Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
ROUGHING IT, September 17, 2005
This review is from: Roughing It (Mark Twain Library) (Paperback)
This "Mark Twain Project" paperback edition of ROUGHING IT is by far the best version for most readers. It is an excellent value. The 200 pages of "Explanatory Notes" at the end, add greatly to the modern reader's understanding of the 1860's "Wild West". The Early Western Mining Frontier comes vividly and colorfully to life, thanks to the Explanatory Notes' full illumination of the fascinating, often hilarious, eyewitness account of young Sam Clemens.
The 21st century reader now sees the momentous impact of Samuel Colt's "Navy Revolver" on frontier society, fully comprehends a "Stamp Mill's" importance to the silver mines of the Comstock Lode, and is in complete agreement about the "thoroughbrace's" necessity to the Overland Stage traveler's comfort! This edition also contains all 304 first edition illustrations, another great aid allowing the modern reader to take a virtual walk into a vanished time.
In the "Foreword" to this edition, Editor Harriet Elinor Smith notes, " The vernacular style of ROUGHING IT often seems surprisingly fresh to modern readers.....". I'm betting that many readers, younger ones especially, may approach this book with dread, only to become immersed in the rollicking adventure, and reach the end of ROUGHING IT with regret. The readers who return for a second, third or more reading, will discover many levels of depth to ROUGHING IT that will continue to entertain and educate reading after reading, year after year.
From the "Foreword" to this edition, Editor Smith also observes, "Although readers have long been entertained by ROUGHING IT, it has gradually become part of all serious study of American culture. Students of history have come to rely on it for accurate information about the period, and it has played a major role in shaping the myth of the "Wild West".......No examination of American popular culture would be complete without Mark Twain's imaginative reminiscence of what it was like to be "on the ground in person"".
So, if you are tired of all this bickering between the North and South, and feel it may be healthier to get away from the tensions, I hear tell there's a great silver strike in a new territory called "Nevada", near a place called "Virginia City". It's July 1861 and there is an Overland Stage westbound, St Joseph, Missouri to Carson City, Nevada Territory.
Buckle on your Navy Colt and climb aboard!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A COMIC GENIUS, November 17, 2006
This review is from: Roughing It (Mark Twain Library) (Paperback)
(born Nov.1835, Florida, Mo.,US-died April 21,1910, Redding,Conn.)
-humorist,writer and lecturer.
'ROUGHING IT'is Twain's decription of his adventures in Nevada,Califonia,and the Sandwich Islands originally published in (1872).After the immediate success of the publication of 'THE INNOCENTS ABROAD'which firmly established Twain's reputation as a writer he was spurned on by the AMERICAN PUBLISHING COMPANY to bring out a volume based on his experiences in the west.Thus, 'ROUGHING IT' was created.A highly entertaining and humurous narrative of his escapades in the Western United States towards the end of the 19th Century.
A little taste:
from (copyright 1979 Running Press)
This is the before and after descriptions of a company of men lost in a snow storm-with little or no hope of survival.
Before (impending doom)
"...Poor Ollendorff broke down and the tears came.He was not alone,for I
was crying too,and so was Mr. Ballou.Ollendorff forgave me for things
I had done and said.Then he got out his bottle of whisky and said that whether he lived or died he would never touch another drop.He said he had given up all hope of life,and although ill-prepared,was ready to submit humbly to his fate-----------Mr.Ballou made remarks of similar purport,and began the reform he could not live to continue,by throwing away his ancient pack of cards--------My own remarks were of the same tenor as those of my comrades.We were all sincere,and all deeply moved and earnest,for we were in the precense of death and without hope.I threw away my pipe,and in doing it,I felt that at last I was free of a hated vice and one that had ridden me like a tyrant all my life.We put our arms around each other's necks and awaited the warning drowziness that occurs with death by freezing.
After-(Alive and Well)
After breakfast we felt better,and the zest of life soon came back.The world looked bright again,and existence was as dear to us as ever.Presently and uneasiness came over me-grew upon me-assailed me without ceasing.Alas,my regeneration was not complete-I wanted to smoke!
I resisted with all my strength,but the flesh was weak.I wandered away alone and wrestled with myself for an hour.I recalled my promises of reform and preached to myself persuasively,unbraidingly,exaustively.But all was in vain,I shortly found myself sneaking amoung the snowdrifts hunting for my pipe.I discovered it after a considerable search,and crept away to hide myself to enjoy it.At last I lit my pipe,and no human can feel meaner and baser than I did then.I was ashamed of being in my own pitiful company.Still dreading discovery,I felt that perhaps the further side of the barn would be somewhat safer,and so I turned the corner.As I turned the corner,smoking,Ollendorff turned the other with his bottle to his lips,and between us sat unconscious Ballou deep in a game of "solitaire" with the old greasy cards..."
Turn to Chapters 22 and 23 for a more cohesive description of this comic episode. Laughter is good medicine,and this is a fun read on one of those gloomy days you might encounter along your way. Enjoy.Good health!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential American Writing, April 8, 2010
This review is from: Roughing It (Mark Twain Library) (Paperback)
It is a testament to Mark Twain's greatness that his non-fiction is as readable - and even as entertaining - as his fiction. He makes sure to structure it like a story, making it utterly absorbing and often humorous, but he also includes a wealth of information; we learn as much as in any history book, and the writing is of course infinitely better. One would be very hard-pressed to find another author of whom this can be said.
Roughing It, his immortal Wild West memoir, is a preeminent example. After deserting a half-hearted Confederate militia during the Civil War, Twain went to the Nevada territory with his brother, who had a political position there. Twain makes even the long stagecoach ride from Missouri fascinating; many thousands made such a journey, and this is one of the best primary sources. We see much about both the interesting scenery and the dangers - imagine crossing mountains on a stagecoach! -, including a deeply insightful and hilarious look at early Mormons. Twain then gives an utterly absorbing inside peek at the fledgling territory, encompassing everything from frontier mores to politics. This was a crucial American history era, and Twain's deft first-hand account is absolutely invaluable; anyone interested in what it was like to live on the frontier and/or how its inhabitants thought and acted is in for a real treat. Twain vividly describes what made the life so exciting; his account is so vibrant that it is a large part of the reason Americans romanticize the Wild West. He can almost be said to have single-handedly begun a myth - an enduringly powerful one at that. However, he also focuses on its oft-overlooked dark side, not least the discrimination faced by Chinese among others. It is easy to forget that the Wild West was astoundingly cosmopolitan, but Twain's descriptions of various ethnic groups - including Native Americans - is a powerful reminder. Many of his observations are now far from politically correct, but his honesty is refreshing - the kind of thing that simply can no longer be found. It is easy to be offended, but his unadorned comments often have valuable insight. Above all, though, we see how Twain was one of his era's great liberals even at this early stage. He truly sympathized with these downtrodden ethnic groups as well as the down and out generally, showing how advanced he was despite epitomizing his time.
Roughing soon moves well beyond Nevada, encompassing the all-important San Francisco and even Hawaii. The former depiction is of great interest, including some famous California weather remarks and - yes - an earthquake; we get a good sense of what made the city so central. Some think the long Hawaii section inferior, but it has undeniably great merit. Twain describes a place almost unimaginably alien to his initial readers so vibrantly that it almost seems as if we are there, and they must have been considerably more wonderstruck. Many famous Hawaii sites - including volcanoes - are here in picturesque detail, and Twain's feelings for the natives were truly far ahead of their time.
More famous than all this are of course Twain's own adventures. This is the source of his legendary silver mining, an utterly enthralling account of a key American event that leaves no doubt just why such things excited so many. Twain tells us much about the phenomenon and entertains with his usual self-deprecating humor. We then learn of his newspaper days, which are significant in being his first writing experience, but a frontier journalist's life was exciting in itself. Roughing then describes the beginnings of Twain's fame, specifically his first lectures. His account of great nervousness and doubt before his initial attempt is required reading for anyone scared by public speaking and a moving account of personal triumph, though the ever humble Twain of course does not put it so. Roughing is thus essential for anyone interested in Twain's life; it has a wealth of autobiographical material from a seminal time that led to much of his writing. It is also thus a sort of bildungsroman. Twain of course greatly exaggerates his initial ignorance and naiveté, but he clearly learned much and acquired some admirable wisdom, some of it hard-won. He is a character at least as memorable as any of his fictional ones, and we truly feel with and for him because his writing is so lively and engaging.
This is not to say he is the only interesting character - far from it. The Wild West was after all full of interesting people, and Twain acquaints us with many. All are vividly drawn, and most are amusing; several are simply unforgettable. Also, though this is non-fiction, Twain's unparalleled dialogue brilliance is already on very strong display. He accurately captures the speech of a wide variety of people, and the dialogue is often hilarious. As always with him, Roughing is also full of eminently readable tangents giving a chance to display signature wit and insight; few have probed life and humanity more deeply, and we are lucky to have his wisdom. Twain takes on a wide variety of subjects, making serious points even as he amuses. Roughing would be of immense importance even if it had none of this, though, as it is an invaluable American folklore treasure trove.
Roughing is quite simply essential for anyone at all interested in American literature; it is essential Twain, meaning it is simply essential.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
