Customer Reviews

Letters from a Nut

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

When Jerry Seinfeld introduces Ted L. Nancy's Letters from a Nut you know it's not going to be just another humor book. The premise is simple: Nancy (is it Jerry Seinfeld? Or Jerry's former collaborator Larry David? Or does Nancy exist -- or is he really some very SERIOUS author having fun?) writes seemingly serious, off-the-wall letters to various companies and indivduals. Some of the funniest are to hotels. In a 1996 letter he writes to the Las Vegas Hilton, saying he has saved up a long time for an Elvis concert and wants to make reservations for the croaked King's Sept 1996 show. Sometimes (as in the Hilton's letter)he gets back a form letter ignoring his letter's contents. Or sometimes, such as when he writes a hotel asking if they found his lost tooth, they answer seriously...as does the Disneyland Hotel, when he writes and asks if he could check in with his own ice machine (the hotel says no). This is laugh-out-loud stuff that you won't be able to put down: a letter to Nordstrom asking to buy a mannequin that looks like his deceased best friend; a letter to the University of Alabama praising the CITY of Alabama, etc. In each case, the complete letter is shown plus the often puzzled response. One note: this is modern "ironic" humor which means the humor isn't in just reading a single letter. It lies in reading the letter and THEN the response (or seeing a nonresponse). Nancy writes even nuttier follow up letters. FOOTNOTE: There are several additional books in the "Letters" series and they are all wonderfully, incredibly nutty. I own all three.

This is a very funny book for a one time read. It's best on the coffee table as an ice breaker for people to pick up and take a gander at. Once they do they will start reading these letters and the replys to them out loud.
Ted L. Nancy writes letter's. He writes to EVERYONE! He writes to hotels, with special requests. Requests that are so outrageous, it's funny that he is actually taken seriously by them. He may ask if he can bring some of his own furniture with him, or if he can have special security because he looks "just like Abe Lincoln", and it's so close to President's day that he doesn't want to get mobbed. He writes to Pet food companies telling them he has a 28 year old dog, and has been using their brand,and would they give him advice for senior dogs. He writes to candy bar companies, suggesting new names for candies,baseball card companies saying he has Mickey Mantle's toenail clippings, and so much more.
In some cases the responses are funnier than the letters. Some will brush him off politley, saying there are no reservations for the day he wants to visit, or they maybe interested in his clippings, could he send a polaroid of them, some send coupons for 50 cents off the candy but are not interested in any new names.
You can open up to any page and get a good laugh. But don't read the last letter first!! Save it for the end.
It's not a book that you can read again right away,or from cover to cover, as some of the letters do get a little repetative, but if you know someone who is a little down or laid up and could use a good laugh this is perfect.
There is an introduction by Jerry Seinfeld, talking about how he "found" some of these letters on a freinds coffee table and thought they would make a great book. Do Ya think? Nah. He couldn't be. Could he?
Enjoy.......Laurie

for something different and funny:
Cousin Tina Disappears

This is a hilarious look at our culture. It is mischevious without being mean. It can be read aloud, and in short spurts. I confess that I am stopping on the way home tonight to buy stamps....watch out

Before I tell you what I think about this book, I'd like to address an older review for this book. The review I am referencing was a spotlight review, and the only thing it seemed to illuminate was the complete ignorance of the person who left the review. This reviewer gave this book two stars! And if that isn't incredible enough, he goes on to say that "Nancy doesn't have talent," as well as saying, "We can all write stupid letters, but if we can't catch the victim in our trap what's the use?"

What's incredible is by saying everyone can write "stupid" letters, he is including himself in the group. So He thinks he can write as well as Nancy does? HA! What he fails to realize is these letters aren't "stupid", but are in fact quite brilliant as they stretch the imagination way beyond the normal limits. But he is right about something: he is quite capable of writing stupid things, such as the review he left for this book. There is not a single thing in this world that everybody can do, least of all display genius on paper. Now, on to what I think of this book.

Very simply, this book is hysterical. If you enjoy the musings of a chaotic mind, then you will find this book very enjoyable. Ted Nancy is quite a character, and his letters reflect a certain brilliance. Anyone with a sense of humor will find this a highly memorable read. So what are you waiting for? Order it. But don't take my word for it, take all the people's word below me. They loved it, I loved it, and I have no doubt that you will love it also.

This is one of the funniest books I have read. It contains a collection of hilarious prank letters sent by a Ted L. Nancy (a probable pseudonym for Jerry Seinfeld). Matching the hilarity of the letters, however, are the equally ridiculous responses to them. At the moment, a television show is being developed by Seinfeld (again under the guise of Ted L. Nancy) which will display the marvelous wackiness of Mr. Nancy for a ... tube audience. It is difficult to imagine how this will transfer to the small screen. I recommend reading the Ted L. Nancy books instead.

All of the Ted L. Nancy books are hilarious but this first one may be the best one. Particularly funny is Ted's letter to the King of Tonga and the festive response and photo he received in return. Tonga would appear to be worth the trip if it is possible to hang out with the king. This book is packed with one ludicrous letters after another and every one left me howling with laughter. I loved this book. If you have a sense of humor, you will love it too.

Who is Ted L Nancy? Judging by this collection of correspondance, Mr Nancy is a man of many faces and restless feet. His ailments and physical traits are many and prone to change (soon he performs as Topps the Slender Giant, soon as Pip the Mighty Squeak, at times he suffers from combined narcolepsy and bed-wetting, at others he plainly wishes to travel in his Human Cheese costume); his hotel visits are numerous and ridden with perils (can he be allowed to bring his own soda machine? how about gambling in a shrimp costume? or trying to retrieve his prussian military swrod, abandoned in a Ritz Carlton restroom). He hawks ingenious product designs to corporations, and he salutes the Kingdom of Tonga and his old, old dog Cinnamon.

Whoever Ted Nancy really is, he is close enough to Jerry Seinfeld to solicit a short foreword from him, however superfluous and gratuitous it may be. And the fact that he is so shamelessly inspired in both deed and means of expression by the infamous Lazlo Toth is only almost as interesting as the fact that whereas Lazlo Toth in the 70ies had a political agenda (and apparently established something of a relationship with president Nixon among others), Nancy in the 90ies is strictly consumer- and showbiz-oriented. Also, the fact that Ted Nancy so often pushes the envelope a little too far means that his inquiries solicit less amusing responses than those of his predecessor.

Ultimately, this is a witty, sometimes outright funny companion to the Lazlo Toth letters, and well worth acquiring if you appreciate not-always-so-subtle practical jokes.

Just about every letter, and, perhaps more so, every response in this ingenious satirical swing at america's uptightness and utter cluelessness left me in tears I laughed so hard. The hilarious writing style of each of the letters, as well as the perfectly placed random interjections [ Fred! Dogs Bark! ] make this a masterpiece of up-all-night-reading-out-loud humor

"Letters From a Nut," though hilarious, are written with just enough of a straight tone so as to be taken seriously. (God knows, there are enough real "nuts" out there capable of such quirky eccentricities). The letters, and the responses to them, are great fun to read. As for Ted L. Nancy, I think he's simply a very clever, imaginative comic with the kind of twisted comedic bent I enjoy most. I've spread the word about this thoroughly entertaining book...my sister and a couple of friends have bought and enjoyed it, too. I'll look foward to the sequel that I hope will follow. Mr. Nancy, I think you're terrific!

If Ted Nancy is a psuedonym for Jerry Seinfeld or not, this book is by far one of the funniest I've read in a while. Absurd letters to hotels, casinos, airlines, and more... Look for letters like one to a casino regarding weather or not this "Mr. Ted Nancy" would be allowed to bring his own soda vending machine into his hotel room... or if Hanes Co. would be interested in a new 6-day pair of underwear invention with three leg-holes. Then read the serious responses from the companies he wrote to. Most fun to read out loud to friends. Steer clear of the one tedious chapter of "Thank You letters" but enjoy all the rest. Would Greyhound let a time-pressed actor wear his foam costume shaped like a stick of butter on board? Believe it or not... Yes! Definitely one you won't want to put down.