Customer Reviews

Mark Twain's Helpful Hints for Good Living: A Handbook for the Damned Human Race

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Here are some useful living tips, advice and observations from that quintessential American literary figure Mark Twain, real name Samuel L. Clemens. This compilation contains a delightful mix of humorous writings on the mundane and sometimes very unusual occurrences that reflected his many gifts as a writer/humorist. Many of these snippets are from some of his more famous works, while others are from personal sketches and writings not as well known. The tarantulas escape, a borrowed overcoat, a lecture to a youth group, the use of foul language, a note to a burglar, and so many other little anecdotes, observations, and etc will elicit periods of laughter from the reader, as it did for me. A wonderful little treasure.

First, it's Mark Twain - the very pseudonym a poke in the ribs - and it's full of essays on his views of life, letters to editors, milkmen and burglars. He never pokes fun at his family, much, but sees the world as a tiresome place in which to try to exist, and his fellowman as more tiresome still. It's a glimpse at a time gone by, when a note on the front door telling any future robbers that the previous pair have already taken the silverware but they're welcome to the two candlesticks in the parlor might have even made sense since the doors weren't locked.

Mark Twain in his writing very often surprises us and makes us laugh. His greatest gift is his humor. And the wisdom he provides on various aspects of daily living however sarcastic and cynical it may seem at times is grounded in a sane realistic view of humanity.

If you are a blue-blooded "Twain-ist", or if you are a Pragmatist to the Nth, or even simply a light-hearted person who can laugh at the Human Race... "Mark Twain's Helpful Hints for Good Living" will not only entertain you from cover to cover but also provide ample material (albeit of debatable propriety) for the management of your daily Life. Two Thumbs Up !

Mark Twain weighs in on everything, even the social graces. His critique of "American versus European Food" makes Martha Stewart sound like Alice Kramden. (It will also make your mouth water.) Not sure what to do in case of emergency? Twain covers everything from apparitions to earthquakes. These helpful hints will improve your parenting skills, raise your I.Q. score, and prepare you for a career in foreign diplomacy.

The book is hard to read, as the typeface size is too small. It looks to me as if the book was set for a larger format, and then, perhaps for economic reasons, optically reduced to 6x8". If you look at the footers, which include the title, chapter and page, you'll see how odd they are; the page number in particular is very hard to decipher. Some of the pages are printed unevenly too, making the characters too small and too light in places. And the pictures and graphics, while nice, in quite a few cases are cropped strangely--again suggesting a larger size was originally used and abandoned. All in all, it's a shame, because the material, as much as I could read, anyhow, appears to be a nice compilation.

"Helpful Hints for Good Living" is a compendium of excerpts from Mark Twain's own letters, articles, and auto biography that seek to help define who this man was. It is a biography of sorts, using the man's own words to help explain his genius. Unfortunately, the excerpts are often too short or scattered for the reader to make much of a picture of the man beyond a caricature.

This book is meant to be read in short bursts, perhaps left on a coffee table or restroom window - where it will serve what seems to be part of its purpose, to make the reader appear learned and to show an already adopted adoration for Mr. Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

The bright points of the book are Twain's own witticisms and quips, that have been generally well selected in this anthology.

If you love to read Mark Twain quotes and want to see them in a little more context, this book is for you. If you're just learning about the man and his letters, then I would suggest you find a different collection.

I really enjoyed the assortment of stories and quotes in this book. It gives you a flavor of Mark Twains writing beyon Huckleberry Finn or Tom Sawyer that many of us have read.

Mark Twain has a great depth and is humor. This book will give you a flavor of his writting and perhaps make you want to read more of his writing.

Great book with lots of his famous quotes that still apply today.

I gave this book to my husband for Christmas. He had attended a conference this past summer on Mark Twain's writings and
was thrilled to receive this book