Changes

It's touching in parts - particularly the scenes which book-end the volume, in which O'Connell writes a letter of thanks to a friend who sent him a letter of condolence after the death of his mother. At other times, it's funny (particularly the author's observations on the difficulty today of actually finding the necessary stationery to write a letter!), surprising (I was shocked to realise how little of the history of the postal service I actually knew) and always informative. It's also very thought-provoking - in a time when primary school children are experts at sending e-mails, why do books like Janet and Allan Ahlberg's ''The Jolly Postman'' have such an appeal? O'Connell does a wonderful job of capturing just what's so special about the handwritten word, with an engaging writing style which will draw you in to the book.

For another excellent non-fiction book from the same publisher with a similarly readable writing style, [[How To Be Danish: From Lego to Lund. A Short Introduction to the State of Denmark by Patrick Kingsley]] is one of my personal favourites.