Love Letters of Great Men (Paperback)

by John C. Kirkland (Author)
Key Phrases: most remembered, Lewis Carroll, Mary Shelley, Kee Vos (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
When words of love do not come to you on their own, then read these letters. Complete, actual love letters of great men like Lord Byron, John Keats and Voltaire. Leaders like Henry VIII, George Washington, and Napoléon, who wrote to his beloved Joséphine, 'I awake consumed with thoughts of you...' Artists like van Gogh, Mozart, and Beethoven, who famously penned, 'Though still in bed, my thoughts go out to you, my Immortal Beloved...' Dozens of intimate letters, coupled with over a score of period illustrations. Plus fascinating biographies, and insights into the couples' relationships-how they got there, the obstacles they faced, and what happened next. Poet warriors, from the first through the twentieth century, including: Ovid, Sir Walter Raleigh, Goethe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Leo Tolstoy, Victor Hugo, Shelley, Robert Browning, Edgar Allen Poe, Mark Twain, Lewis Carroll, Pierre Curie, George Bernard Shaw, Jack London, Admiral Peary, Woodrow Wilson, and many more.

About the Author
John C. Kirkland is an attorney, author and adventurer. He earned his bachelors degree from Columbia University in the City of New York and his legal degree from UCLA. Practicing corporate securities law in Beverly Hills, California, he travels the world seeking adventure from being fed fugu by a geisha in Tokyo, to knife hunting for wild boar on Haleakala. He has driven a dog sled across the Arctic Ocean, dived with sea turtles in the Mediterranean Sea, and pulled a Nile crocodile from the Gombe River, but mostly he just sits around in his hot tub drinking Château Margaux.

Product Details

• Paperback: 138 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (May 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1438257244
• ISBN-13: 978-1438257242
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,395 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All the love letters from the "Sex and the City" movie and more!, August 4, 2008

By	Lisa Connelly (Charlotte) - See all my reviews

I have seen the "Sex and the City" movie several times. This book has all the love letters that Carrie and Big read each other in the movie. It looks to me like the book that Carrie reads in bed. Maybe the book was just inspired by the movie, which came out the same day. Either way, this book is very beautiful and romantic.

I especially enjoyed learning the details of each writer's life. It's amazing how passionate some of our greatest leaders really were. I also love the illustrations, which make me feel like I'm going back in time.

My favorite letter was from John Keats, who (I learned from reading the book) died from consumption at the tender age of 26. While separated from his true love in his dying days, he wrote:

"You could not step or move an eyelid but it would shoot to my heart--I am greedy of you--Do not think of any thing but me. Do not live as if I was not existing--Do not forget me--But have I any right to say you forget me? Perhaps you think of me all day.

"Have I any right to wish you to be unhappy for me? You would forgive me for wishing it, if you knew the extreme passion I have that you should love me--and for you to love me as I do you, you must think of no one but me, much less write that sentence. Yesterday and this morning I have been haunted with a sweet vision--

"I have seen you the whole time in your shepherdess dress. How my senses have ached at it! How my heart has been devoted to it! How my eyes have been full of tears at it! Indeed I think a real Love is enough to occupy the widest heart--Your going to town alone, when I heard of it was a shock to me--yet I expected it--promise me you will not for some time, till I get better. Promise me this and fill the paper full of the most endearing names."

Amazing, heartbreaking, wonderful! Have to stop now, and go read it again

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Can't stop reading it, July 28, 2008

By	Big Carrie Fan (Columbus, OH) - See all my reviews

Throughout history, words of love have been invoked by the finest of our men. Words drawn from the core of their soul, and shared with the women they loved most deeply. This book has many such letters, including all of the love letters from the Sex and the City movie, and so much more.

Men of Battle
Warriors, sovereigns and leaders of men, who loved as intensely as they fought. Men like Henry VIII, George Washington, and Napoléon, who wrote, "I awake consumed with thoughts of you. Your image and the memory of the intoxicating pleasures of last evening have left my senses in turmoil. Sweet, incomparable Josephine, what a strange effect you have on my heart. "

Men of Vision
The most gifted artists, composers and musicians. Men like van Gogh, Mozart, and Beethoven, who famously penned, "Be calm, only by a calm consideration of our existence can we achieve our purpose to live together--Be calm--love me--today--yesterday--what tearful longings for you--you--you--my life--my all--farewell. Oh continue to love me--never misjudge the most faithful heart of your beloved...
ever thine
ever mine
ever ours"

Men of Words
Poets, playwrights and novelists. Men of letters like Lord Byron, John Keats and Voltaire, who inscribed to his fiancée, "I am a prisoner here in the name of the King; they can take my life, but not the love that I feel for you. Yes, my adorable mistress, tonight I shall see you, even if I have to put my head on the block to do it."

Every letter is followed by a fascinating biography, including insights into the couple's relationship--how they got there, the obstacles they faced, and what happened next. There are also many beautiful period illustrations, which really give you a feel for the time the letters were written.

Not limited to one era, there are letters from the first century through the twentieth century. Not just obscure poets and writers, but true leaders from all areas of human endeavor. Not just excerpts, but complete love letters from some of history's greatest men, including:

Ovid
Sir Walter Raleigh
Goethe
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Robert Browning
Edgar Allen Poe
Mark Twain
Lewis Carroll
Pierre Curie
George Bernard Shaw
Jack London
Admiral Peary
Woodrow Wilson
Lord Byron
John Keats
Voltaire
Henry VIII
George Washington
Napoléon
van Gogh
Mozart
Beethoven

This book fully delivers on the promise of the Sex and the City movie, and more

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sex and the city book, December 20, 2008

By	C. grant (Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Was what I was looking for, some of the phrasing seem to be altered. Little pricey for a soft cover, but if you want it bad enough (especially if your SATC fan wants it) you will pay it anyway, which I did.