or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
More Buying Choices
135 used & new from $4.54

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Mark Twain : Mississippi Writings : Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, Huckleberry Finn, Pudd'nhead Wilson (Library of America)
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

Mark Twain : Mississippi Writings : Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, Huckleberry Finn, Pudd'nhead Wilson (Library of America) (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "TOM!" No answer..." (more)
Key Phrases: dey war, quarter twain, bluff reef, New Orleans, Injun Joe, Aunt Sally (more...)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)

List Price: $35.00
Price: $23.75 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
You Save: $11.25 (32%)
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Thursday, December 24? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
27 new from $19.89 100 used from $4.54 8 collectible from $25.00

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Hardcover, October 31, 1982 $23.75 $19.89 $4.54

Frequently Bought Together

Mark Twain : Mississippi Writings : Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, Huckleberry Finn, Pudd'nhead Wilson (Library of America) + Mark Twain : Historical Romances : The Prince and the Pauper / A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court / Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (Library of America) + The Innocents Abroad
Price For All Three: $56.84

Show availability and shipping details


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

Mark Twain : Historical Romances : The Prince and the Pauper / A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court / Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (Library of America)

Mark Twain : Historical Romances : The Prince and the Pauper / A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court / Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (Library of America)

by Mark Twain
4.7 out of 5 stars (3)  $23.10
Twain: Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches, and Essays: Volume 1: 1852-1890 (Library of America)

Twain: Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches, and Essays: Volume 1: 1852-1890 (Library of America)

by Mark Twain
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  $26.40
Mark Twain: Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches, and Essays: Volume 2: 1891-1910 (Library of America)

Mark Twain: Collected Tales, Sketches, Speeches, and Essays: Volume 2: 1891-1910 (Library of America)

by Mark Twain
5.0 out of 5 stars (2)  $26.40
The Innocents Abroad

The Innocents Abroad

by Mark Twain
4.5 out of 5 stars (53)  $9.99
Mark Twain: The Gilded Age and Later Novels: The Gilded Age / The American Claimant / Tom Sawyer Abroad / Tom Sawyer, Detective / No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger (Library of America)

Mark Twain: The Gilded Age and Later Novels: The Gilded Age / The American Claimant / Tom Sawyer Abroad / Tom Sawyer, Detective / No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger (Library of America)

by Mark Twain
4.5 out of 5 stars (2)  $26.40
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Both familiar classics and forgotten treasures." - Christian Science Monitor --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Product Description

Here for the first time in one volume are the most famous and characteristic of Mark Twain's works. Through each of them runs the powerful and majestic Mississippi. The river represented for Twain the complex and contradictory possibilities in his own and the nation's life: the place where civilization's comforts meet the violence and promise of freedom of the frontier. It was the place, too, where Twain's youthful innocence confronted the grim reality of slavery. The nostalgic re-creation of childhood in "Tom Sawyer"--"simply a hymn put into prose form to give it a worldly air," said Twain--and the richly anecdotal memoir of his days as a riverboat pilot in "Life on the Mississippi" give way to the realism and often dark comedy of "Huckleberry Finn" and the troubled exploration of slavery in his mystery, "Pudd'nhead Wilson." Together, these four books trace the central trajectory of his life and career, and they can be read as a single masterpiece.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 1126 pages
  • Publisher: Library of America (November 1, 1982)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0940450070
  • ISBN-13: 978-0940450073
  • Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #25,871 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #14 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Classics > United States > Twain, Mark
    #14 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > Authors, A-Z > ( T ) > Twain, Mark
    #54 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > United States > 19th Century

More About the Author

Mark Twain
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Visit Amazon's Mark Twain Page

Inside This Book (learn more)





Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

8 Reviews
5 star:
 (8)
4 star:    (0)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars ACCESSIBLE TWAIN IN A HANDSOME BOOK, August 31, 2001
By S. Henderson (Hazlet, New Jersey USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This is the kind of book reserved for the word "volume" and by that I mean it carries all the weight of Twain's most accessible works. All of the Library of America books carry this weight but this was one of the first and deservedly so. I'm reviewing this book not just on its contents but on its sheer style and scholarly editing, its fitness in the hand (or lap), the way it will look on your bookshelf and the 10-point Linotron Galliard printing that makes the very act of reading much easier.
Now, the contents cannot be less magnificent as the river all these writings have in common. Funny, wise and as much a part of 19th century American history as you'll find anywhere, these are great examples of the best American writing in one "volume" by one of the world's most recognized authors. No self-respecting booklover should be without it.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great edition, November 3, 2003
By A. P. Garrett "ubi_caritas" (Glastonbury, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
I doubt that anyone reading these reviews is trying to decide whether or not they will enjoy reading the stories in this volume - most likely they've read them already and want to know if this is an edition worth buying. This is definitely worth buying. The printing is crisp. The paper is lightweight, smooth-surfaced, and acid-free; over 1100 pages are only 1 and 1/8 inches thick. The dimensions are perfect. The binding appears to be strong yet limber - the book opens easily with good visualization of all margins. Library of America, the publishers, seems dedicated not only to preserving American writings, but doing so with style. I plan to put more of their books on my wish list - Melville and Hawthorne perhaps. My only regret is that I already own the complete writing of Poe from another publisher.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Grand View of A Grandeur, January 28, 2002
By Stephen A. Haines (Ottawa, Ontario Canada) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
Once they were absolute rulers - laws made to meet their needs, unstinting respect their due, their commands obeyed without hesitation or reluctance. They are vanished today, the last of their lineage in tourist boats, unremarked, nearly unremembered. Nearly two centuries ago, the Mississippi steamboat pilot was a legendary figure. Mark Twain conveys us to that time and environment in one of his finest writings. Life On the Mississippi is a superb descriptive achievement in portraying the river scene , but also conveys vivid images of the people living on and along it. It's an outstanding example of painting with both a broad brush and enhancing with fine detail.

Beginning with a history of European "discovery" and exploration of this mighty stream, Twain moves us into his own history as a "cub" pilot. Perhaps no-one before or since has so effectively exposed what it meant to "tackle the river" in learning to safely man the wheel of a river steamer. From his first astonishment at discovering he must "get a notebook and write down" the names of all the points, landmarks, snags and "crossings" through the realization that most of that information would change before his next trip, he comes to understand that a pilot must "know the river" with full dedication. As we follow him through the process he introduces us to the river's wonders and the people it supports. He explains the ranking of pilots, steamboat captains, mates and "hands." None of his observations are boring, from the most mundane river condition to dramatic events such as boiler explosions.

Those fearing that Twain's information may be "outdated" may take heart. Much of the book views his early days on the river from the vantage point of thirty years later. He is reminiscing, but Twain's excellent style brings us with him into each memory. Our feelings readily align with his as he guides us. The latter part of the book is a collection of images of the river valley in the latter part of the 19th Century as Twain revisits the river after a long absence. The only real distinction, apart from the automobile, which did for the railroad what the latter did to the steamboat, are the statistics of agriculture and industry. His descriptions of towns, villages and cities differ little from what we might encounter duplicating his journey.

During this pilgrimage, Twain brings in numerous anecdotal episodes to further sparkle his descriptive and historical accounts. Although all are entertaining at one level or another, several stand out as representatives of Twain's inventive genius. Ritter's Narrative is among the grimmest of Twain's essays in any of his publications. It's a story of a long-term quest for vengeance with a bizarre outcome. A far lighter note is struck with the story of a sleepwalking steamboat pilot. An account of the pilots organizing a "protective association" is told with light humour, not quite obscuring the serious nature of its intent.

In all, no matter that this book's focus lies in a period stretching back nearly two centuries, the writing is vigorous enough to capture today's readers. The history is related with Twain's always lively skill, something as mundane as a sunset is imparted with his special verve. This book can be taken up repeatedly; for reminders of a lost era, for an examination of values or, the best reason of all, for a prime example of what North America's greatest writer could produce in his passion for narrative.

Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Library of America: another winner!
Having all the "Mississippi Writings" in one elegant--and inexspensive--volume is wonderful. A real bargain. Too bad there were no introductions--tho Tom Sawyer and H. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Richard Bienvenu

5.0 out of 5 stars Mark Twain: Mississippi Writings
After reading a Time Magazine article on the 100th anniversary of Mark Twain's death, I ordered Mississippi Writings out of curiosity and to see how much I would remember from... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Kent Slocum

5.0 out of 5 stars Pudd'nhead Wilson Specifically
Pudd'nhead Wilson is, in my opinion, Mark Twain's most underappreciated book. It's a "mystery" in structure, so I don't intend to summarize the story at all. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Giordano Bruno

5.0 out of 5 stars Puddin' head Wilson: A Brief Review
One of the most entertaining books I have read in a long time. Truly, "a page turner". Enlightening insight into southern society in smalltown Missouri during the 1840's.
Published on January 17, 2004 by Wesley A. Russell II

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful book, wonderful series
If pressed to mention a series of books I love more than all others, I would have to cite Library of America; this is not because I am a fan of stictly American literature, but... Read more
Published on June 7, 2002 by Curtis Lane

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   




Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.