- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Da Capo Press Inc; New edition edition (1 Aug 1994)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 030680607X
- ISBN-13: 978-0306806070
- Product Dimensions: 20.9 x 13.7 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,635,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Description
Product Description
No personage is too big, no nuance too small, no subject too far out for Grouchos spontaneous, hilarious, and ferocious typewriter. He writes to comics, corporations, children, presidents, and even his daughters boyfriend. Here is Groucho swapping photos with T. S. Eliot (I had no idea you were so handsome!); advising his son on courting a rich dame (Dont come out bluntly and say, How much dough have you got? That wouldnt be the Marxian way); crisply declining membership in a Hollywood club (I dont care to belong to any social organization that will accept me as a member); reacting with utmost composure when informed that he has been made into a verb by James Joyce (Theres no reason why I shouldnt appear in Finnegans Wake. Im certainly as bewildered about life as Joyce was); responding to a scandal sheet (Gentleman: If you continue to publish slanderous pieces about me, I shall feel compelled to cancel my subscription); describing himself to the Lunts (I eat like a vulture. Unfortunately the resemblance doesnt end there); and much, much more. That mobile visage, that look of wild amazement, and that weaving cigar are wholly captured, bound but untamed, in The Groucho Letters.
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My Favorite Picture Producer was at our house for dinner the other night and each year he eats progressively louder. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
My Favorite Picture Producer was at our house for dinner the other night and each year he eats progressively louder. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
You either like him or can't stand him, there is no in between. So it is with this book. I read this many years ago and very much enjoyed the wit and humour, one of my wives somehow got custody of it when we divorced and once owning it has subsequently slipped gently from my memory. Only recently when I was looking through Amazon's catalogue of books, cd's etc. did I come across Groucho's name and was reminded of the book. I searched Amazon for it and joy of joys, found it available. Reading it again I noticed what I missed before, Groucho having trouble in his life just the same as the rest of us. You can feel the distaste he has for some things and it seems strange from memory, not having noticed this side of the book and his writings, previously. However, above all this Groucho comes up trumps with his wit and great sense of fun. Reading it this time there is no longer a big belly laugh for me but a good giggle and broad smile is always near the surface, a good buy and a very, very enjoyable read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is one of the funniest books ever written and once you start reading you will be unable to put it down.
An obvious inspiration for subsequent letter books such as the Henry Root letters and if you like that type of reading material get the original and best!
An obvious inspiration for subsequent letter books such as the Henry Root letters and if you like that type of reading material get the original and best!
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
19 reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful
The Absolute Best Book on Groucho
8 Dec 2002
Format:Paperback
This classic collection of Groucho Marx's correspondence, which was donated to the Library of Congress, at their request, gives the best glimpse into who Groucho Marx was. Not only do we see his letters to his family and friends, who included some of the century's most famous people, but we get to see what people wrote in return. Groucho's personality and wit shine through, and these letters are a rare treasure.
With little formal education, Groucho could construct a letter better than most people with college degrees. He shows himself as witty, acerbic, sometimes sentimental and, yes, often grouchy. The book starts off with his infamous exchange with the legal department at Warner Brothers, who claim they own the rights to the movie title "Casablanca." Groucho responds that, perhaps, since the Marx Brothers were famous before the Warner Brothers, that perhaps they owned the rights to use "Brothers"?
We see Groucho's exchanges with many of his friends, but not much between the brothers themselves, since they were almost always together and there was no need of correspondence. We see Groucho's complaints and his praise. The most memorable part of the book is Groucho's legendary correspondence with the poet, T.S. Elliot. Groucho is clearly in awe of the poet, who seems equally in awe of the comic. It takes several years for this predecessor of the modern "Email friendship" to become a "real life friendship" when Groucho and his wife fly to London to meet "Tom" and his wife. We find out about the evening via a letter Groucho sent to another person. We also see a letter where Groucho mourns T.S. Elliot's passing.
This collection of letters is never out-dated, and never becomes boring. There is always something to read, somewhere in the book. It is not a book that you will read, then forget about. It's an amazing, historical collection of wit, sarcasm and genuine tenderness that is essential to any humor library.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
It loses one star because I want more!
13 July 2001
Format:Paperback
For some, a criterion of great art is: it makes you feel creative. Reading Groucho's letters makes one look around for pen and paper.
It is a pity Groucho Marx's prose isn't better known, because it was quite good. He found a voice all his own, with due influence or inspiration from Robert Benchley and, most certainly, S.J. Perelman.
This collection of letters ranges from warm and teasing, to wry and satirical, to scathing (a section entitled "Short Shrift" showcases letters designed to sting and fly away, like a wasp). Yet throughout, Marx's wit is belied by a language that is literate and witty but uses an ordinary vocabulary. They reflect the man himself, who had a third-grade education and hit the books in later years. His willingness to address himself to unknown corporate officers, well-known politicians, or to put on a major film studio work the way much of Groucho's humor worked: he comes from the level of the ordinary person, caring not a whit for ceremony or status; and he is willing to talk circles around just about anybody, to their vexation and our delight.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
This book will cure what ails you!
17 Dec 2002
Format:Paperback
I received this book after major surgery some years back and Groucho's wit really helped pick up my spirits and take my mind off of my body. This was one of the best gifts that I've ever received and I'm pleased to see that it's back in print. If you could have a dinner party and invite any historical figures that you wanted, wouldn't Groucho be on the list? This collection of his intimate correspondence is the next best thing.
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