Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World [Paperback]

Mark Twain (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0486261131 | ISBN-13: 978-0486261133 | Publication Date: September 1, 1989

Great writer's 1897 account of circumnavigating the globe by steamship. Brimming with ironic, tongue-in-cheek humor, the book describes shark fishing in Australia, riding the rails in India, tiger hunting, diamond mining in South Africa, much more; also peoples, climate, flora and fauna, customs, religion, politics, food, etc. 197 illustrations.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Mark Twain began his career in letters as a printer's apprentice at the age of 12. He worked as a typesetter and hack writer until a trip down the Mississippi inspired him to become a steamboat pilot. Twain was a popular humorist, a failed silver miner, an inventor, a pacifist anti-imperialist, and a vegetarian. He had a strong interest in the paranormal. Twain's novel Huckleberry Finn has profoundly influenced the development of American storytelling. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From AudioFile

When Mark Twain took off by ship for a round-the-world lecture tour, he took along a sharp eye, a notebook, and his renowned wit. Michael Kevin reads Twain's narrative of his experiences with a Southern-inflected drawl and an unhurried pace that sound just right. He also offers amusing individual character shadings for many of Twain's fellow passengers, whom the great writer often quotes as well as skewers. The book is full of everything from onboard whist games to tiger hunting. Twain's opinions are many, often mercilessly funny, and frequently ahead of their time--except when he is suddenly of his time. The result is a fully developed self-portrait, nineteenth-century mores and all. A.C.S. © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 720 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (September 1, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486261131
• ISBN-13: 978-0486261133
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars really fun read, but careful with kids, May 16, 2000

By 

Ed Hott - See all my reviews

This review is from: Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World (Paperback)

This book is a treasure. Twain's story-telling is laced with subtle humor recounting his meandering journey (as in no great hurry to get to a particular destination) around the world. I suggest you read this book in small doses, kind of like a daily conversation with a [really interesting] neighbor where stories are exchanged. I often read stories from this book to my children (ages 8 & 6) at bedtime. Clearly written in another era, Twain's sense of humor cracks me up, but some comments would today be considered politically incorrect so I make some real-time "adjustments" when reading it to the kids.

I credit Jimmy Buffett with pointing me to this book through a reference on a CD although I don't share the opinion that Buffett's book is in the same league. As cited earlier, you can open this book anywhere, just read a chapter and it makes sense. My copy has no bookmark in it. We just hop around. Twain takes us places we've never been. Great book.

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teachers... don't miss this boat!, March 9, 2006

By 

Cindy Lovell (Hannibal, Missouri) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World (Paperback)

Any reader who loves a good book will relish the vicarious experience of traveling with Twain, his wife, Livy, and Clara, one of their three daughters as they tour the world on the lecture circuit. It's important to understand the necessity of the trip: Twain was 60, facing bankruptcy, and signed on for the lecture tour in order to pay off his debt. The grueling schedule and unpredictable travel accommodations take no toll on his writing, however. Prepare to laugh - hard and often. Was it hot in India? "I believe that in India 'cold weather' is merely a conventional phrase and has come into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish between weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which will only make it mushy." Teachers - do not pass on the opportunity to laugh and learn and share the world with your students. Geography, history, culture, language, climate, language arts (oh, his choice of words and phrases!), politics, time zones, botany, geology, biology, religion - all are explored and described and relevant today. Jimmy Buffett's "Remittance Man," "That's What Living is to Me," and "Take Another Road" all spring from this book (especially the remittance man, a character you'll meet early in the book). There is also an "unfinished story" with which you can challenge your students. I worked with nineteen 4th and 5th grade gifted students one summer, and they spent two weeks reading, scripting, and animating a 70 minute video of this book. They loved it, and so will your students if you plan accordingly. A good accompanying video is "On the Trail of Mark Twain" with Peter Ustinov, but only as a companion - NOT as a replacement! Go for it... where else will you get the opportunity to travel from Vancouver to Hawaii to Fiji to Australia to New Zealand to Ceylon to India to South Africa? The book chronicles their travels in such a way that you can pick it up and focus on one region without losing anything. But don't let that stop you from reading the whole book. See the Southern Cross and the Blue Mountains. Get rousted out of your comfortable train berth to change cars in Australia because the gauge of the tracks changes from wide to narrow. Meet the dingo and the Aboriginals, eavesdrop on Twain's conversation with "Satan" and "God" in India, explore the diamond mines of South Africa near the Trappist Monastery, and steer clear of the sharks in the Great Barrier Reef. There is more adventure in this one book than a whole year's subscription to National Geographic. My favorite part? Twain's vivid description of "that bird of birds - the Indian crow." No, wait, it's the hand-car ride down the Himalayas. No, wait... ah, who can pick? Read it yourself, and find out why. [Added later: A great companion piece to this book is Mark Twain: Words & Music.]

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is the essence of Mark Twain., March 12, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World (Paperback)

A highly entertaining read. Twain's classic storytelling and embellishing descriptions of people, places and events will make you laugh out loud! It is truly a sad day when you have reached the end of this book. Strongly recommended for readers worldwide.