Autobiography of Mark Twain - 100th Anniversary Edition
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3.9 • 105 Ratings
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
"It's no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense." - Mark Twain
Within your hands is a glimpse into the life, mind, soul, and "truth" of cherished American icon, Mark Twain. This uncensored autobiography is not only a legacy he left behind, but also a gift to all.
Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in 1835 in Florida, Missouri. He grew up on the shores of the Mississippi River and took his pen name from the way Mississippi steamboat crews measured the river's depth (the cry "Mark twain!" meant the river was at least 12 feet deep and safe to travel).
Twain wrote prolifically, publishing novels, travelogues, newspaper articles, short stories, and political pamphlets. His best-known works are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885).
On the surface, these novels are gripping adventure stories of boys running free on the Mississippi. However, on a deeper level, these novels are also serious works of social criticism. Written while America was still recovering from the Civil War and adjusting to the abolition of slavery, Twain's two best-known Mississippi River adventure tales also measure the depth of America's new economic and social realities.
His most personal and insightful writing came when he created his, "Final (and Right) Plan"-a free-flowing biography of the thoughts and interests he had toward the end of his life as he spoke his "whole frank mind". Along with the plan, came the instruction that the enclosed autobiography writings not be published in book form until 100 years after his death.
Now, in 2010, we honor the life and writings of Mark Twain by publishing his personal opus-to reacquaint ourselves with the wit, wisdom, and ideals of this legendary American icon.
Customer Reviews
The Autobiography of Mark Twain
My husband would find me laughing and wondered what was so funny! There were also sad moments that would make one cry. Loved this book!
Buyer Beware!
Do NOT confuse this with the recently published, scholarly Autobiography from the University of California press that was put together by the Mark Twain Project and contains much previously unpublished material.
One flaw...
Who allowed the most brilliant writer in American history to have the most puerile, politically-correct, self-serving "introduction" to this volume? Here is a man who spoke the truth all his life, and the first thing we are privileged to read is a an introduction concerning his racist interpretation of "African-Americans?"
Clemens grew up around slavery, and his ability to capture dialect is unmatched in all of literature: but people like Anne Whatshername in New York City, 2010, want to tell me what it was like back then? It was enough to make me regret the purchase.
Will you literary critics, JUST ONCE, shut up and get out of his way? He was bedeviled by the likes of you all his life. Can you not just let him speak after 100 years without telling me what he is trying to say?