Rating: 
Summary: Super Keen
Review: This book is very funny -- sledgehammer premises ("I glued my hand to a vase, etc); but with perfectly precise wording.
Rosa writes from the perspective of a naive someone who is amazingly! as enthusiastic about consumer products and their advertising as Corporations pretend to be. This must lead the Corporate letter readers to wonder "is this person really stupid enough to believe our hype? Hmmmm." Brilliant premise played out with sledgehammer and razor wit. If you like "is this guy serious???" humor, you'll love this.
Rating:
Summary: Super Keen
Review: This book is very funny -- sledgehammer premises ("I glued my hand to a vase, etc); but with perfectly precise wording.
Rosa writes from the perspective of a naive someone who is amazingly! as enthusiastic about consumer products and their advertising as Corporations pretend to be. This must lead the Corporate letter readers to wonder "is this person really stupid enough to believe our hype? Hmmmm." Brilliant premise played out with sledgehammer and razor wit. If you like "is this guy serious???" humor, you'll love this.
Rating:
Summary: Get this book if you want to laugh!!
Review: This is one of the funniest books I've ever had the fortune to stubmble upon, it had me laughing out loud, which is quite rare. In his outrageous book Paul Rosa crafts numerous letters to corporations, from the perspective of an idiot. Also included in the book are the responses from the companies.One of his letters is to the m&m company, in which he complains that their slogan "Melts in your mouth, but not in your hands" is discriminatory and insensitive to those who don't have one or more hands. He then goes on to explain how he lost his arms in an encounter with a grizzly bear, and suggests that they change their slogan to "Melts in your mouth but not in your hand(s) (if you have any)." Other examples are letters to: McDonald's - Says he's been eating at McDonald's every day since he was a kid and now weighs over 600 pounds. He then wants to know if he should be concerned about his health. Guinness Book of World Records - Claims to have carried his cat (Jesse) for years without ever putting him down, and wants to know if it's a world record. Johnson and Johnson - Tries to sell his "invention", which consists of a three-pronged Q-tip, claiming that two swabs for each Q-tip aren't enough, and that using two is a waste, since he only uses one side of the second one ("saving the Q-tip seems barbaric"). He inlcudes a crude sketch of his idea and labels it "schematic" What really endeared me to this charming book is that Paul Rosa is such a gifted writer, he has a certain way with words that makes reading his letters a delight (in one letter he emotionally writes "tears of joy are decorating my keyboard even as I type" to the manufacturer of Cat's Pride cat litter.) Almost as funny are some of the responses he gets, although most are usually short and formal cookie-cutter repsonses. Nevertheless, it's satisfying to know that people actually read his ridiculous letters and had to dignify them with a response. Refreshingly creative and witty, this book will have you smiling long after you've finished reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Get this book if you want to laugh!!
Review: This is one of the funniest books I've ever had the fortune to stubmble upon, it had me laughing out loud, which is quite rare. In his outrageous book Paul Rosa crafts numerous letters to corporations, from the perspective of an idiot. Also included in the book are the responses from the companies. One of his letters is to the m&m company, in which he complains that their slogan "Melts in your mouth, but not in your hands" is discriminatory and insensitive to those who don't have one or more hands. He then goes on to explain how he lost his arms in an encounter with a grizzly bear, and suggests that they change their slogan to "Melts in your mouth but not in your hand(s) (if you have any)." Other examples are letters to: McDonald's - Says he's been eating at McDonald's every day since he was a kid and now weighs over 600 pounds. He then wants to know if he should be concerned about his health. Guinness Book of World Records - Claims to have carried his cat (Jesse) for years without ever putting him down, and wants to know if it's a world record. Johnson and Johnson - Tries to sell his "invention", which consists of a three-pronged Q-tip, claiming that two swabs for each Q-tip aren't enough, and that using two is a waste, since he only uses one side of the second one ("saving the Q-tip seems barbaric"). He inlcudes a crude sketch of his idea and labels it "schematic" What really endeared me to this charming book is that Paul Rosa is such a gifted writer, he has a certain way with words that makes reading his letters a delight (in one letter he emotionally writes "tears of joy are decorating my keyboard even as I type" to the manufacturer of Cat's Pride cat litter.) Almost as funny are some of the responses he gets, although most are usually short and formal cookie-cutter repsonses. Nevertheless, it's satisfying to know that people actually read his ridiculous letters and had to dignify them with a response. Refreshingly creative and witty, this book will have you smiling long after you've finished reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Dillweed! This book is the best!
Review: What a book! I could hardly put it down long enough to eat! I can't even think of any other books! Buy this one, and another for your mother. Paul will appreciate it.
Rating:
Summary: Not a Dillweed! This book is the best!
Review: What a book! I could hardly put it down long enough to eat! I can't even think of any other books! Buy this one, and another for your mother. Paul will appreciate it.
Rating: 
Summary: Hysterical Thorughout, But Loses Point for Going Overboard
Review: What do you get when you cross a typewriter with a stand-up comedian who obviously has too much time on his hands? This hilarious book by Paul Rosa, which features a collection of over two dozen prank letters he sent out to various corporations, including Mars, ABC, and Victoria's Secret. The joke was inspired by an overly polite, but contrived form letter from Pizza Hut asking with the concern of an elderly distant relative why he hadn't visited one of their establishments recently. One line leapt out at him ("You're the type of customer we'd like to see of more often.") and this prompted him to write a response back to Pizza Hut asking: well, what type of customer *wouldn't* you like to see of more often? Pizza Hut actually wrote him a serious response (!!), and the rest, as they say, is history. Rosa then went on to write scores of bizarre, ridiculous, and zany letters to various companies in a mission to break the Form Letter Barrier-- that pesky habit of corporations who on the one hand claim to care for their customers, yet on the other hand show their caring in the shape of an automated response.
The funniest thing about this book is the level to which Rosa was willing to pester certain companies unwilling to deal with him. Rosa not only becomes a pest in his mission, he brings the very idea of pest to a whole new level. Didn't get a response to that letter sent to ABC with a Forrest Sawyer joke? Then write back again as a wounded child who'd spent *hours* pulling it together, with the help of your father. Then write back again if the previous letter still didn't get answered, threatening to no longer watch ABC kids programming. Never received a reply from the company who you pitched one of your brilliant product ideas to? Then write back again as a belligerent Korean War veteran appalled at the lack of respect you've been given after serving your country. Miffed that Quaker Oats refused to answer your question about whether Wilford Brimley eats oatmeal or not? Then ... oh, forget it-- I don't want to spoil it for you. It's just too obnoxious and funny, like the rest of this book.
As much as I enjoyed Letters from an Idiot, however, I have to say that Rosa's humor is an acquired taste. It tends to be a little over the top, wacky and exaggerated, filled with silly parenthetical comments (about several per letter) and vivid imagery (like hemorrhoids the size of golf balls). Sometimes it works-- and you laugh till the tears fall-- and other times you wish he'd toned it down a notch, because after awhile, the letters become too obvious that they're from a prankster. (In fact, some of the letters become so obvious that a few of the companies respond with snarky letters of their own trying to match wits with the author.) Other than this little flaw, I thought the book was hilarious, and is a perfect companion to another "prank letters" book, Letters from a Nut. Five stars from me, but with a star taken off for the over-exaggeration.
Rating:
Summary: Hilarious! Where's the sequel? Where's my T-
Review: Whenever I tried to explain this book to friends, they justlooked at me like I had three heads. "Somebody wrote letters toElmer's, pretending to be stuck? Sure sounds funny to me," they would reply. Well, then I would show it to them, and then they realized just how darn funny letters to Quaker and Mayo Clinic could be! You can even donate money for the preservation of old trees and stuff in Connecticut! A very worthwile cause, believe me. Buy this book if you enjoy laughing at all!
Rating: 
Summary: He's no Lazlo!
Review: While this collection of letters has some amusing moments, anyone who knows and loves Lazlo will be hard pressed not to compare the two, and Rosa comes up the paler of the two.
Still, it is worthwhile and there are some laughs.
Rating:
Summary: Hillarious book
Review: Who ever thought letters to various corportations could be so funny. I never did. I came across this book a couple of years back and completed it within hours of purchasing it. My favorite letter is the one to US West, when Rosa alleges that the white and yellow pages have racist overtones.
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