that they change their slogan to "Melts in your mouth but not in your hand(s) (if you have any)." Other examples are letters to:

McDonald's - Says he's been eating at McDonald's every day since he was a kid and now weighs over 600 pounds. He then wants to know if he should be concerned about his health.

Guinness Book of World Records - Claims to have carried his cat (Jesse) for years without ever putting him down, and wants to know if it's a world record.

Johnson and Johnson - Tries to sell his "invention", which consists of a three-pronged Q-tip, claiming that two swabs for each Q-tip aren't enough, and that using two is a waste, since he only uses one side of the second one ("saving the Q-tip seems barbaric"). He inlcudes a crude sketch of his idea and labels it "schematic"

What really endeared me to this charming book is that Paul Rosa is such a gifted writer, he has a certain way with words that makes reading his letters a delight (in one letter he emotionally writes "tears of joy are decorating my keyboard even as I type" to the manufacturer of Cat's Pride cat litter.)

Almost as funny are some of the responses he gets, although most are usually short and formal cookie-cutter repsonses. Nevertheless, it's satisfying to know that people actually read his ridiculous letters and had to dignify them with a response.

Refreshingly creative and witty, this book will have you smiling long after you've finished reading it.

Forget the small versions of Life's Little Instruction books that we all find in our friends bathrooms. This book will keep your guests in the powder room for hours! I have read this book to myself and to groups of people on an airplane. It is addictive. Paul Rosa has an incredible way of developing a character within the first two sentences of a short letter. You will want to introduce this book to everyone you know.

It is definately deserving of the top 50,000 Amazon.com ranking that it received! I would go as far as to put it in the top 40,000.

I found Idiot Letters when I worked at a bookstore (I'm not saying which). I first picked up the book thinking it was the latest in the Where's Waldo series. I read the book while I stood at the cash register. I laughed so hard and loud that I received many complaints from our patrons. After many disciplinary actions I was finally dismissed. I cashed my final paycheck and with my remaining $22.67 (after taxes), I ran to a competitor's bookstore and bought Idiot Letters immediately. I was in heaven! I spent the next 3 weeks isolated in my studio apartment. I would read each letter over and over, howling each time as if it were my first reading. But that's not the end of my story. Proceed to paragraph 2, my friends.

Since my purchase of Idiot Letters (about 3 weeks ago), my life hasn't been the same. I now speak and write in the same manner as Paul Rosa (albeit, not nearly as articulately). He has become my personal savior and in my house I have built a shrine in his honor. I have 2 dogs and a cat and I have named them Paul, Paulina and Rosie. Over-the-top fanaticism you ask? I think not.

If you're thinking of buying someone the perfect gift, apart from a Volvo Station Wagon (a very safe car indeed), I recommend Idiot Letters. This book won't disappoint. And by the end, you may find yourself writing your own "idiot letters" (or at least "idiot Amazon reviews").

I picked this up off a friends coffee table at a party and began laughing so hard that the flood of tears of comic euphoria began to drench the pages of the book. My wife struck a deal with me, put it down, and I could buy it the next day, which I did! This is the funnies thing I have ever read in my entire life (and I have read a lotta stuff). An absolute MUST have!

PS Paul, if you read this please send me an XL T-shirt!

I picked this book up just yesterday in the Humor section of a local bookstore while reading some Far Side comics. I didn't expect to read Paul C. Rosa's Idiot Letters much since I am a big fan of Larson's comics. However, I found myself reading letter after letter written by Paul on his "relentless assault on Corporate America." This collection of letters written by Paul during 1993 is an example of comedic genius. Paul Rosa wrote to a plethora of corporations that head various franchises/products. Each letter follows the same basic format -praise for the company/product, obscure questions/concerns, and finally a humorous closing of anticipation for a response. However, Paul makes each letter unique by addressing his humorous questions/concerns specifically to a company's product, or in the case of a letter to CITGO, an advertisement. Paul wrote a letter to the Consumer Relations departement of CITGO concerning an actual advertisement by company. In the advertisement, a Bald Eagle hovers, for the lack of a better term, over a CITGO station with its wings fully extended. The eagle is digitally made as large as the gas station and the advertisement reads (not accurate): "Get a ahold of the power" or something like that. Paul writes to the company as a idiot and expresses concern and fear of such a large animal flying over his home state of Colorado. He writes that he and his wife are both concerned and says he will take action if needed to protect himself and his family from this "monster". He mentions that he will use his gun however, "it'll take a canon to take this it down!" CITGO's response? Well, that's for you to find out by reading Idiot Letters.

In this accurately named compendium, Paul Rosa straddles the divide between "The Lazlo Letters" and "Letters From a Nut" with all the grace you would expect from a book titled "Idiot Letters." Rosa haunts the phone company urging more colored pages to promote cultural diversity, makes an earwax statue of Galileo as a potential museum exhibit, submits a lovely depiction of a horse to the Colorado Springs Fine Art Center (an organization that gets the joke and responds in kind gushing that "it is reminiscent of Picasso's later work at its very best"), solicits the Caterpillar corporation for a position as an entomologist (they declined, but actually scouted the local area's schools in an attempt to help him), and writes to a psychiatrist asking, among other things "are patients permitted to come to the office covered with cheese slices?"

By far my favorite two sets of letters are to the CITGO corporation, and to Oil-Dri, makers of premium cat litter. In the CITGO letter he claims to be terrified by a giant eagle in a CITGO advertisement (which he enclosed), and got a wonderful response that begins "Please put your fears to rest and your gun back in its holster. The giant eagles that have been appearing in our ads are well-trained and live in captivity so, barring an escape, they should never darken the skies over your Colorado ranch." The response goes on to say "In fact, those of us here at CITGO's headquarters enjoyed your comments so much, we shared your letter with more than 2,000 employees and guests at our recent distributor meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona."

The letter to Oil-Dri concerns the wonders of "Cat's Pride" kitty litter. Before the four letter exchange is concluded, Paul vows to name their firstborn after an Oil-Dri executive, reveals the connection between watching "Matlock" and kitty litter, and receives the following sentence in reply to a specific issue he brought up in letter three of the series: "Mr. Rosa, I have significant concerns about your obsession with the text on the back of the Cat's Pride packaging....After all, it's not as if the typical consumer places the package on the kitchen table and reads it as one does cereal packaging. I am concerned that you may be occasionally confusing our package with your Grape Nuts cereal. While Cat's Pride is a very fibrous product, I would not recommend that it be consumed on a regular basis." Brilliant on all accounts!

"Idiot Letters" is a pleasant and funny diversion, and Paul Rosa'a imagination does not disappoint.

Since I've been living in the U.S. just for 3 yrs or so from a different cultural background, I could hardly adapt for American jokes, but today I found the missing piece of my life here in the U.S.! I couldn't stop laughing at the bookstore where I found this book accidentaly, so I bought it to keep reading in my car in order to burst my big laughing. At the parking lot, every stop light, I couldn't stop reading. So I recommend this book for everyone, especially for those who are tired living in the different culture and hungry for laughing like me. This book makes my life lighter. I especially love the CITGO!

A high school friend purchased this book for me over 10 years ago, and it still brings me great joy! There is no way you can avoid smiling while reading this book, in fact I usually laugh out loud with my eyes watering! I highly recommend this book - it's a great gift for someone who needs to be "perked up" a bit!

What a book! I could hardly put it down long enough to eat! I can't even think of any other books! Buy this one, and another for your mother. Paul will appreciate it.

We think it, he wrote it. Bottom line...it is the funniest thing I've read in "business" communication. Paul Rosa did a wonderful job of writing some of the most inane and absurd letters to companies--some with similar ridiculous and absurd claims. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the letters, especially those where the sarcasm dripped from the pages. I only wish there were more of these books.