Customer Reviews

Funny Letters from Famous People

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I picked up this book, I thought the letters in it would be more ha-ha funny, or maybe unintentionally funny. Instead, I was treated to finely-constructed correspondences from politicians, authors, and entertainers. Some of my favorites: everything from Abraham Lincoln, Churchill's treatise on the unintended consequences of praying for rain, Bush The Elder's letter to the chairman of the Roach Bowl in Hawaii, Lewis Carroll's over-the-top apology for missing an appointment, everything by Mark Twain, groaners by Dorothy Parker and Carl Sandburg, and the exchange between Eddie Cantor and Florenz Ziegfeld.

Some letters are laugh-out-loud funny, but many are more subtle, understated, and dry. All display the wit and expressiveness of their authors. While I don't want to give up telephone and e-mail, I can see how these technologies have made the thoughtfully composed letter an endangered species.

So read this book and then get out some stationery and write a real letter!

very funny book that gives a glimpse into the lives of famous folks. a great read for a trip or to share with friends and family.

FUNNY LETTERS FROM FAMOUS PEOPLE by Charles Osgood,
the acclaimed broadcaster and humorist, is a humorous collection
of correspondence from politicians, writers and show business
figures--organized chronologically . . . there are contributions
from those you might expect, such as Groucho Marx and Bob
Hope, as well a surprising entry from George Washington . . . I
also got a kick from reading Dwight D. Eisenhower kvetch
to Mamie about Patton.

Some of the letters are actually quite touching; e.g., one
from an aging and convicted Oscar Wilde, as well as another from an
ailing but resilient Frederic Chopin . . . they appear to be written by
men trying to laugh in order to avoid crying.

Osgood's commentary also added to my enjoyment.

My only criticism: There are very few women represented in this
male-heavy collection.

Among the many passages that caught my attention were the
following:

* Truman was, of course, famous for his "plain speaking." He did not
suffer fools lightly, and he found a good deal of his job as president
to be a tremendous waste of time. In a letter to his sister in 1947,
Truman wrote: "All the President is, is a glorified public relations man
who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get
them to do what they are supposed to do anyway."

* As Elizabeth Dole's fame and power grew over the years, even to
the point of being-with her husband-a front-runner for George
Bush's choice of a vice president, Bob Dole was utterly undisturbed.
When she was appointed Secretary of Transportation, Dole
remembered, "There were a lot of stories and a lot of pictures taken.
I was always in the picture, but I was never identified. They said,
'The man on the left is the husband.' PEOPLE magazine took an
interest in Elizabeth, so a photographer followed us around and took
about three hundred pictures. They wound up using three, and one
showed us making the bed.

"Some guy out in California whose wife had read the story wrote
that he was now helping make the bed. He said, "Senator, I don't
mind your wife getting the job. She's well qualified. She's doing
good work. But you've got to stop doing the work around the house.
You're causing problems for men all across the country."

Dole wrote back:
"Buster, you don't know the half of it. The only reason she was
helping was because they were taking the pictures."

* From time to time throughout her illustrious career, Julia Child was
attacked by people she began to refer to as "food police"--those who
thought her recipes and culinary edicts were too high-fat and unhealthy.
One such attacker wrote asking why Child couldn't advocate healthy
foods in her books and television programs-after all, she'd been
seen in public eating a salad.

Julia sent her the following recipe for a healthy life:

Small helpings,
no seconds,
eat a little bit of everything,
no snacking,
have a good time,
and pick your grandparents!

I thought this was a good book with some interesting letters and letter excerpts in it, but I was not laughing at every letter. Some were pretty funny and had me laughing or chuckling, some were amusing, and some I just could not find the humor (maybe it is just me).

It is true we have lost the art of letter writing and I liked reading how people wrote letters in the past, using wording and language as an art form. I find it interesting that the letter writers in this book had the same kind of thoughts as we do today with a few exceptions due to culture and customs of the time.

I borrowed this book, and while it is a nice quaint collection of somewhat funny letters, I will not purchase it to keep in my personal library.

If you're looking for funny books, this is not one of them. This book should be entitled personal, intimate, casual (or other synonyms) of famous people, and it should be categorized under history. If you're looking for a glance into the lives of important people in US history (esp. politicians, writers and artists), this book is for you. Just don't bring it to the beach expecting to laugh. It received high ratings, so I read it (I couldn't get through the whole thing and just skipped around to the people I found most interesting) but was not impressed. I love humor and I'm a history grad student so I appreciate certain histories (though I did not expect to see them here), but this book was just not for me. Perhaps I'm being overly harsh b/c I was really excited about reading something funny. If you go into this expecting something different, maybe you won't be as disappointed, just don't expect to laugh.

Wow. Charles Osgood you, my friend, have done it again. This book is absolute dynamite, KA-POW! I am twenty two years old and many of my friends don't consider "Ozzie" to be "cool" or "hip". Well this book is physical evidence of the overwhelming sweetness that is "The Oz". The following is a quote from a letter written by Abe Lincoln (Yes, the President!) to his wife Mary Todd:
"Mary, I have recieved word that you have made a cuckold of me with the young man who trims our hedges. I am dismayed. I spoke to a large group of soldiers today but all through the speach thought of nothing but you lying in MY bed, orally gratifying the young lad, and then laughing about my mole over a snifter of brandy."
Need I go on?! This is just a sample of the hijinks "Ozwald P. Funny Man" packs into this small book. Do yourself a favor, read it today.