The Autobiography of Mark Twain (Perennial Classics) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Charles Neider (Editor) "I was born the 30th of November, 1835, in the almost invisible village of Florida, Monroe County, Missouri..." (more)
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A book filled with richnesses of humor and tragedy of disappointment and triumph, of sweetness and bitterness..." -- -- New York Herald Tribune Book Review

"A book filled with richnesses of humor and tragedy of disappointment and triumph, of sweetness and bitterness, and all in that unsurpassed American prose." -- New York Herald Tribune Book Review

"Magnificently alive." -- -Library Journal

Product Description

"Mark Twain's autobiography is a classic of American letters, to be ranked with the autobiographies of Benjamin Franklin and Henry Adams.... It has the marks of greatness in it--style, scope, imagination, laughter, tragedy."--From the Introduction by Charles Neider

Mark Twain was a figure larger than fife: massive in talent, eruptive in temperament, unpredictable in his actions. He crafted stories of heroism, adventure, tragedy, and comedy that reflected the changing America of the time, and he tells his own story--which includes sixteen pages of photos--with the same flair he brought to his fiction. Writing this autobiography on his deathbed, Twain vowed to he "free and frank and unembarrassed" in the recounting of his life and his experiences.

Twain was more than a match for the expanding America of riverboats, gold rushes, and the vast westward movement, which provided the material for his novels and which served to inspire this beloved and uniquely American autobiography.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Harper Perennial Modern Classics (January 26, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060955422
• ISBN-13: 978-0060955427
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #150,393 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

50 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A unique autobiography from an American legend, July 17, 2001

By	miked99 (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

The Autobiography of Mark Twain is somewhat biographical but mostly philisophical, with Twain using assorted tales from his past to ruminate on more profound aspects of life. This book, dictated by Twain when he was near the end of his life, covers a wide range of emotions.

Twain explains at the start of the book that he approached his auto-biography as though he were composing it posthumously in order that he might loose himself of normal inhibitions which would otherwise force him to hold back on his opinions of certain people and beliefs. The result of this style is a very witty and frank retelling and analysis of many private and not-so-private moments from Twain's amazing life.

This book obviously took Twain on an emotional journey of many highs and lows. These range from the hilarious scene in which he tries to reassure his wife that they are safe, even as a burglar rummages around in the lower portion of their house one night, to the extremely sad, but boldly colorful accounts of the deaths of several people very close to Twain.

In the end, though I enjoyed the book, I have to say I felt sad for Mark Twain. While I love his writing and think he is unfairly persecuted and misunderstood in today's politically correct world, Twain was not a very happy man at the end of his life, despite being at the pinnacle of his artistic field. His candor about his lack of faith in man or God is very honest but ultimately disappointing as it offered him, admittedly, no personal hope in anything greater than his difficult end to a very full life. I definitely recommend this book though for a look at an American icon that only could have been relayed by Twain himself.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite version, May 4, 2002

By	Craig Chalquist, PhD, author of TERRAPSYCHOLO... (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

The problem with putting together Twain's ramblings about himself is that in the original, they are scattered all over his life in no particular organization. The editors of this version have put them in roughly chronological order and taken out some of the more repetitious pieces--and it really works well when you sit down with this remarkable book and make your way through the life tale of the greatest of all tall tale men.

What also comes through clearly is the immense sadness and loneliness he felt at the end of his life. He is a man looking back on a lifetime of irreplaceable moments, some tragic, some unjust, many downright hilarious--and some unspeakably poignant, as when Twain mentions his pride to discover that his little daughter Susy, who died before him, had started writing his biography.

If you want to know more about the man who saw a river so wide it only had one bank, this is the place. More than almost any biography I can remember, this one made me smile, made me laugh loudly, and just as often filled my eyes with tears.

"I love to think of the great and godlike Clemens." -- Rudyard Kipling

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, September 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Autobiography of Mark Twain (Paperback)

This is technically perhaps not a great autobiography, in that it is rather a scrap book of anecdotes from Twain's life, with a casual tone that serious-minded readers might find less than fulfilling; but the anecdotes that work are brilliant, and I have read the brilliant ones countless times. I have read the parts about Twain's mother over and over, because she is the type person I aspire to be!! I'll give one anecdote about her to explain: There was a fierce, strongly built Corsican in Hannibal chasing his daughter through the streets with a thick rope, threatening to beat her with it. All the strongest men did not interfere as this man chased his daughter. The daughter finally came to Mrs. Clemens' door, and she let the girl in the door. But rather than shut the door, Mrs. Clemens--a frail woman--stood in the door way, blocking the way of the Corsican. The Corsican yelled at her, threatening her with the rope to get out of the way so he could get to his daughter. But Mrs. Clemens stood firm, and then berated the Corsican for chasing his daughter, and shamed his manhood, so that he finally swore with a blasphemous oath that she was the bravest woman he had ever met. He gave the rope to her, left his daughter alone, and he and Mrs. Clemens were friends after that. For, as Twain puts it, "he had found in her a long-wanted need. Someone who was not afraid of him."

I'd truly love typing my favorite bits of this book for you to read here. But Twain certainly tells them better, so I recommend you buy the book instead. You won't regret it. It will make you feel good about being American. And not in any patriotic sense, but in a down-to-earth sense.