Description

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…

Publisher Review

Beautiful and immensely satisfying -- 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 * *