No Starch Press to release "The Spam Letters"

No Starch Press to release "The Spam Letters"

For Immediate Release
Contact: Leigh Sacks, leigh@nostarch.com or 415-863-9900

THE SPAM LETTERS:
Humor book that fights spam, one email at a time

San Francisco, CA - "The Spam Letters" is a collection of humorous,
entertaining correspondence (and some bewildering replies) to people who
send out mass junk e-mailings (a.k.a. spam). One part traditional book of
letters and one part short stories, author Jonathan Land invents an entire
cast of characters in his attempts to beat spammers at their own game.
Reading his dialogues is almost as rewarding as ridding spam from your
inbox. If you can't beat them, you may as well have fun at their expense.

Jonathan Land began "The Spam Letters" as a pet project to amuse friends
and Web onlookers. After considerable media coverage (Entertainment
Weekly, The New York Times, and Slashdot, among others) Land's pet project
grew to gigantic proportions. Land (an accomplished stick figure artist)
decided to send his manuscript off to join the literary circus, where such
freaks of nature rightfully belong. William Pollock, founder of No Starch
Press, couldn't resist publishing the book because it kept him laughing
out loud. "I recall letting loose a few guffaws about 2 am", says Pollock.
"I wanted to read more and loved the idea of putting this all in print. Of
course, what I'd really like to do is use the book as a kind of club to
hit spammers with, but it's not a lead-lined hardcover book."

"The Spam Letters" tackles everyone's spam favorites, from cheap Viagra
solicitations to the enticing get rich quick lures of Nigerian con men.
All enter Land's crosshairs and are dealt with in warped and imaginative
ways.

"The Spam Letters" itself is not a solution to spam woes and it won't
reduce the amount of spam anyone receives (though the book does provide
some tips for reducing spam). Still, it provides some sort of cathartic
alternative to simply hitting delete or sending an unfruitful "PLEASE DO
NOT E-MAIL ME AGAIN" message to the people who send you this garbage.

THE SPAM LETTERS
by Jonathan Land
ISBN 1593270321, May 2004, US $14.95 ($21.95 Cdn), 336 pp.
Available at fine bookstores everywhere in May
To order from the publisher: visit www.nostarch.com, email
orders@nostarch.com, or call 800-420-7240

*Request your review copy now (shipping in May), or contact
leigh@nostarch.com for advance materials*

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The Spam Letters site: http://thespamletters.com
Table of contents:
http://nostarch.com/frameset.php?startat=spamletters_toc
Cover image: http://nostarch.com/frameset.php?startat=spamletters_big

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Besides poking fun at spammers, Jonathan Land is also an accomplished
stick figure artist and a participant in the experimental musical group
Negativland. Born and raised in New York City, he now lives across the
Hudson with his girlfriend Jill and their three cats, two guinea pigs, and
one bunny. The cuteness of the small mammals helps offset his overwhelming
negativity. He receives about 400 pieces of spam a day.

ABOUT NO STARCH PRESS
Since 1994, No Starch Press has published unique books on computing, with
a focus on Open Source, security, hacking, web development, programming,
gaming, and alternative operating systems. Our titles have personality,
our authors are passionate, and our books tackle topics that people care
about.

For more information, or to request a review copy or schedule an
interview, contact Leigh Sacks at leigh@nostarch.com or 415-863-9900