"The Spam Letters" Released by No Starch Press

No Starch Press releases "The Spam Letters"

For Immediate Release
Contact: Leigh Sacks, leigh@nostarch.com, 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
*Now Available*
ISBN 1593270321, July 2004, US $14.95 ($21.95 Cdn), 336 pp.
Available at fine bookstores everywhere, from www.oreilly.com/nostarch, or
directly from No Starch Press (www.nostarch.com, orders@nostarch.com, and
800.420.7240)
No Starch Press titles are distributed throughout the U.S. by O'Reilly
Media, Inc.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
The Spam Letters site: http://thespamletters.com
Sample chapter: http://www.nostarch.com/download/spamletters_ch5.pdf
Table of contents: http://www.nostarch.com/spamletters_toc.htm
Cover image: http://www.nostarch.com/spamletters_big.htm

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 technology, 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.

Jonathan Land is available for interview. To schedule an interview,
request a review copy, or for more information, contact Leigh Sacks
(leigh@nostarch.com, 415.863.9900)