Great Letters and Memos Most People Have Never Read

Not long ago, I came across a little-known letter titled, Finding Your Purpose and Living a Meaningful Life.

The letter was written in 1958 by Hunter S. Thompson, who was just 22 years old when he wrote aletter to his friend Hume Logan in response to a request for life advice. I had never heard of Hume Logan and knew little of Hunter S. Thompson. And yet, as I read the letter, I came across one useful insight after another.

After reading that letter, I got to thinking… What other great letters are out there that I've never heard?

I've been slowly searching for answers to that question and the result is this list of my favorite interesting and insightful letters that are not widely known. You may see a few famous letters on this list, but my guess is that most people are not aware of many of them — just as I wasn't when I first started looking around.

As far as I know this is the only place where you can read transcripts of these letters in one place.

Famous Letters and Memos

This list is organized by name and then speech topic. Click the links below to jump to a specific letter. On each page, you'll find a full transcript of the letter as well as some additional background information.

• Warren Buffett, “Memo to Berkshire's Managers on The Importance of Reputation”
• Benjamin Franklin, “Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One”
• Robert Pirosh, “I Like Words” (Letter to Hollywood Executives in 1934)
• Hunter S. Thompson, “Finding Your Purpose and Living a Meaningful Life”
• ‍Hunter S. Thompson, “Living Versus Existing”

• ‍Hunter S. Thompson, “What Problems to Solve”

• ‍William Safire for Richard Nixon, “In The Event of Moon Disaster”

• ‍John F. Kennedy, “Remarks Prepared for November 22, 1963”

This is an on-going project. If you know of another great talk, please contact me.