David Letterman Books

If you like books about adventure then you should read "The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of School" by Ken Derby.
The book takes place in Kansas City and New York. It is about Tony, Mo, Anna, and Mr. Gore. Ever since Tony can remember he has been watching The Late Show and wanting to be on it .Now he has the chance to get invited to the show. So he goes with his teacher and friends on an escapade but Tony, Anna, and Mo get lost. Do Tony and his friends find their teacher? Does he get to be on The Late Show? You just have to read this book to find out.
I would recommend this book because it is interesting and funny .I give this book4 stars because many exciting things happen.

This book is funny. My teacher is making us read 5 books but by far this is my favorite. Tony ( the "funny man" ) seems to always find a way to soak his teacher. You will love his lists at the end of each chapter. IMPORTANT: READ! IS VERY FUNNY!!!

Have you every messed up the first day of school with 10 good ways? We think that you should definitely read this book!! The way we felt about this book was that it was very funny and interesting. We give it five stars because it is a hilarious book. We recommend this book to all ages because it can cheer you up when you are feeling down. This awesome book is guaranteed to make you laugh.

Book review by: Lauren, Vaness, and Rebecca

The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of School

Do you like comedy books? If so, The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of school written by Ken Derby is for you. Tony Madison, (Tony Baloney or TB) Anna, Mo, and Mr. Gore are the main characters. The 3 (not including Mr. Gore) are always getting into trouble. They really bug their teacher. TB stops at nothing to get on The Late Show with David Letterman. One day on Halloween, he wears a bear suit at the Chiefs/Jets football game. Pretending to go to the restroom, TB, Anna, and Mo, sneaks down to the field to get a football autographed by a professional player. He runs out on the field, and runs away from the people on the field. He scores a fake touchdown. Will it make him famous? Will he make it to the Late Show? You'll just have to read and find out for yourself in the book The Top 10 Ways to Ruin the First Day of School. We recommend you to read this book, because it was good and no boring parts all the way through the entire book. That's why we give the book 5 out of 5 stars.
By: Jake, Robert, Nathan, Tyler

THIS IS A EXELENT BOOK I BOUGHT IT OF OF OUR SCOLASTIC BOOK OREDER THING AS A JOKE TO MY TEACHERS AND SAID"ILL USE THIS STUFF NEXT YEAR" THEN I READ IT AND I LOVED IT!!!!! IT IS HALARIOUS WHEN HE GETS INTO LOTS OF TROUBLE AND THINKS OF WAYS TO GET OUT OF IT I DONT THINK I SHOULD TELL YOU ANYMORE OR IT WILL SPOILL THE BOOK THANKS FOR READING MY REVIEW
AND ALSO I AM WAY KOOLER THAN YOU AND BETTER!!! JUST KIDDING

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My 11 Year old daughter is telling me what to write here:

This book is very funny! The book starts with Tony wanting to get on the David Letterman show. Tony writes some top 10 lists and sends them into David Lettermans show hoping that David will read them and invite Tony onto the show. Here is an example of one of the Top 10 Lists:

The Top 10 ways to ruin the 1st day of 5th grade:

10. Wear your pajamas to school instead of your favorite jeans and T-shirt.

9. Tell the rest of the class what a dork your teacher is when he is standing behind you.

8. Notice that your fly is down... After you have been in class for 3 hours!

7. Rush into the restroom, drop your pants, sit, and realize your in the wrong restroom.

6. Sneeze, and accidentally blow boogers all over your teachers desk.

5. Fall asleep in class and dream you are using the toilet.

4. Enjoy playing building blocks on the 1st day of school, only to wonder why you are a giant compared to the rest of the kids in the class.

3. Drop your lunch bag into an unflushed toilet.

2. Eat beans the night before the first day of school.

1. Get your foot stuck in the toilet in the boys restroom and then have to get rescued by the 911 guys.

That is a sample of what you will find in the book. David Letterman is surprised by how funny the lists are and invites Tony on the show. I wont tell you anymore cause I will give it all away, but you will enjoy the book if you read it!

Very satisfied. Thanks for the excellent service. Cheers!
- Steve B., Librarian

What a great book! This book compiles a list of all of the great Hoosiers. I was even suprised to discover Indiana natives that I never knew about. The book is informative and has a great looking cover. I'm going to give several for gifts this holiday season.

I was thoroughly entertained and captured by this book. Furthermore, I was thrilled to receive such a large and handsome hardcover book. Everyone should give a copy to every Hoosier they know!

This book is the most exhaustive study of Indiana natives available today. Written in the same conversation style that he uses in his newspaper column, Nelson Price relates the "rise to fame and fortune" stories of many familiar personalities. And to receive such a terrific hardcover book for this price is almost criminal. Everyone should buy a copy today!

Alas, the book 'Indiana Legends: Famous Hoosiers from Johnny Appleseed to David Letterman' does not offer a definitive answer to this article's title question: What is the definition of a Hoosier? Kevin Kline's recent film 'In and Out', set in the not-so-mythical Greenleaf, Indiana, had a scene near the conclusion where the teacher of the year was trying to deliver a speech with the same title, only to get interrupted before giving the answer. Perhaps the answer contained in this book is not so much a dictionary-style answer, but rather the collective experience of people such as those represented in this book.

The author, Nelson Price, has been a reporter for the Indianapolis Star and News newspapers, the state's largest papers, for over 15 years. Born in Indianapolis, educated at Indiana University, he is a fifth generation Hoosier; his great-great-grandfather arrived in the state just about the time of Indiana achieving statehood. Thus, if anyone has background qualification for producing such a text as this, it would be Price.

Indiana is well represented in the history of the American nation. Three presidents: William Henry Harrison, his grandson Benjamin Harrison were Hoosiers, and Abraham Lincoln claimed substantial Hoosier influence in his backgrounds. Other historical figures in the country's political and historical development include John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed), George Rogers Clark, Tecumseh, Frances Slocum, Robert Owen, Eugene V. Debs, Wendell Willkie, and Dan Quayle (eek!). Indiana has in fact had five vice presidents, including Schuyler Colfax and Thomas Marshall.

Little known fact: Reggie Miller and Jane Pauley were both diagnosed with ailments in their childhoods that would have ruled out most any productive role in adult life, Pauley with nervous disorders, and Miller with a crippling childhood disease.

Hoosiers in Hollywood and the performing arts include Cole Porter, Hoagy Carmichael, James Dean, Steve McQueen, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden, Clifton Webb, Red Skelton, Carole Lombard, John Mellencamp, Florence Henderson, David Letterman, Michael Jackson, Crystal Gayle, Shelley Long, Joshua Bell and Twyla Tharp. Writers and artists include Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Robert Indiana (could have guessed that, right?), Jim Davis (of Garfield fame), T.C. Steele, James Whitcomb Riley, Booth Tarkington, and Theodore Dreiser.

Famous business people have included Madame Walker (the first self-made black millionaire), Eli Lilly, the Studebaker family (yes, the cars), the Ball brothers, and J. Irwin Miller, all known not only for their entrepreneurial spirit, but also their philanthropic drive. The Lilly Endowment is one of the largest in the world today.

Little known fact: `Go West, Young Man!' is a phrase coined by an Indiana newspaper reporter.

Indiana is also the state of Ryan White, the child AIDS activist whose name became familiar all over the world. It is home Sandi Patty, the gospel singer, and Jane Pauley, the television journalist. It is the birthplace of the fashion designer Bill Blass and the childhood home of Halston. It is the home of sex research Alfred Kinsey and the gangster John Dillinger. It is the home of journalist Ernie Pyle and publisher Eugene Pulliam. It is the birthplace of high flyers Orville and Wilbur Wright (now, there aren't too many states in the nation where a family would have both an Orville and a Wilbur, don't you know...)

Indiana wouldn't be Indiana without sports, particularly basketball, and boasts such legends as Larry Bird, Bob Knight, Oscar Robertson, George McGinnis, and Bobby Plump. Racing goes without saying, too, in Indiana, and the names such as Bettenhausen, Andretti, and Gordon are legendary in the sport. Mark Spitz, Kurt Thomas, Doc Counsilman, Jaycie Phelps, Don Mattingly, and Knute Rockne are other well-known names in the sporting world.

Little known fact: Carl Fisher, the founder of the Indianapolis 500, took his fortune to found Miami Beach, Florida, where he died penniless.

So, you now have a perhaps overblown sense of who comes from Indiana. So what?

Perhaps the best thing about this book is to give a sense of pride of place to native Hoosiers. I am a firm believer that knowing one's personal history is very important, and this includes a sense of the place where one is born and raised. There is, among my acquaintances who have come from elsewhere in the world to live here, a decided reluctance to admit the term `Hoosier' applies to themselves. For the longest time, I thought that no one actually comes from Indiana, or that perhaps Indiana is a good place to be from, but not a quality to be valued. Nelson Price's book is somewhat of a revelation in that sense, in that it shows the great diversity of persons in a wide range of human endeavours who were born in or had significant residence in Indiana. Once, Steve Martin made a comment describing a place as `nowhere, USA', and he picked a town in Indiana. Perhaps Indiana is somewhat distant from the `centre of all things', be that New York, Los Angeles, London, wherever one might choose. However, perhaps its critics are a bit too harsh on the state, and the history of this relatively small place needs to be re-examined, not least by those who reside here.

Little known fact: William Henry Harrison built a plantation as a Governor's Residence in Indiana, and called it Grouseland.

The Hoosier state is richer in history than might at first meet the eye. Nelson Price's book puts in small, journalistic-style stories, accessible narratives of the people who make up this history, past and present. This would make a great gift to anyone who lives in Indiana, who is moving to Indiana, or has a significant Indiana experience in the past.

Little known fact: A large number of astronauts have come from Indiana, and those who were not Hoosier natives often have a Hoosier connection - education from Purdue University, renowned for engineering.

This is a coffee-table book. Wonderful pictures of people past and present, good print production and nice formatting make this a pleasant volume to read.

The self-proclaimed "lovely and talented" author has managed to include more than 60 wide-ranging topics in 70 brief letters which are educational, political, strange, inspirational, topical, weird, crude, and/or outrageous. All letters include the author's unique, creative, and off-center sense of humor. David Letterman would do well to invite this author to his show.

- Saucy
- Simple
- Scintillating
- Sincere
- Sexy
- Side-shaking
- Sinister

.....all the above and more!

Do not miss it.

Need time alone in a small locked room. Take this book with you. You will soon find relief. Outrageous situations reminiscent of Groucho & Co. combined with the wry understatemnt in the style of Will Rogers make this an entertaining read. An ancient tennis player lofts his balls of ribaldry into David Letterman's court. However, none of the letters was ever sent which is probably just as well for the sanity of the postal employees. Nor can we imagine Dave or his writers replying with anything funnier. Occasional eccentrics charge about in the letters, writing a few themselves. All that seems missing is someone strutting across the scene in a long tail coat firing a pistol while a stuffed and stuffy Mae Oliver gasps in astonishment.

From before the days of Worldwide Pants and the Top Ten List, this book is a collection of the best of Late Night with David Letterman from the early to mid 80's. Monologue jokes, comedy segments, Larry "Bud" Melman, viewer mail and the bookmobile lady are all here and as funny as ever. This book is full of pictures (some in color) and cartoons and includes the words and lyrics to Paul Shaffer's hit "Yeah!". A must for fans who have been watching Letterman since the beginning.

Believe it or not, I read this book and I truly believe it is a masterpiece...I laughed, I cried, I recalled old memories of the Chapter house.....socials, pledging, and other fun things young men like to do.....all brtohers should read this captivating tale, besides, we always tell pledges "David Letterman is a brother"...now you can learn something about the man behid the name....

In Hoc, Morton

Had this book since 1996 and it's great. Dorothy Letterman has added several if not one major asset to my house-cleaning chores and that is her (actually her friend Pat Foster's) "Homemade Window Cleaner" concoction. For over 11 years I have tried to find something in stores to top hers and today once again I have cleaned my windows with Dorothy's "recipe". My windows are absolutely spotless without any harsh chemicals. Entire book worth reading...she's a pip just like her son or should I say now I know where he got his sense of humor from.

This cookbook is as much fun to read as anything! The recipes weren't what I would ordinarily make, because they were mostly family home cooking that might be more specific to what each person was raised with. However, the reading part of it was so cute and gave a lot of explanations as to why the recipes were special. It was also a glimpse into the life that Dave was raised into. It was deligtful

The recipes here, clearly presented (and some photographed) as the real thing for down-home Midwest cooking, are, in my opinion, not the most valuable feature of this book. After all, literally many hundreds of other cookbooks are available.

This cookbook reminds me of Lance Armstrong's book, It's Not About the Bike. In other words, Dave's mom's book is, in my opinion, not mainly about the recipes. Instead, its primary value is that it opens a wonderful window on a charmingly (almost angelically) gracious woman, her children and husband, her beautifully wholesome, decent values, and the Indiana town in which David Letterman was fortunate to have been raised. Some of the photos could almost be Norman Rockwell paintings -- innocent, smiling faces, a delightful come-on-in kitchen with family photos on the refrigerator door.

In short, Dave's mom, Dorothy, shows us how we might wish every kid could grow up, and (sort of, if you leave out some sugar and white flour here and there) how every kid should be able to eat in a near-ideal world.

Photos of five-year-old Dave and his older sister, photos of Dave's mother as a beautiful child and radiant young mom, photos of Dave playing baseball in grade school -- these along with his mom's innocent and wholesome comments, are alone worth the price of the book.

I loved this book partly because my wife and I spent a few years in Dave's part of the US, and partly because my Utah-farm mom and Oklahoma-farm dad raised me and my sister in a similar modest house with similar home cookin' made from similar recipes.

This book will have you wanting to make Dave's mom's meatloaf and cherry pie, so you and your family can dig into it while nostalgically placing yourselves in the clean-cut, simpler times in the small-town America we are in danger of permanently losing.

What makes this cookbook so nice is that David Letterman's mother is a real down to earth person. Her recipes and those she collected for the book are simple. Dorothy is a cutie and adds little anecdotes and stories from her own childhood as well as when David was growing up. It's homespun fun and a joy to read!

Here is a book that has all of the recipes of foods that you have enjoyed throughout a babyboomer's lifetime. The chicken casserole is my favorite and it is a standard of mine for now.There are a lot of photographs of the food and nothing is too esoteric.

This is a classic. I remember having a copy of this when I was a freshman in high school. These Top 10 lists were a staple of late night television before there were 200 channels to choose from.

Don't get me wrong, some of the lists are very funny, but it's missing something in book form because you're missing Dave's delivery. Also, a one-joke book gets kind of thin quick. I recommend only reading three or four lists at a time so the novelty doesn't wear off. Great bathroom reading.

I realize I am probably wasting my time writing a review of this book. If you don't already own it, your not looking it up to buy it now, so nothing I can say will convince you to buy it. Anyways, here goes:

These top ten lists are funny enough to read and reread. If you are just starting your collection, I would recommend the original book. However, quickly add this volume to your collection.

This book is one of the most hilarious I've read in a long time! This book includes some of the best Top Tens such as: "Top Ten Amish Spring Break Activities", "Top Ten Mafia Euphemisms for Death","Top Ten Categories on Iraqi Jeopardy!", and of course, "Top Ten Freak Accidents on the 'Today' Show Set". This book will keep you on the floor laughing for long time! (At least it did for me) In addition, don't forget to read the foreword by David himself and the nice, warm introduction from Steve O'Donnell- the head writer from "Late Night with David Letterman". If you haven't already gotten the point, here it is: BUY THIS BOOK!

Reading David Letterman's Top Ten Lists will get a laugh out of you, even if you are not a big fan and can't imagine Dave presenting the lists to you. If you can imagine him saying these, you will cry from laughing so hard. One of my favorites is "Top Ten Least Exciting Superpowers for Comic Book Superheroes."

To fully understand the humor of this book, you have to be familiar with the references he makes. This book was written in the early 90s, so you need to be familiar with the first George Bush and Dan Qualye, as well as the headlines from that time.

I would still recommend this book. This book will still amuse anyone who reads it.

David Letterman's Book of Top Ten Lists: is nothing short of the eloquence, intellect, drama and satire of which many fans have grown familiar for years. This book will elicit great and hilarious laughter even during your "off-moments". I recommend the book if you have not yet acquired a copy but as you know, David Letterman needs no help. He is a natural people person and genius!

Some other great books to read, "Fluctuating Life" by Canadian-Jamaican, author, teacher and poet, Joshua Spencer, "Leading Under Pressure" by medical doctor, Gabriela Corá and "Quest for a Dream - A Life Committed to Progress" by Jamaican, author, social worker, educator and entrepreneur, Joyce Buchanan. Fluctuating Life Quest for a Dream: A Life Committed to Progress Leading Under Pressure: Strategies to Maximize Peak Performance & Productivity while Maximizing Health & Wellbeing

Lettermans' Top Ten List have been a form of humour I have enjoyed for the longest time. Even the older versions (if you're old enough to remember celebs and politicans are still as funny today as they were the night they hit the airwaves. This book is no exception, plus the added bonus of a dress pattern for the husky bride/ or those renewing their vows.
William Brown
Houston, Texas

There's mabie a hand full of the list's that I thought were funny & a few had potential but for me most of them were for me pretty stupid.

This collection is from the Late Show era, not the Late Night era. However, believe it or not, these top ten lists are funny enough to read and reread. For those of you like myself, who are Letterman fans, this collection, like all previous collections, borders on the essential. Do yourself a favor, though, and buy the Late Night editions as well.

Some of the lists are very funny, but it's missing something in book form because you're missing Dave's delivery. Also, a one-joke book gets kind of thin quick. I recommend only reading three or four lists at a time so the novelty doesn't wear off. Great bathroom reading.

We were so enthralled with David Letterman that we redefined our humor lexicon to include this form.

Another reviewer expresses gratitude that we have preserved this form for our children. Here's a list forya:

10. You bet your sweet bippy.
9. Sock it to...me?
8. I'll drink to that.
7. Moving right along...
6. To the moon, Alice!
5. I'm growing tired...

This book takes you back to the cutting edge humor of the Late Night early years (Ok, 1994). The lists are here, you provide the laughs. Believe it or not, the lists are funny enough to read and reread.

This book is an essential for the Letterman fan, especially new fans who don't know or remember the good ol' days.

This takes you back to the 80s, when Reagan was president, and Letterman was the choice in Late Night for the hip and pseudo-hip (like me). Believe it or not, these top ten lists are funny enough to read and reread. For those of you like myself, who are Letterman fans, this collection, is essential. The nostalgia value alone is worth it.

The humor of the Late Night top ten lists has to be very difficult to write. While the topic provides some context, there is little else but common knowledge that the writers can use as a background. This means that the joke must be completely expressed in at most one or two short sentences. Despite this strict set of constraints, the lists are generally very funny, and this book is a collection of lists that appeared on the show before October 1990.
If you like your humor in small, easily digestible bites, then this is the book for you. Some lists will make you laugh, others will make you groan, but all will make you smile.

I have read this book many times, and it still makes me laugh. Even if you are not a fan of David Letterman and cannot imagine his delivery of these lists, you will still get a chuckle.

The only thing against the book is that it is a little dated. The first tipoff should be the picture of Dave on the front cover. He hasn't had that much hair in a while. Secondly, these lists were written in the late 80s so the younger generation may not get all the political and cultural references (such as references to Dan Qualye).

I would still recommend this book for anyone needing or wanting a laugh.

Believe it or not, these top ten lists are funny enough to read and reread. For those of you like myself, who are Letterman fans, this collection, like all previous collections, borders on the essential. While perhaps not as "cutting edge" as the Late Night books, this is still a 5 star.

This book is hysterically funny. Letterman's top ten lists are one of the greatest fresh contributions made to comedy in a while. This collection include's such wonderful lists as: (my personal favorite) Top Ten Slogans For The New Wonder-Bra ("The Quicker Picker-Upper"), and "Top Ten Ways To Make Madonna Angry" ("Tell her you love the way she turns the letters on Wheel of Fortune.") Great funny book. Light and fun reading.

A great collection of the Top Tens! Hilarious

Don't get me wrong, some of the lists are very funny, but it's missing something in book form because you're missing Dave's delivery. Also, a one-joke book gets kind of thin quick. I recommend only reading three or four lists at a time so the novelty doesn't wear off. Great bathroom reading.