The Spam Letters

Author Jonathan Land actually has running dialogs with spam writers, published in such prestigious places as New York Times and Entertainment Weekly, so it's not surprising The Spam Letters provides such a delightful package bringing all the dialogs to one place, under one cover. Land's favorite exchanges with spammers are a laugh a moment- and all too real - making The Spam Letters that perfect gift for the serious computer geek who 'has everything' but too much humor.

Jonathan Land has created a book similar to Paul Rosa's book Idiot Letters. I believe neither Rosa nor Land set out intending to create a book, but when their letters and emails, respectively, are combined into a single volume it makes for very entertaining reading. Land's correspondence with the Nigerian spammers is easily the most hilarious in the book because some of their responses to him are so over the top and incredible. But some of the shorter passages without a response show Land's remarkable creativity and wit; the e-mail about the Pirate-Americans is laugh out loud funny. Fun coffee table, train or bathroom book because you don't have to read it all at once. Will make you laugh every time.

If you've been lucky enough to catch Jon Land on cable, the BBC, or on NPR, you already know just how casually funny he can be. If not, this book is a great introduction and a must-read. Over and over, Land sets up over-the-top scenarios that arise from the most mundane of e-mail spam, then follows the situations through to their logical yet ludicrous conclusion. Some of the material in the book is also available from Land's website, thespamletters.com; however, I find the trade paperback to be much more portable and quicker loading.

This book is just too creative and too funny. I've read lots of humor books, but rarely have I laughed out loud as much as I have reading The Spam Letters.

The Spam Letters is an uproaringly funny journey into the twisted, and yet so acute mind of Jonathan Land.During the journey, one will find Jon's wit and contemporary humor employed against an often foreign, and clearly culturally incongruous spammer. With each letter, the reader is drawn in to Jon's side of an awfully unfair game, where the outcome is consistently known at the onset: Jon will make an ass of thethe opponent all for your enjoyment.Jon's creativity and tenacity have literally turned the lemons of spam into spammonade.Buy it, read it, revel in it, and then put it on your coffee table for you and your friends to enjoy!(...)