A review by kimabill
Letters of Note: An Eclectic Collection of Correspondence Deserving of a Wider Audience by Shaun Usher

4.0

This collection of letters was really interesting and touching. It made me wish that people still wrote letters - I know, I know, this is an old person thing to say - but there is something really magical and moving about these handwritten or typed and printed out letters. Some of them were really sad, like Mary Stuart's letter that was written when she knew she was about to be executed, or the South Pole explorer whose series of letters written as supplies were running out and death getting nearer were addressed "To my widow." Some letters were chilling, like the cable sent from a sinking Titanic or the memo that was prepared in the event that the moon landing was a failure and the president would have to make a statement that Armstrong and Aldrin were being left in space. Some made me want to stand up and applaud, like letters from former slaves to the former masters or the one from Francis Crick to his son at boarding school right after he discovered the double helix shape of DNA. There were letters that made me cry in their sweetness and choke up in their sadness. And a lot of them made me laugh out loud - like Steve Martin's wacky form letter he sent to fans where he filled in the blanks with strange and random things and the one from Dorothy Parker complaining about how annoyed she was with her stay in the hospital as she was being treated for exhaustion. She complains about an annoying kid who runs down the hallway jangling keys and a nurse who keeps mispronouncing things and says "see you anon" when she leaves the room. Dorothy Parker writes, "I have not shot her yet. Maybe Monday."

There are so many other gems in this book. A few of the letters got a little long and tedious, or were about people I wasn't really interested in. But for the most part, the letters are short and poignant and really enjoyable to read. I recommend this one to all.