Mark Twain and Human Nature (Mark Twain and His Circle Series) [Hardcover]

Tom Quirk (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0826217583 | ISBN-13: 978-0826217585 | Publication Date: October 28, 2007 | Edition: 1

Mark Twain claimed he could read human character as well as he could read the Mississippi River. Now one of America s preeminent Twain scholars has interwoven the author s inner life with his writings to produce a meditation on how Twain s understanding of human nature evolved and deepened. Quirk charts the ways in which this humorist and occasional philosopher contemplated human nature, revealing how his outlook changed over the years. His travels, his readings in history and science, his political and social commitments, and his own pragmatic testing of human nature in his writing contributed to Twain s mature view of his kind. Quirk establishes the social and scientific contexts that clarify Twain s thinking, and he considers not only Twain s stated intentions about his purposes in his published works but also his ad hoc remarks about the human condition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Mark Twain and Human Nature will fascinate and energize Twainians because it engages with the quintessential Twain (and will stir up controversy because it challenges many a consensus about his major books). The alert general readers will recognize an educative yet inviting meditation on the basic, life-shaping ideas and attitudes of one of the most widely known American writers.”—Louis Budd, author of Mark Twain: Social Philosopher

 “Essential reading for any student or scholar. This may be one of the most important books attempting to come to terms with the evolution of Twain’s ‘gospel of man’—especially his preoccupation with human nature—to be written.”
—Joseph McCullough, coeditor of The Bible According to Mark Twain

About the Author

Tom Quirk is author or editor of numerous books, including Nothing Abstract: Investigations in the American Literary Imagination (University of Missouri Press), Mark Twain: A Study of the Short Fiction, and The Portable Mark Twain. He is Professor of English at the University of Missouri Columbia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: University of Missouri Press; 1 edition (October 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826217583
• ISBN-13: 978-0826217585
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,573,128 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for serious enthusiasts and scholars of Mark Twain's literary classics., December 1, 2007

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mark Twain and Human Nature (Mark Twain and His Circle Series) (Hardcover)

Tom Quirk (Professor of English, University of Missouri-Columbia) presents Mark Twain and Human Nature, a study of the famous American author that intertwines his life story with his writings to reveal how his understanding of human nature grew and evolved. Twain's great classics and minor works are all taken into consideration; the discourse is organized chronologically, from 1852 to 1910. "The point of view Twain chose for his novel in progress was not simply a matter of stylistic innovation but also a position from which to regard and to unself-consciously assess existing institutions and cultural influences. Huck's ignorance is often the reader's insight. If Huck has not been inoculated against each and every one of the contaminating influences of civilized life, he has kept clear of the more virulent forms of the viruses that perpetuate themselves from one generation to the next." Highly recommended for serious enthusiasts and scholars of Mark Twain's literary classics.