The Spam Letters [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"It is all thigh-slappingly funny." -- About This Particular Macintosh (www.atpm.com), October 2004

"Land brings an incisive wit and acerbic irony to the task of actually responding to common spam e-mails ... consistently funny" -- Orlando Weekly, August 12, 2004

"Land is clearly a witty and clever man, and his replies throw a spotlight on spammers and their wares." -- Applelust.com, July 2004

"Land's missives display wit and style" -- The Washington Post, July 25, 2004

"Puts even the likes of Hunter Thompson and the late Ken Kesey to shame… a real trip." -- The Chicago Tribune, The LA Times, November 13, 2004 http://www.latimes.com/technology/chi-0411130196nov13,0,705725.column

"The Spam Letters will warm the cockles of your heart." -- Alaskan Apple Users Group, August 2004

"an amusing read." -- NetworkWorldFusion, July 2004

"the first funny thing I've ever seen about spam" -- Mike Wendland, Detroit Free Press, August 6, 2004

Very funny. The author has an odd but admirable sense of what I like to think of as appropriate absurdity. -- Oakland Perl Mongers, August 2005 (http://www.metaart.org/opug/reviews/nostarch_spam.html)

Product Description

From the man behind TheSpamLetters.com – featured in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, and Slashdot – comes a collection of brilliant and entertaining correspondence with the people who send out mass junk emailings (a.k.a. spam). Compiled from the nearly 200 entries written by Jonathan Land, The Spam Letters taunts, prods, and parodies the faceless salespeople in your inbox, giving you a chuckle at their expense. If you hate spam, you'll love The Spam Letters.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: No Starch Press; 1st edition (June 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593270321
• ISBN-13: 978-1593270322
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,170,715 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #77 in	Books > Business & Investing > Marketing & Sales > Marketing > Telemarketing
  #83 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Business & Culture > Humor

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A book for people who hate spam, July 19, 2004

By A Customer

If you get angry when inbox fills with unsolicited messages - pick up this book. Each "letter" starts with real spam - followed by a comical reply.

The "spam letters" treat each offer as a godsend, fulfilling some outrageous need of a twisted individual. This book is laugh out loud funny. Each letter is a rollercoaster of humor.

Sometimes the spammers even reply....

This is a funny book.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Turning the tables on spammers, August 16, 2004

By	Meryl K. Evans "Content Maven behind meryl.net" (Plano, TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The book is based on Land's Web site of the same name, spamletters.com, which I discovered a few years ago and submitted a letter. In each letter, the original letter is presented along with Land's creative and hilarious reply to the spammer.

That's what Land has been doing, replying to spammers, and in some cases, the spammers have written back and those are included in the book. He takes on the role of lawyer, doctor, pastor, casting director, and woman (Joan). He produces works of fiction (don't tell anyone) and for once, spam is fun instead of an aggravation.

If the book is based on the Web site, why should we read the book? Here are the reasons:

1. There are many letters; it's difficult to read more than a few online.
2. It's great reading material away from the computer and the Internet.
3. Laptops don't handle beach sand, ocean water, or other exotic locales very well.
4. After a lousy day at work, who wants to get on the computer at home? Get a good laugh with the book instead.
5. The book organizes the letters by topic and you can see which ones have replies from the spammers.
6. A book doesn't make your legs go numb like a laptop on your lap while in the bathroom.
7. No downloading time involved!

You can try before you buy by going to the Web site and reading the letters. Also, check the table of contents. Bet you've many of them. Take out your spam frustrations by reading Land's retorts. Those who like reading humor books will enjoy this one, it's one-of-a-kind.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Idiot Letters of the Internet Age, August 27, 2004

By	Lori L. Baur "truelori" (Northeastern U.S.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Jonathan Land has created a book similar to Paul Rosa's book Idiot Letters. I believe neither Rosa nor Land set out intending to create a book, but when their letters and emails, respectively, are combined into a single volume it makes for very entertaining reading.

Land's correspondence with the Nigerian spammers is easily the most hilarious in the book because some of their responses to him are so over the top and incredible. But some of the shorter passages without a response show Land's remarkable creativity and wit; the e-mail about the Pirate-Americans is laugh out loud funny.

Fun coffee table, train or bathroom book because you don't have to read it all at once. Will make you laugh every time.