Funny Letters from Famous People

by Charles Osgood

Book Overview

In this humorous collection of celebrity wit, acclaimed broadcaster and humorist Charles Osgood offers witticisms penned by luminaries ranging from Abraham Lincoln to Andy Rooney. Known for his clever... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 076791175X
• ISBN13: 9780767911757
• Release Date: April 2003
• Publisher: Broadway Books
• Length: 228 Pages
• Weight: 0.71 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

The lost art of letter writing

When I picked up this book, I thought the letters in it would be more ha-ha funny, or maybe unintentionally funny. Instead, I was treated to finely-constructed correspondences from politicians, authors, and entertainers. Some of my favorites: everything from Abraham Lincoln, Churchill's treatise on the unintended consequences of praying for rain, Bush The Elder's letter to the chairman of the Roach Bowl in Hawaii, Lewis Carroll's over-the-top apology for missing an appointment, everything by Mark Twain, groaners by Dorothy Parker and Carl Sandburg, and the exchange between Eddie Cantor and Florenz Ziegfeld. Some letters are laugh-out-loud funny, but many are more subtle, understated, and dry. All display the wit and expressiveness of their authors. While I don't want to give up telephone and e-mail, I can see how these technologies have made the thoughtfully composed letter an endangered species. So read this book and then get out some stationery and write a real letter!

A Gold Mine Of Humorous Letters

There is always something audacious about reading other people's letters. You have the feeling that you are secretly looking into the soul and mind of the letter writer without his or her knowledge. Unfortunately, in today's age of emails, television, and every other modern day distraction, we have little time or the patience for the letter writing that was quite prevalent years ago. Luckily for us, many letters written by famous people have been saved, providing a virtual gold mine of information pertaining to these individuals. Gleaning through these letters, you will also discover a great deal of humor as evidenced in Charles Osgood's collection Funny Letters From Famous People. One of the difficulties of publishing this kind of a book is to decipher hundreds of letters before deciding which ones to include in a book that has as its principal objective humor. Osgood, who is the anchorperson of CBS News Sunday Morning, succeeds admirably in his presentation of letters written by politicians, authors, artists and show business personalities. We can't help but have a good chuckle reading the letters of Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Groucho Marx, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, John F. Kennedy, Eugene O'Neill, Charles Dickens, and many more. As an example, an extract taken from one of Chopin's letters to his friend Julien Fontana pertaining to Chopin's health describes how awful he feels after contacting a cold and goes onto to say that three doctors examined him. The first doctor said he was going to die, the second indicated that he was actually dying and the third told him he was dead already. In another letter, American short story writer and novelist John Cheever and his wife Mary were asked by their friend Josephine Herbst to take care of her cat Delmore. After several years, Cheevers writes to his friend to recount his experiences with the cat. He tells of how the cat used the Kleenex box as a place to "dump a load," and unfortunately for Cheevers, who had a cold at the time, used one of the tissues to wipe his nose. Cheevers goes on to recount that he took Delmore to the kitchen door and dropkicked him into the clothes yard. I hope animal rights activists will not come knocking on Cheevers' door! This is a wonderful collection of humorous letters to meander through, as it adheres to the often -quoted adage "laughter is the best medicine." Norm Goldman Editor of Bookpleasures.com

Humorous collection that was also touching

FUNNY LETTERS FROM FAMOUS PEOPLE by Charles Osgood,the acclaimed broadcaster and humorist, is a humorous collectionof correspondence from politicians, writers and show businessfigures--organized chronologically . . . there are contributions from those you might expect, such as Groucho Marx and BobHope, as well a surprising entry from George Washington . . . Ialso got a kick from reading Dwight D. Eisenhower kvetchto Mamie about Patton.Some of the letters are actually quite touching; e.g., onefrom an aging and convicted Oscar Wilde, as well as another from anailing but resilient Frederic Chopin . . . they appear to be written bymen trying to laugh in order to avoid crying.Osgood's commentary also added to my enjoyment.My only criticism: There are very few women represented in thismale-heavy collection.Among the many passages that caught my attention were the following:* Truman was, of course, famous for his "plain speaking." He did notsuffer fools lightly, and he found a good deal of his job as presidentto be a tremendous waste of time. In a letter to his sister in 1947,Truman wrote: "All the President is, is a glorified public relations man who spends his time flattering, kissing, and kicking people to get them to do what they are supposed to do anyway." * As Elizabeth Dole's fame and power grew over the years, even tothe point of being-with her husband-a front-runner for GeorgeBush's choice of a vice president, Bob Dole was utterly undisturbed.When she was appointed Secretary of Transportation, Doleremembered, "There were a lot of stories and a lot of pictures taken.I was always in the picture, but I was never identified. They said,'The man on the left is the husband.' PEOPLE magazine took aninterest in Elizabeth, so a photographer followed us around and tookabout three hundred pictures. They wound up using three, and oneshowed us making the bed."Some guy out in California whose wife had read the story wrotethat he was now helping make the bed. He said, "Senator, I don'tmind your wife getting the job. She's well qualified. She's doinggood work. But you've got to stop doing the work around the house.You're causing problems for men all across the country."Dole wrote back:"Buster, you don't know the half of it. The only reason she washelping was because they were taking the pictures." * From time to time throughout her illustrious career, Julia Child wasattacked by people she began to refer to as "food police"--those whothought her recipes and culinary edicts were too high-fat and unhealthy.One such attacker wrote asking why Child couldn't advocate healthyfoods in her books and television programs-after all, she'd beenseen in public eating a salad.Julia sent her the following recipe for a healthy life:Small helpings,no seconds,eat a little bit of everything,no snacking,have a good time,and pick your grandparents!

funny and touching

very funny book that gives a glimpse into the lives of famous folks. a great read for a trip or to share with friends and family.

Charels OzGOD!!

Wow. Charles Osgood you, my friend, have done it again. This book is absolute dynamite, KA-POW! I am twenty two years old and many of my friends don't consider "Ozzie" to be "cool" or "hip". Well this book is physical evidence of the overwhelming sweetness that is "The Oz". The following is a quote from a letter written by Abe Lincoln (Yes, the President!) to his wife Mary Todd: "Mary, I have recieved word that you have made a cuckold of me with the young man who trims our hedges. I am dismayed. I spoke to a large group of soldiers today but all through the speach thought of nothing but you lying in MY bed, orally gratifying the young lad, and then laughing about my mole over a snifter of brandy." Need I go on?! This is just a sample of the hijinks "Ozwald P. Funny Man" packs into this small book. Do yourself a favor, read it today.