Lifetime Encyclopedia of Letters Revised and Expanded (Hardcover)

by Harold E. Meyer (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
The modern conundrum: while the art of letter writing is fast extinguishing, the need for expressive, impressive, appropriate letters is as great as ever. The result? A mortifying amount of miserable missives that sadly miss the mark. E-mail informality is all very well for one's sister in Toledo or one's colleague three cubicles down, but when one needs to promote a product or raise funds, seek a job or request a favor, effectively complain, apologize, or reprimand, or send a letter of condolence, the typically confident and competent achiever gets noodly in the knees. Write a thank-you letter? The prospective correspondent is suddenly busy cleaning his or her desk and organizing the office files.

All you really need is a template to show you the way, and that's where Harold Meyer's Lifetime Encyclopedia of Letters excels. There are 981 letters covering most every business or personal occasion, organized in 600 categories, and followed by a comprehensive index. From Declining Requests (subdivided into "Invitations," "Applications for Credit," and "Donations," among others) and Requesting Favors to Sympathy, Apology, and Thank-You notes, Meyer shows an array of approaches, discusses effective techniques for various intended results, and instructs you on which tone to pursue, depending on whom the letter is going to and what you're trying to achieve. The encyclopedia won't actually write the letter for you or affix the stamp, but it provides proven formats to help structure your thoughts, and smooth starter and closer sentences--typically the hardest to write--to jump-start your communication and end with style. --Stephanie Gold

Product Description
Celebrate universal letter writing week with this popular volume - over a million copies sold!

This comprehensive letter-writing reference can help anyone to write clear and effective correspondence for virtually every business or personal occasion. Whether it's answering a customer's complaint, welcoming a new employee, apologizing for a mistake, requesting a favor, or any other situation that calls for written communication, this complete, one-volume resource offers the precise letter that clearly expresses the proper tone and the exact message for any situation.

The new edition features more model letters on more subjects than ever before, with hundreds of new letters and over 70 new categories--almost 1,000 letters in all. For deciding what to say and how to say it in original letters, the Encyclopedia includes basic outlines for organizing thoughts into a strong message, plus opening and closing sentences for getting started and wrapping things up smoothly.

Topics covered include:
Asking favors and turning down requests
Getting and giving information
Making and answering complaints
Sales pitches and fundraising appeals
Job hunting, resignation, and termination
Congratulations and thank yous
Sympathy notes and condolence letters
Much more


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Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall Press; Rev Exp edition (June 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735200343
• ISBN-13: 978-0735200340
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.4 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,258,862 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Be careful, January 13, 2001

By A Customer

The business examples are, for the most part, useful and helpful, albeit very dry and canned. The sections on personal letters, however, are simply dreadful. Completely ignore the chapter on how to write a letter of sympathy or concern; it's obvious this man has never written such a letter or if he has, he is no longer friends with the correspondent.

If you choose to purchase this book, take it with a grain of salt and use your better judgement over one who has no creditials.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Missing most important section!, February 4, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Lifetime Encyclopedia of Letters (3rd Revised and Expanded) (Hardcover)

I was going to ask my employer for a raise this Monday and resorted to the Lifetime Letters book. I could not locate a section on earnings, promotion, raise, salary, wages, pay, increase, income, or simply, MORE. Nothing!!! Nothing at all on any of those subjects. Would this not be one of the most important letters every written in one's life? If your looking for information on how to ask for a wage increase, don't bother to look here.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent source of information, May 24, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Lifetime Encyclopedia of Letters (3rd Revised and Expanded) (Hardcover)

I use it every time I have to corresponde to our customers. It has helped me say what I did not know how to sometimes.