Letters & Correspondence Books - Page 2

What I Know Now: Letters to My Younger Self

Ellyn Spragins

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 22 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

If you could send a letter back through time to your younger self, what would the letter say?

In this moving collection, forty-one famous women write letters to the women they once were, filled with advice and insights they wish they had had when they were younger.

Today show correspondent Ann Curry writes to herself as a rookie reporter in her first job, telling herself not to change so much to fit in, urging her young self, “It is time to be bold about who you really are.” Country music superstar Lee Ann Womack reflects on the stressed-out year spent recording her first album and encourages her younger self to enjoy the moment, not just the end result. “Your hair matters far, far less than you think,” is the wry advice that begins the letter bestselling mystery writer Lisa Scottoline pens to her twenty-year old self. And Maya Angelou, leaving home at seventeen with a newborn baby in her arms, assures herself she will succeed on her own, even if she does return home every now and then.

These remarkable women are joined by Madeleine Albright, Queen Noor of Jordan, Cokie Roberts, Naomi Wolf, Eileen Fisher, Jane Kaczmarek, Olympia Dukakis, Macy Gray, and many others. Their letters contain rare glimpses into the personal lives of extraordinary women and powerful wisdom that readers will treasure.

Wisdom from What I Know Now

“Don’t let anybody raise you. You’ve been raised.” –Maya Angelou

“Try more things. Cross more lines.” –Breena Clarke

“Learn how to celebrate.” –Olympia Dukakis

“You don’t have to be afraid of living alone.” –Eileen Fisher

“Please yourself first…everything else follows.” –Macy Gray

“Don’t be so quick to dismiss another human being.” –Barbara Boxer

“Work should not be work.” –Mary Matalin

“You can leave the work world—and come back on your own terms.” –Cokie Roberts

“Laundry will wait very patiently.” –Nora Roberts

“Your hair matters far, far less than you think” –Lisa Scottoline

“Speak the truth but ride a fast horse.” –Kitty Kelley

Love Letters of Great Men

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Editorial Review:

Remember the wonderfully romantic book of love letters that Carrie reads aloud to Big in the recent blockbuster film, Sex and the City? Fans raced to buy copies of their own, only to find out that the beautiful book didn't actually exist. However, since all of the letters referenced in the film did exist, we decided to publish this gorgeous keepsake ourselves. Love Letters of Great Men follows hot on the heels of the film and collects together some of history's most romantic letters from the private papers of Beethoven, Mark Twain, Mozart, and Lord Byron. For some of these great men, love is "a delicious poison" (William Congreve); for others, "a nice soft wife on a sofa with good fire, & books & music" (Charles Darwin). Love can scorch like the heat of the sun (Henry VIII), or penetrate the depths of one's heart like a cooling rain (Flaubert). Every shade of love is here, from the exquisite eloquence of Oscar Wilde and the simple devotion of Robert Browning, to the wonderfully modern misery of the Roman Pliny the Younger, losing himself in work to forget how much he misses his beloved wife, Calpurnia. 
Taken together, these letters show that perhaps men haven't changed all that much over the last 2,000 years--passion, jealousy, hope and longing still rule their hearts and minds. In an age of e-mail and texted "i luv u"s, this timeless and unique collection reminds us that nothing can compare to the simple joy of sitting down to read a letter from the one you love.

Jane Austen's Letters

Jane Austen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 15 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Terrible treatment of an important collection 2 out of 5 stars.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

I was looking for an unabridged edition of her letters, rather than a selection, and was thrilled to find this; then when I received it, I found it badly bound, the pages falling out as soon as I opened the book, badly typeset, with no footnotes or other explanatory material. The fault is my own, for not looking up the publisher beforehand; I will certainly avoid them in the future.

An Intimate Glimpse into the Life of Jane Austen... 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

1995's "Jane Austen's Letters" is Austen scholar Deirdre Le Faye's updated edition of R.W. Chapman's earlier collection. Le Faye includes additional Austen letters that have come to light since 1952 and, on the basis of context and additional scholarship, revises the order of the letters. Finally, Le Faye has updated Chapman's footnotes on providence and content.

"Jane Austen's Letters" constitute one of the major sources of information on the life of Regency romance writer Jane Austen, along with her published novels and a handful of short memoirs written by members of her extended family. These letters, which survived destruction or editing by her family following her death, cover the period between December 1796, when Jane Austen was just twenty, and the summer of 1817, when she died at the age of 41. The majority are addressed to her beloved older sister Casssandra; others were intended for extended family, friends, and publishers.

Some general observations may be of interest for the prospective reader. First, the collection is difficult to appreciate without prior knowledge of Jane Austen's life and novels; Austen was writing to people who already knew her context. Second, the gaps in the available letters, which in places amount to months or years, minimize the continuity of their content. Third, those looking for direct insight into Austen's novels may be disappointed. There are relatively few direct references to the stories or their characters.

What these letters do provide is an intimate glimpse into Jane Austen herself as revealed by an ongoing dialogue of twenty years, primarily with her sister. The very first letter refers to her romance with Tom Le Froy over the winter of 1795-1796. Many of the letters capture her continuing interest in the affairs of her large family, including cousins, nieces and nephews. They document daily concerns with food, clothing, and shelter for a woman who knew genteel poverty for much of her adult life. Indeed, letters written after her novels began to be published suggest a subtle but new and unmistakable sense of financial freedom. Best of all, the letters capture the observant wit and charm of a woman who, if she accepted her place in the world, found much that was ironic or whimsical about it. In her letters, one easily finds echoes of some of her beloved characters such as Elizabeth Bennet, Emma Woodhouse, and Anne Elliot.

Of particular interest to Jane Austen fans may be her letters of 30 November 1814 and 21 February 1817 to her niece Fanny, which offer her sincere advice on the subject of marriage, and perhaps reveal Jane Austen's heart as well. Also of interest are three letters by Cassandra Austen in July 1817, which are heart-breaking accounts of her final days and death.

"Jane Austen's Letters" are very highly recommended to serious fans of Jane Austen as an intimate glimpse into the woman behind the novels, and to students of her life, as an irreplacable resource for scholarship.

Editorial Review:

Excellent compilation of Jane Austen's letters.

Letters from the Earth

Mark Twain

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 43 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

STILL HAVE IT! 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I have a had an old paperback copy of this for 20 years now, so this copy is just a "newer version". I fell in love with MT as a result of this work that I originally read in 1984, and have not taken religion, or anything about it seriously since! It doesn't get any better then this!

Twain at its best 4 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

The book was published posthumously, and you immediately understand why by reading the first part, about Satan on holiday on earth, writing letters with his impressions of the place back to his pals in heaven. As with most collections, this one is a bit uneven, with several parts you may want to skip, or that have lost their appeal because of the different time we live in. Nonetheless, many of these pages represent Twain at its most ironic, penetrating, witty self.

Not the whole book. 2 out of 5 stars.
0 of 0 people found this review helpful.

I was disappointed when I received the book. Bernard Devos edited a collection of MT's late writings entitled _Letters from the Earth_, and that's what I expected. What I received was just those essays comprising "Letters from the Earth" that comprised a small part of the book. It did not include "Etiquette at a Funeral", "The Awful German Language", "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses", "On Repentance", and a number of other superb essays and stories.

Editorial Review:

Winner of the Kennedy Center's Mark Twain Prize in Humor. Nominated for 2001 Grammy for the Spoken Word.

Ulysses S. Grant : Memoirs and Selected Letters : Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant / Selected Letters, 1839-1865 (Library of America)

Ulysses S. Grant

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

A Masterpiece 5 out of 5 stars.
6 of 6 people found this review helpful.

This book is a must-read for any Civil War or American history buff. Grant's writing is consistently clear, elegant, beautiful. He gives an engaging account of his wartime experiences that are accurate to the best of his ability, and he writes with introspection and humility. The personal letters at the end of the volume reveal much about this fascinating man, and are a welcome addition. Please read this one! Another wonderful book in this series is the volume containing Frederick Douglass's autobiographical works.

Review of Memoirs of US Grant 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

General Grant's use of the English language is very interesting and informative. Absolutely a pleasure to read.

U.S. Grant in his own words... 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

U.S. Grant is often said to have been a failure at everything in his life except his marriage, war, and his memoirs. The latter, written as he was dying of throat cancer in 1884-1885, provide a straightforward account of his years in uniform during the Civil War.

Grant passes quickly over his Ohio boyhood and time at the United States Military Academy. His service in the Mexican War and his financial misfortunes out of uniform between the wars get only slightly more coverage. His story really begins with his return to uniform in 1861 as a commander of Illinois volunteers. The narrative follows Grant's campaigns in Missouri, Tennessee, Vicksburg, Chattanooga, his elevation to supreme command of the Union Armies, and the final grinding agony of the war in Virgina. The account ends with the cessation of hostilies in 1865.

Grant's memoirs are remarkable reading for a number of reasons. First, they provide insight into the first-rate military mind of a consistantly successful general. Grant's ability to determine the essentials of a situation and remain focused on them are evident. Second, the memoirs are a classic example of clear, simple, English narrative. Third, they display the considerable modesty of a naturally reserved man, a departure from the egotism often found in the personal memoirs of famous men. Grant himself continues to be something of a mystery to historians; these memoirs do not really lift the veil of his sense of privacy.

The Union Army of the Civil War had more than its fair share of politicians in uniform and politically-minded generals. Grant was not immune to spinning history his way; careful-eyed scholars have found more than a few instances where Grant remembered only part of the story or settled a few scores with old opponents. Nevertheless, Grant's memoirs are a valuable resource for understanding the conduct of the Civil War, not least because Grant became such a key figure in the winning of it.

Grant's memoirs are highly recommended to students of the Civil War, and to scholars seeking to understand the art of war in the midst of rebellion.

Editorial Review:

Grant wrote his "Personal Memoirs" to secure his family's future. In doing so, the Civil War's greatest general won himself a unique place in American letters. His character, sense of purpose, and simple compassion are evident throughout this deeply moving account, as well as in the letters to his wife, Julia, included here.

The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters

Charlotte Mosley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 13 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The Mitfords:Letters Between Sisters 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful.

A fascinating collection but too long -- also I feel likely of limited interest unless one is British, and was alive and aware of this family at the time these letters were writtten, otherwise too many explanatory footnotes would be necessary. Nevertheless, a rare glimpse into a period that was unique, and likely a surprising portrait of a family who lived, considering their place in upper-class English society, "outside the box".

Editorial Review:

The Mitford sisters were the great wits and beauties of their time. Immoderate in their passions for ideas and people, they counted among their diverse friends Adolf Hitler and Queen Elizabeth II, Cecil Beaton and President Kennedy, Evelyn Waugh and Givenchy.

The Mitfords offers an unparalleled look at these privileged siblings through their own unabashed correspondence. Spanning the twentieth century, the magically vivid letters of the legendary Mitfords constitute a superb social and historical chronicle and an intimate portrait of the stormy but enduring relationships between six beautiful, gifted, and radically different women.

The Selected Letters of Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder, 1956-1991

Gary Snyder, Allen Ginsberg

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Editorial Review:

One of the central relationships in the Beat scene was the long-lasting friendship of Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder. Ginsberg introduced Snyder to the East Coast Beat writers, including Jack Kerouac, while Snyder himself became the model for the serious poet that Ginsberg so wanted to become. Snyder encouraged Ginsberg to explore the beauty of the West Coast and, even more lastingly, introduced Ginsberg to Buddhism, the subject of so many long letter exchanges between them. Beginning in 1956 and continuing through 1991, the two men exchanged more than 850 letters. Bill Morgan, Ginsberg’s biographer and an important editor of his papers, has selected the most significant correspondence from this long friendship. The letters themselves paint the biographical and poetic portraits of two of America’s most important—and most fascinating—poets. Robert Hass’ insightful introduction discusses the lives of these two major poets and their enriching and moving relationship.

Letters to a Young Conservative (The Art of Mentoring)

Dinesh D'Souza

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 86 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The best-selling enfant terrible of the Reagan revolution offers advice to today's budding conservatives--the very people he sees as the true "radicals" of tomorrow

Dinesh D'Souza rose to national prominence as one of the founders of the Dartmouth Review, a leading voice in the rebirth of conservative politics on college campuses in the 1980s.

He fired the first popular shot against political correctness with his best-selling exposŽ Illiberal Education. Now, after serving as a Reagan White House staffer, the managing editor of Policy Review, and a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute and the Hoover Institution, he addresses the next generation in Letters to a Young Conservative. Drawing on his own colorful experiences, both within the conservative world and while skirmishing with the left, D'Souza aims to enlighten and inspire young conservatives and give them weapons for the intellectual battles that they face in high school, college, and everyday life. Letters to a Young Conservative also illuminates the enduring themes that for D'Souza anchor the conservative position: not "family values" or patriotism, but a philosophy based on natural rights and a belief in universal moral truths.

With a light touch, D'Souza shows that conservatism needn't be stodgy or defensive, even though it is based on preserving the status quo. To the contrary, when a conservative has to expose basic liberal assumptions to scrutiny, he or she must become a kind of imaginative, fun-loving, forward-looking guerrilla--philosophically conservative but temperamentally radical.

Among the topics Dinesh D'Souza covers in Letters to a Young Conservative:

Fighting Political Correctness

Authentic vs. Bogus Multiculturalism

Why Government Is the Problem

When the Rich Get Richer

How Affirmative Action Hurts Blacks

The Feminist Mistake

All the News That Fits

How to Harpoon a Liberal

The Self-Esteem Hoax

A Republican Realignment?

Why Conservatives Should Be Cheerful

More Letters from a Nut

Ted L. Nancy

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 31 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

What a nut 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 6 people found this review helpful.

Ted L. Nancy is such a card!

God bless his little soul, this is an amazing heart-warming novel. You should definitely read this.

Pretty Good 3 out of 5 stars.
3 of 4 people found this review helpful.

More Letters from a Nut was fairly funny. There were a few laugh out loud moments (like the inquiry as to whether the US Treasury was going to be putting Lincoln's bottom half instead of his portrait on the five dollar bill - gotta love that!) Overall, though, I thought the letters were too far fetched to even be slightly plausible - and being plausible (to a degree) is what makes a premise like this work.

I felt Paul Rosa's Idiot Letters was much funnier. I haven't read the first Letters from a Nut, though. Maybe it will be better...

Editorial Review:

Seinfeld.  For more than 33 million viewers, the Emmy Award-winning television show has become a Thursday night ritual.  Now, even though the show has ended, Jerry Seinfeld's distinct brand of humor can still be yours.  

Ted L.  Nancy's first book, Letters from a Nut, with an introduction by Jerry Seinfeld, now has more than 225,000 copies in print.  In More Letters From a Nut, master-prankster Nancy shares even more sidesplittingly funny letters he has written and the unbelievable true responses he has received.

The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967

Hunter S. Thompson, Douglas Brinkley

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 49 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

There's genius and prophecy in this book, it just takes a while to find. 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

This book, more than anything, collapses under its own weight. I genuinely enjoyed the read, but in retrospect there were too many times when I skipped to the end to see how much longer the book would go. With exhaustive editing it would be a formidable volume, but certain personal and business letters do no benefit to the collection as a whole.

It almost functions as an autobiography... almost. I have a much better understanding of the late Mr. Thompson now, and admire his unhinged style of correspondence, but could have gotten the same point from less letters covering the same period of time. Like any good punk rock band, the shorter the song the better.

The highest points are his moments of prophecy, which I will not ruin for those who plan to read this book. Hunter's ability to identify patterns and apply them to the political arena is astounding, and his observations on such are the best parts of the book.

This is a good read for a patient reader who is rabid about the godfather of gonzo.

Editorial Review:

Here, for the first time, is the private and most intimate correspondence of one of America's most influential and incisive journalists--Hunter S. Thompson. In letters to a Who's Who of luminaries from Norman Mailer to Charles Kuralt, Tom Wolfe to Lyndon Johnson, William Styron to Joan Baez--not to mention his mother, the NRA, and a chain of newspaper editors--Thompson vividly catches the tenor of the times in 1960s America and channels it all through his own razor-sharp perspective. Passionate in their admiration, merciless in their scorn, and never anything less than fascinating, the dispatches of The Proud Highway offer an unprecedented and penetrating gaze into the evolution of the most outrageous raconteur/provocateur ever to assault a typewriter.