Charles Osgood (1) (1933–2024)

This was one of those "candy" books, you know, the sort you nibble on from
time to time? I've always liked Charles Osgood. He's that
reporter/correspondent from CBS that always makes up poems in his reports.

This is a compilation of letters written by a wide variety of folks, from
Mark Twain to Groucho Marx, Fred Allen to Hermione Gingold, Chopin and
Mozart to Abraham Lincoln. Some are business letters, others are personal
notes to friends or relatives. I hadn't seen any of them in print before
and show more some of them are doozies. The book is filled with more chuckle provoking letters. I
really liked it. I'd give it a 5. show less

"Mildly Amusing Letters & etc." might have been a more appropriate title for this book. Some of them are truly laugh-out-loud amusing (Benjamin Franklin's 'Model of a Letter of Recommendation of a Person You Are Unacquainted With," Herbert Hoover's commiseration with a young correspondent about having to eat spinach at a White House lunch, Gustave Flaubert's brushoff of a persistent female, GBShaw's exchange of messages with Winston Churchill, Illinois Governor Adlai Stevenson's veto of a show more cat bill, etc.), but most of them simply bring a smile to the lips...if that. (Even some of the 'funny people's [Groucho Marx, Fred Allen]' letters aren't all that hilarious.) Not a complete waste of time, to be sure, but, in the long run, perhaps more appropriate selections might have been made. show less

Parts of this book are laugh-out-loud funny. Charles Osgood looked at compilations of letters by famous people and chose the best ones. I really enjoyed this book.

We've all heard Harry Truman's saying about if it's too hot to get out of the kitchen, well this book is full of the quips and anecdotes from presidential elections from Harry Truman through Bush II and some are just as memorable. McGovern is remembered for saying "Three things beat me. Dirty tricks, tapped phones, and I lost 49 states." The quotes ad stories are amusing and lighthearted.

My favorites that pertain to no candidates in particular are: Richard Harkness (newspaper commentator) show more "When it comes to facing up to serious problems, each candidate will pledge to appoint a committee. And what is a Committee? A group of the unwilling, picked from the unfit, to do the unnecessary. It all sounds great in a campaign speech." or humorist Caskie Stinnett's quote "take a second look at the candidate whose voice falters at the end of each page of his speech. He doesn't know, any more than you do, what's coming next."
On occasion we have had third party candidates that have added to the amusement. I liked the quote about Ross Perot. The National Review said "Ross Perot won't hire gays or adulterers for his administration. At last----a practical plan to shrink the size of the government." (Not my viewpoint, just an amusing quote.) show less