Book Review: Dear Donald, Dear Bennett by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer

“I realize that you are working your whoosises off, but please remember that we are all terribly anxious to hear as full reports of your activities as you can possibly give us. Your letters are passed from hand to hand and literally devoured by everybody in the place.”

Bennett Cerf, Dear Donald, Dear Bennett

Review:

As a longtime fan of the old What’s My Line episodes, I was excited to read more about Bennett Cerf. I gravitated toward this book as it is his World War II correspondence with his co-founder at Random House, Donald Klopfer.

It was interesting to read not only the wartime letters, but also some history of the publishing world. It’s particularly exciting as a modern reader seeing familiar titles mentioned and knowing how they are received today. Perhaps even more interesting to me were the titles I wasn’t familiar with. I also loved seeing Book of the Month Club mentions!

Given that sensitive information was left out of the publication of these letters (both about the war and their personal lives), this book is mainly a history of Random House and Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer’s friendship. Their deep camaraderie shines through in their words to one another, making this an enjoyable read. 

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• I loved how their personalities shone through their writing. I love reading these old letter compilations because it truly was an art back then. Nowadays, most correspondence is all alike.
• Interesting to see the history of what’s now one of the best known publishing houses.

What I didn’t like:

• Very short and dry outside of the publishing talk.

Afterthoughts:

I need to find old copies of Bennett Cerf’s books. I think I’d really enjoy them but they don’t seem to be in print anymore.

Where to buy the book: