Customer Reviews

The Autobiography of Mark Twain (Perennial Classics)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

The problem with putting together Twain's ramblings about himself is that in the original, they are scattered all over his life in no particular organization. The editors of this version have put them in roughly chronological order and taken out some of the more repetitious pieces--and it really works well when you sit down with this remarkable book and make your way through the life tale of the greatest of all tall tale men.

What also comes through clearly is the immense sadness and loneliness he felt at the end of his life. He is a man looking back on a lifetime of irreplaceable moments, some tragic, some unjust, many downright hilarious--and some unspeakably poignant, as when Twain mentions his pride to discover that his little daughter Susy, who died before him, had started writing his biography.

If you want to know more about the man who saw a river so wide it only had one bank, this is the place. More than almost any biography I can remember, this one made me smile, made me laugh loudly, and just as often filled my eyes with tears.

"I love to think of the great and godlike Clemens." -- Rudyard Kipling

The Autobiography of Mark Twain is somewhat biographical but mostly philisophical, with Twain using assorted tales from his past to ruminate on more profound aspects of life. This book, dictated by Twain when he was near the end of his life, covers a wide range of emotions.

Twain explains at the start of the book that he approached his auto-biography as though he were composing it posthumously in order that he might loose himself of normal inhibitions which would otherwise force him to hold back on his opinions of certain people and beliefs. The result of this style is a very witty and frank retelling and analysis of many private and not-so-private moments from Twain's amazing life.

This book obviously took Twain on an emotional journey of many highs and lows. These range from the hilarious scene in which he tries to reassure his wife that they are safe, even as a burglar rummages around in the lower portion of their house one night, to the extremely sad, but boldly colorful accounts of the deaths of several people very close to Twain.

In the end, though I enjoyed the book, I have to say I felt sad for Mark Twain. While I love his writing and think he is unfairly persecuted and misunderstood in today's politically correct world, Twain was not a very happy man at the end of his life, despite being at the pinnacle of his artistic field. His candor about his lack of faith in man or God is very honest but ultimately disappointing as it offered him, admittedly, no personal hope in anything greater than his difficult end to a very full life. I definitely recommend this book though for a look at an American icon that only could have been relayed by Twain himself.

This book would have at least 4 stars if not for the negatives mentioned below. Regardless, the reader is truly exposed to Mark Twain's thoughts about his life as if he was on the porch with you talking about them. Particularly interesting were his recollections of his early childhood, his exposure to slavery and African Americans at that time, his lecture travels later in life, and difficulties with publishers. You also seem to catch fragments of stories that might/should have made it into his published works. (And his comments on all of the unpublished material that he destroyed! To be able to read that material now . . . .) Overall, a very enjoyable book that does well to capture a truly great American author.
There were some negatives -- The numerous times that Twain was apparently financially duped by publishers, relatives, and acquaintances was depressing, and much of the middle part of the book became a lament, in my opinion, because of that. But still, you get the perspective of a great author who was either genuinely financially naive or a lousy custodian of his money; or perhaps he `stretched the truth' a little.
Also, at least in my copy, the pages were out of order in several places. (It was the equivalent to actually sitting on a porch with the great author, listening, but being occasionally interrupted by clouds of mosquitoes.) The out-of-order pages made it extremely annoying, and if you get a copy like that, send it back!

This is technically perhaps not a great autobiography, in that it is rather a scrap book of anecdotes from Twain's life, with a casual tone that serious-minded readers might find less than fulfilling; but the anecdotes that work are brilliant, and I have read the brilliant ones countless times. I have read the parts about Twain's mother over and over, because she is the type person I aspire to be!! I'll give one anecdote about her to explain: There was a fierce, strongly built Corsican in Hannibal chasing his daughter through the streets with a thick rope, threatening to beat her with it. All the strongest men did not interfere as this man chased his daughter. The daughter finally came to Mrs. Clemens' door, and she let the girl in the door. But rather than shut the door, Mrs. Clemens--a frail woman--stood in the door way, blocking the way of the Corsican. The Corsican yelled at her, threatening her with the rope to get out of the way so he could get to his daughter. But Mrs. Clemens stood firm, and then berated the Corsican for chasing his daughter, and shamed his manhood, so that he finally swore with a blasphemous oath that she was the bravest woman he had ever met. He gave the rope to her, left his daughter alone, and he and Mrs. Clemens were friends after that. For, as Twain puts it, "he had found in her a long-wanted need. Someone who was not afraid of him."

I'd truly love typing my favorite bits of this book for you to read here. But Twain certainly tells them better, so I recommend you buy the book instead. You won't regret it. It will make you feel good about being American. And not in any patriotic sense, but in a down-to-earth sense.

Buy this book, kick back in your easy chair and be prepared to take a journey with the Master of American Literature himself as he lies near death. From the Mighty Mississippi to the latter days of the Gold Rush; to the lecture (lyceum) circuit of his thirties-forties; and on to a family life of tragedy after tragedy and finally triumph, Mr. Twain will take you, the reader, into his mind where you'll share his wit, wisdom, and secrets. A must buy for any Twain lover or anyone interested in the 19th Century from a man who lived it. Lived it indeed!

Treat yourself to the autobiography of a great man whose rich life held everything - humor, joy, sadness, passion and heartbreak. I love his highly evolved sense of social justice and his clear perception of the hypocrisies of his time (and indeed ours). The most touching aspect of this book is the way he opens up and gives us access to the most intimate and tender parts of himself. This is one of the best autobiograpies I've ever read and I've read it countless times. This book will touch your heart and make you laugh out loud.

If you like Twain this is a must. Others may find it laborious in spots. However, the last chapter, "The death of Jean", is alone worth the purchase price. It is the most vivid, honest and heart-wrenching writing on the death of a loved one that I have ever read.

Mark Twain is America's greatest and most famous author. Toward the end of his life, he was the most famous American, better known and more respected than even the various presidents - one of the most famous people in the world, much less one of the most famous writers. Also, uncharacteristically for a writer so famous and acclaimed at the time, much of his writing was non-fiction, particularly autobiographical narrative. It was thus especially apt - perhaps even inevitable - that he would write a full autobiography.

However, as one might expect, the autobiography he decided - "tried" might be a better word - to write was highly atypical. He began writing sketches for it as early as the 1870s and began more productive work in the 1890s. However, he did not really begin in earnest until the 1900s. Prior attempts had been mostly straight-forward, but he eventually decided to revolutionize the genre by abandoning chronology and writing in whatever order memories arrived. Even more drastic, he wanted them published in this order. To aid this, he turned to dictation in order to get a loose, campfire sort of feel; he wanted to come off like any old man telling stories over dinner rather than a world famous writer making a literary work. The bulk of his autobiography consists of these dictations, and he also included much non-traditional material, a good amount of it dictated. This included entire small non-fiction books that have eventually been published by themselves, such as Is Shakespeare Dead?; extracts from fictional works, such as his long-unpublished "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven"; comments on various current events, including newspaper annotations; and long philosophical, essay-style ruminations on heavy subjects like theology and determinism. Even the more conventional material was often quite unconventional, as Twain included many stories he heard second-hand and lengthy discourses about people he knew. Much of what he said about acquaintances was highly negative, and many of his views on sensitive issues were highly controversial to say the least. Thus, aside from some extracts published in the North American Review a few years before he died, Twain ordered the material to be published posthumously. Indeed, the ever-eccentric writer had a schedule for when various parts should come out, based on his idea of how controversial it was. Some material was to be released immediately, other parts to take centuries!

Twain vacillated about his experiment, sometimes thinking it a failure, other times thinking it would change the very idea of what an autobiography could be for the better. He thus left it to Albert Bigelow Paine, his literary executor, to put the material in some kind of order and publish. It took Paine some time, as the two volume work was not published until 1924, fourteen years after Twain's death. It essentially followed Twain's orders, containing a vast array of material - about half of what Twain wrote or dictated - of greatly varying quality in no particular order. It sold well because public appetite for new Twain was very high, but reviews were uneven. No one doubted that such a work was valuable in both literary and historical terms. However, the work's strange design and uneven nature baffled even most of those who wanted to love the book. Dissatisfaction grew over time even as Twain's reputation remained as high as ever, and the book was largely forgotten.

So things remained until Bernard DeVoto became Twain's literary executor after Paine's death. One of his first actions was to publish an additional autobiographical volume - 1940's Mark Twain in Eruption, which included roughly half the remaining material. It was also popular due to Twain's sustained status and generally better received than Paine's volume. The content was still seemingly random and very sporadic in quality, but DeVoto arranged by theme, which at least partly reassured many put off by Paine's book. However, the lack of a standard, conventional autobiography was still widely felt.

This was fixed in 1959 when Charles Neider published the volume at hand. In addition to material put out by Paine/DeVoto, Neider considered the bulk that was still unpublished, the North American Review extracts, and autobiographical writings not set aside for the autobiography per se. His stated goal was to publish as much as he could without harming Twain's reputation in an easily accessible volume for general readers. Neider's edition thus covers most of Paine/DeVoto's important ground plus 30-40,000 words previously unpublished in any form. Much of this last is excellent, at least as good and/or important as what had been published - a true feast for Twain fans, making the book well worth buying. Perhaps more importantly, and certainly more controversially, Neider arranged the material chronologically, essentially making a conventional autobiography.

One can easily find much to complain of here. Most obviously, Neider is boldly - perhaps presumptuously - going against Twain's explicit intentions. Those who believe authorial intent should always be paramount can only be outraged. Perhaps even more provoking is that Neider has no defense other than saying chronology's benefits are "self-evident." Even those who love his edition may wish he gave better reasons. Yet there is much to say for his decision. This is after all meant for general readers, who would naturally want and expect standard chronology. If they came upon the unwieldy mess Twain intended, they would almost certainly give up long before finishing at no gain to anyone. Surely it is better to read the material, even if it is not exactly what Twain wanted. Besides, since the Paine/DeVoto volumes are already published, surely there is room for such an edition; those who do not want it can simply stick with prior volumes and/or read only the new material. It may also be worth remembering Twain's own ambivalence; for all anyone knows he may well have approved of this.

Hard-core fans are more likely to quibble about Neider's selection, which is based only on inherently subjective judgment. Others are likely to disagree at least occasionally, perhaps often; he omits a significant amount of what had been published and decided against including a substantial portion of the remainder. I agree with his decisions in the vast majority of cases, as most reasonable people probably will, but do take issue with a few. DeVoto's volume had lengthy comments about several important figures from Twain's era - Andrew Carnegie, Theodore Roosevelt, etc. - that Neider nixed. He justifies this with the very legitimate claim that such things are not strictly autobiographical, though he does include similar material about other figures, including now obscure writer Bret Harte. Material of this sort would definitely interrupt the narrative, and many may wish to skip it, but I and many others find Twain's views on such towering figures very important, not to mention fascinating. It would have been nice to have had these and similar passages in appendices.

More importantly, Neider - and, indeed, Devoto - wanted to use long dictations where Twain poured forth increasingly irreverent religious views brilliantly and in great detail, but the author's surviving daughter vetoed. One can easily understand this, especially from her point of view - she seemed far more conservative than her father -, but it is truly unfortunate from a literary and historical perspective. Some of this material has finally surfaced elsewhere, but it would have been convenient to have it here at least in an appendix.

It is possible to make other complaints. For example, Neider occasionally uses passages that overlap slightly with other works and even with other parts of this book. I find this a very minor distraction, but it may bother others more. Some may also think his editorial hand overreaches at times; he divides the book into chapters, drops previous chapter titles, and modernizes Twain's comma use. This last initially seems particularly outrageous, but he has surprisingly good justification. Conversely, there are very few footnotes - certainly not enough for the average reader. Neider works under the reasonable assumption that the basic outline of Twain's life is well enough known that no guide is needed, but Twain sometimes refers to people and events without explanation, leaving some in the proverbial dark. Neider also elected to omit composition dates; while making the work flow much better, this is regrettable to many, including me. Finally, there is a series of pictures that, while interesting, seems curiously limited. For example, it shows a group that Twain lived and worked with for a few months but does not show his parents or wife. To be fair, previously unpublished photos seemed to be the goal, and it is in any case a minor point; we should be glad to have pictures at all.

But enough quibbling; what is here is excellent. As Neider's introduction says, this is quite simply one of the greatest American autobiographies - indeed, in my view, one of the greatest ever. Twain's writing is as great as elsewhere, which is especially remarkable considering the large amount of dictation; true art came as naturally and easily from him as from the most consummate crafters. On the other hand, as the manuscript pictures show, he was a careful editor when he wanted to be. The bottomline is that the prose is great throughout; fans of Twain's style will be more than pleased. It never ceases to amaze me that, while Twain never reaches the sublime literary heights of, say, Victor Hugo, he may be the most eminently readable of all authors. This is no small compliment. I have read thousands of Twain pages on nearly every conceivable subject and have almost never been bored - and only for a very short time when so. His ability to make the most mundane events interesting and even entertaining is incredible; I truly believe I would read anything he wrote.

His range here is incredible, encompassing the blithely comic to the bitterly tragic and seemingly everything between them. Perhaps no other person has been so keenly aware of both poles, much less written so movingly, brilliantly, and entertainingly of them. Twain is best remembered for his abundant humorous work and is sadly sometimes reduced to this status, but this proves beyond doubt that he is among the most diverse writers. His language changes to match his material. The classic humor is certainly here, but he also writes some of the most sublimely beautiful lyrical passages anywhere, some of the most acute philosophical prose, and some of the darkest and most emotional tragedy. No one can walk away without being fully aware of Twain's writing greatness.

Yet Twain also meets his goal of not writing an overly literary autobiography, even with Neider's oversight. His unconventionality still comes across to a great extent - indeed, is probably impossible to bury. Many things one would expect from writers generally and Twain specifically are deliberately absent. He wanted to write about fairly ordinary incidents and, above all, regular people, in order to connect with, move, and hopefully instruct the masses, and he does so very well. Twain naturally met nearly all the famous people of his day and knew many of them well, but we hear very little about them here. With a few exceptions, world famous writers and statesmen are passed over in favor of childhood friends, family, regular working people, etc. Also, unlike what one would expect from a writer's autobiography, Twain says very little about his books, though we learn much about the inspiration behind them - not least the fact that much of his "fiction," especially The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, is largely autobiographical. He also says relatively little about writing itself, though what he does say is superb. Some may wish for more of the expected, or at least a little balance, but it is hard to argue with what is here. The interested can after all find some of this material in Twain's other autobiographical writings.

The book as it stands essentially covers Twain's whole life, from boyhood to his daughter's death four months before his own. As one would expect from a writer who wrote of boyhood so famously and convincingly, the early passages are vivid and memorable. Perhaps no one has written better about the joys and sorrows of boyhood, and the writing is on par his comparable works. Twain's many light-hearted tales of youthful mischeviousness are highly entertaining and often hilarious, but he also gives more than a glance at the tragedy that all too often overshadows childhood, including his.

The material on Twain's middle years is relatively scant because he had already covered it so thoroughly and brilliantly in famous works like Roughing It and Life on the Mississippi. However, there are more than a few interesting anecdotes left out of those great works that will please their fans as well as those interested in these years. Those who would like everything in one place may bemoan this, but it will be appreciated by the great majority who have already read such works.

A substantial part of the book covers Twain's later years, from marriage until death. This is the most personal and moving material; we see the wisdom of not publishing it before death, as it is so frank and proverbially close to home that few would want it out in life. Twain's greatness is such that he often truly seems larger than life; this section is extremely valuable for showing just how human he was. His immense love for his wife and children comes across very powerfully; the descriptions of his love for and interactions with them are among the most moving things I have read. On the other hand, his descriptions of the tragic deaths of his wife and three of his kids - including the former's long convalescence - are so heart-breakingly sad that they are hard to read. One can only imagine how broken Twain must have been, as it is hard enough just to read them. We can easily see why he became so bitter and pessimistic. Painful as these passages are, they are immensely valuable as an insight both into Twain's life and thought and the darker side of things generally. Few looked at this last so unflinchingly, to say nothing of writing about it so brilliantly, as this amply proves.

Perhaps the most surprising thing, and one of the most interesting, is that the book does not always portray Twain positively. His larger-than-life persona makes it hard to see him objectively, but he does not spare himself any more than anyone else, seemingly going out of his way to show he is at least as flawed as the average person. Twain was of course famously self-deprecating, but this goes further. Some of his reminisces - childhood malice, apparently causing his child's death accidentally via neglect, occasional bursts of possible vanity amid his usual humility - can make us lower our estimate of the man, if not the writer. The most interesting cases are vociferous attacks on people whom he either believed wronged him or whom he generally disliked. They seem quite justified as he tells them - but what would not? -, and other sources seem to confirm them in some instances, but it would have been nice, as always, to hear both sides.

All told, this is book is simply invaluable - and not just for Twain fans. Anyone even vaguely interested in autobiography should read it, as should anyone with interest in Twain's era. A great primary source for historians and others, it teaches us much about the times and many of its people. We learn much about Twain the man and quite a bit about Twain the writer. Anyone who appreciates his other works will love this, both for its own sake and because it illuminates them. Also, unlike nearly all writers' autobiographies, it would even be a good starting point for relative neophytes. It is a good Twain introduction and will inspire new readers to seek out his other work. Simply put, this is a book everyone should read; it ranks with Twain's best, which is all that need be said.

Firstly, the bad news: this is not the complete autobiography, but only a selection. Twain's entire manuscript for the autobiography seems to be about 400,000 to 500,000 words, so an editor must pick and choose to compile a single-volume edition. Neider has arranged his selections in roughly chronological order. One can only hope someone will undertake the monumental task of compiling the complete autobiography, in the order Twain desired it, soon.

Secondly, more bad news: in the Introduction, Neider takes snide swipes at previous editors. He also makes a hubristic statement about excluding some material because, "I do not believe that it would do justice to Mark Twain's literary reputation to publish these sections."

Finally, the good news: once you get past Neider's rant of an introduction, you get Twain himself. This book is very satisfying because, as you read, you feel as though you are becoming acquainted with the man, Samuel Clemens. By so doing, you also share some of his insight into human nature. Twain says, "I have found that there is no ingredient of the human race that I do not possess in either a small way or large way....As a result, my private and concealed opinion of myself is not of a complimentary sort. It follows that my estimate of the human race is the duplicate of my estimate of myself". The value of this book is that, after reading it, you want to get to know Twain even better. Now, if only the same could be said of more particular examples of the human race.

American.
Coinsidentially I finished the audio version of this autobiography the day he stopped writing: Christmas day. His daughter died Christmas Eve 1909. His wife had died a few years earlier. Another daughter died several years before that in chilhood. He had never recovered from those tragedies. His surviving daughter lived in Europe. He wrote of this in his diary & wrote no more. He was alone in a big house & died shorty after that. He knew that his autobiography would not be published until he died, long dead he hoped, so he didn't pull any punches. This editor Charles Neider was not as brave. He missed much of the insouciance that was Twain. He came out with a long linear, biography. Twain dictated a lot of it in his later years but just talked about whatever came into his head. Editing this disorganization admittedly was no mean feat. Mark Twain was not a disiplined writer. He could set down a novel he was writing & not return to it for several years. So it was with Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn. They were, by the way, populated with real people he knew in his youth. A gonzo writer of sorts, he wrote what he knew & had lived. He was one of the most travelled Americans of his time, spending long periods in Europe. He was a printer, a journalist, a riverboat pilot, lecturer & of course, novelist. He was a celebrity in his own time but a very poor investor & money manager. He had to go back to lecturing to recoup his loses. He hated that. It was too much like work & he admitted to being very lazy. He was very quotable & whole books have been devoted to his musings. Many of these concerned his atheism, his distaste for organized religion & he ridiculed the bibical god. These particular items were not to be seen in Neider's version which was the biggest disappointment.