Lists of Note
Shaun Usher
Humans have been making lists for even longer than they've been writing letters. They are the shorthand for what really matters to us: our hopes and aspirations; likes and dislikes; rules for living and loving; records of our memories and reminders of the things we want to do before we die.
Just as he did with Letters of Note, Shaun Usher has trawled the world's archives to produce a rich visual anthology that stretches from ancient times to present day. From Leonardo da Vinci's to-do list to Charles Darwin on the pros and cons of marriage or Julia Child's list of possible titles for what would later become an American cooking bible, Lists of Note is a constantly surprising A-Z of what makes us human. In its pages you'll find 125 lists with facsimiles or illustrations, including:
1. A shopping list written by two ninth-century Tibetan monks
2. A handwritten list of the BFG's favourite words by Roald Dahl
3. The 19 year-old Isaac Newton's list of the 57 sins he'd already committed
4. Galileo's list of the parts needed to build his telescope
5. Einstein's punitive list of conditions imposed on his first wife
6. 29-year-old Marilyn Monroe's inspirational set of New Year's resolutions
7. Martin Luther King's advice for black people starting to use buses
8. Johnny Cash's list of 'things to do today'
9. Michelangelo's illustrated shopping list
10. Advice for 'chick rockers' by Chrissie Hynde
And many, many more...
Product Details
About Shaun Usher
Reviews for Lists of Note
LAUREN LAVERNE
Observer
Lists of Note: 1. Splendid. 2. Addictive. 3. Sumptuously produced with interesting photos and facsimiles of actual lists
Independent
Dipping into it, with Usher's interesting notes and asides an amiable companion, is fascinating
Observer
Engrossing
Spectator
A deeply moving book that uses its carefully selected details of the minutiae of human life to paint a panoramic mosaic of how we behave, how we hope, how we cope, care, hate, cry and love
Big Issue
Endless dip-into fun
Woman and Home
Funny, tragic, brilliantly incisive, historic, lyrical, romantic and studiedly offensive, this stupendous compendium of letters ancient and modern is my book of the year. You will never tire of it
STEPHEN FRY
on LETTERS OF NOTE
A gloriously presented compilation
Financial Times on LETTERS OF NOTE
Open the pages of the anthology and the appeal is immediately obvious
Observer on LETTERS OF NOTE
The literary equivalent of a box of chocolates - bite-sized and pure addictive pleasure . . . The result is beautifully produced, with photographs and colour facsimiles of much of the correspondence
Sunday Times on LETTERS OF NOTE
A truly extraordinary reading experience
Big Issue on LETTERS OF NOTE
Quite literally the most enjoyable volume it is possible to imagine. Every page is a marvel
Spectator on LETTERS OF NOTE
It is hard to see how Letters of Note could ever be surpassed
Mail on Sunday on LETTERS OF NOTE
It is inspiring, and often sad, funny, and occasionally quite surreal
GQ on LETTERS OF NOTE
A wonderful collection of magical missives
Evening Standard on LETTERS OF NOTE
This wonderful volume features letters for the great and the good, including Mick Jagger, Roald Dahl - and the Queen, with her personal recipe for drop scones! Some are witty, some are wicked and others will move you to tears
Bella on LISTS OF NOTE
The volume is so well-produced it could become an heirloom, passed down through generations
Huffington Post on LETTERS OF NOTE
Witty, tragic, educational, inspirational
The List on LETTERS OF NOTE