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Shaun Usher
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Letters of Note: Volume 1: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience Kindle Edition

by Shaun Usher (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 344 ratings
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This spectacular collection of more than 125 letters offers a never-before-seen glimpse of the events and people of history—the brightest and best, the most notorious, and the endearingly everyday. Entries include a transcript of the letter; a short contextual introduction; and, in 100 cases, a captivating facsimile of the letter itself. The artfulness of Shaun Usher's eclectic arrangement creates a reading experience rich in discovery. Mordant, hilarious, poignant, enlightening—surprise rewards each turn of the page. Colorfully illustrated with photographs, portraits, and relevant artworks, Letters of Note is an instant classic.
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  1. Book 1 of 2
    Letters of Note
  2. Print length
    625 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Chronicle Books LLC
  5. Publication date
    May 6, 2014
  6. File size
    91456 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Shaun Usher is a New York Times bestselling writer from the United Kingdom and the curator of the hugely popular blog Letters of Note.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00IPYLUO8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Chronicle Books LLC (May 6, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 6, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 91456 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 625 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 344 ratings

About the author

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Shaun Usher

Shaun Usher

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Shaun Usher is the writer and sole custodian of the popular blogs listsofnote.com and lettersofnote.com. As a result, he spends much of his life hunting down letters and making lists of things he'd like to share. His first book, Letters of Note, was jointly published by Unbound and Canongate to widespread acclaim and has since become an international bestseller. Shaun lives in Manchester with his wife Karina and their two sons.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
344 global ratings

Customers say

Customers find the book interesting, unforgettable, and enjoyable to read. They describe the letters as lovely, fun, and wonderful for sharing with friends. Readers appreciate the writing style as personal, poignant, and eloquent. They say the book gives insight into history and allows a glimpse into moments in time.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

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ReadabilityLetter varietyWriting styleHistory
38 customers mention "Readability"34 positive4 negative

Customers find the book interesting and unforgettable. They say it's an enjoyable way to spend a little time, with personal insights and lovely brief glimpses into the lives of others.

"...However, the real letters collected in the book, are precious evidences of what really happened among some individuals at different times and..." Read more

"...coffee table to pick up when you just want something short and interesting to read...." Read more

"...about them, so it's easy to pick up and put down and enjoyable to come back to. You never know what will be next...." Read more

"...It’s a quick read if you want to read it from cover to cover. Or, you can skip around...." Read more

18 customers mention "Letter variety"15 positive3 negative

Customers find the letters interesting, lovely, and fun. They say the variety and breadth of the letters is wonderful.

"...But there are some letters of note here, and below are my personal choices, aka "unforgettables:"-..." Read more

"...It was a wonderful book with a variety of letters ranging from Charles Dickenson to Mick Jagger...." Read more

"Most letters were fascinating. Great variety in era and substance. Great bedside tome as you can read a few or many before lights out." Read more

"What a treat! The variety and breadth of the letters is wonderful. A treat for those who want to explore different aspects of life." Read more

12 customers mention "Writing style"12 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing style personal, poignant, and insightful. They say it's a great approach to a book of letters. Readers also appreciate the handwriting and images. They mention the letters are factual and give them insight into the mindset of many people over the years.

"Most history books, however epic, wisely written, in-depth or insightful, are inevitably macroscopic...." Read more

"...It gives you lots of insight into the mindset of many people over the years...." Read more

"...They impart timeless wisdom, familiar emotions of love, death, and humor. It’s a quick read if you want to read it from cover to cover...." Read more

"...marvelous if you're like me in that i find each letter still speaks eloquently to the moment it was written just as most remind me that the..." Read more

5 customers mention "History"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book gives insight into history. They say it's a glimpse into moments in time through the thoughts of real people.

"...very personal things in letters... like in a diary, and it gives insight into history. WELL worth the price...." Read more

"...I recommend reading this fairly quick read. It allows a glimpse into moments in time, where thoughts were assumed to be private and not written for..." Read more

"...It's history alive. I have deeply enjoyed it." Read more

"...It's a sneak peak at the past through the thoughts of real people." Read more

Great book, but damaged cover
2 out of 5 stars
Great book, but damaged cover
Absolutely love this book. I bought this for a gift, but the cover is dirty and scuffed. Really disappointed since I bought it new.
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Top reviews from the United States

Peter Chan
5.0 out of 5 stars Precious! Microscopic sights on history
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2020
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Most history books, however epic, wisely written, in-depth or insightful, are inevitably macroscopic. They mainly showed what nations, civilisations or people as a whole did or omitted to do.

However, the real letters collected in the book, are precious evidences of what really happened among some individuals at different times and occasions. They were individuals notable in the history, or though not famous in the history themselves but their words reflected some notable occasions of history. Well done. These letters provide precious microscopic sights of history, complementary to the other history literature.
2 people found this helpful
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Tswoodshop
5.0 out of 5 stars VERY interesting
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2020
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This is one of those books you set by your bed or on the coffee table to pick up when you just want something short and interesting to read. It gives you lots of insight into the mindset of many people over the years. People often write very personal things in letters... like in a diary, and it gives insight into history. WELL worth the price. Regardless of who you are, you will enjoy this book.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars easy to miss - a little gem
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2015
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I debated whether to give this 4 or 5 stars.
I certainly like it and have already recommended it to someone I know. "Love it" may be too strong, but many people will enjoy it. It is a series of letters and short introductions about them, so it's easy to pick up and put down and enjoyable to come back to. You never know what will be next. A letter from a child, from someone famous, to or from someone who would be famous or historically significant later? Will the writer be eloquent, or struggling with English? There was a letter from a child to a children's author, and from a young Fidel Castro to a U S President. There was a letter from one of the great names in music that was filled with personal details ( some very personal ) in a casual conversational style. There was a memorable letter from someone looking for a job...

If you keep reading material in the bathroom, this would fit. It's the sort of book many people would pass by, but would likely find enjoyable if they started to read it. It's not demanding ... you don't feel that you HAVE to see what's next right now, but it tends to draw you in. You can set it aside and come back at any time if pulled away by interruptions and distractions.
3 people found this helpful
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AL Adriano
3.0 out of 5 stars History is best judged by the letters of men who wrote them.
Reviewed in the United States on May 15, 2021
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This is a hefty book, as heavy as my old accounting textbooks. A necessary consideration, since some of the actual letters are showcased here. Not all of which are that noteworthy, though, thus the 3-star rating. But there are some letters of note here, and below are my personal choices, aka "unforgettables:"

- Jack the Ripper's letter, which came with a token of half a kidney preserved in wine
- E.B. White's inspiring letter to "wind the clock"
- Francis Carr-Gomm's letters to The Times concerning his hospital's guest, John Merrick (literally, the elephant in the room)
- A savvy application letter by one Robert Pirosh
- Virginia Woolf's unsentimental letter of farewell to her husband
- Jourdon Anderson's letter of response to his former slave master's letter asking him to return as a paid employee
- A teenaged Fidel Castro's letter to President Roosevelt, asking for $10 and offering to point out the locations of the iron mines of Cuba
- Two mothers' letters to The Founding Asylum, explaining why they had to give up their babies
- Katharine Hepburn's letter to Spencer Tracy, eighteen years after his death
- Charles Schultz's deadpan letter to a fan, acquiescing to her request to do away with an apparently unlikeable character named Charlotte Braun
- Yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus
- Three teenyboppers' desperate letter to President Eisenhower, asking him NOT TO TOUCH Sergeant Elvis Presley's sideburns
- Amelia Earhart's pragmatic letter to her groom, written the night before their wedding
- Convicted WWII deserter Eddie Slovik's futile plea to President Eisenhower
- Missionary and survivor of the first order Lucy Thurston's agonizing letter to her daughter, detailing her breast cancer surgery on a Hawaiian island, sans anaesthesia and antibiotics
- Emily Dickinson's cryptic letter to her sister-in-law
- Alec Guinness cheeky letter to a friend, with a jibe at the movie that would re-introduce him to a new generation, and which he was filming at the time the letter was written
- Flannery O'Connor's response to a pedantic professor's questions (insistence?) of allegories in her short story A Good Man is Hard to Find
- Slave owner Sarah Logue's letter to her former slave Jermain Loguen, chiding him for his escape but insisting on his return, and his fitting riposte
- Robert T. Lincoln's letter to a magazine editor, clarifying a curious coincidence involving the brother of the man who killed his father, Abraham Lincoln
- Alleta Sullivan's surprisingly composed letter to President Eisenhower, inquiring about her five drafted sons, who were rumored to have perished at sea
- The letter that will most likely make me read Slaughterhouse-Five is the writer Kurt Vonnegut, Jr's candid letter to his father immediately after his 5-month captivity by the Germans
6 people found this helpful
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Terry Tucker
5.0 out of 5 stars Familiar, Sad, Entertaining, Wisdom, Life’s Lessons
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2018
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This is a collection of 125 letters from the famous and some less so. They impart timeless wisdom, familiar emotions of love, death, and humor. It’s a quick read if you want to read it from cover to cover. Or, you can skip around. One of my favorites in this collection is a letter written by Katherine Hepburn to Spencer Tracy 18 years after he passed away. Brilliant collection!
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RSF
5.0 out of 5 stars Romp Through Historical Attic Sans Dust and Spiders
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2015
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I really enjoyed the collection. The book contained not just letters with which I was familiar, but also "off the wall" letters. For example, a letter from Queen Elizabeth to President Eisenhower dealing with a recipe, a letter from Hitler's nephew seeking to join the U.S. Army, a letter from the Elephant Man.
In several instances, Usher introduces the letter with its historical perspective. The actual letter is reproduced with a printed version. This is an especially appealing format.
In many ways this book is tantamount to visiting an historical attic and perusing the treasures hidden there without the dust and the spiders.
The book is a thoroughly enjoyable experience. . . and a lot of fun, also!
2 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed this peek into personal correspondence
Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2018
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Some of the letters were not interesting to me while others were fascinating and have nudged me to read more about the writers of those missives. I recommend reading this fairly quick read. It allows a glimpse into moments in time, where thoughts were assumed to be private and not written for general consumption or posterity.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Ana Faria
5.0 out of 5 stars Livro inspirador
Reviewed in Spain on November 25, 2021
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Livro inspirador. Adoro.
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marcelle
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting view on history
Reviewed in Brazil on March 16, 2015
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This book gives you a more private look into historical events and characters through the very personal reports and perspectives given on the letters. A must read.
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