The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain: A Book of Quotations (Dover Thrift Editions) (Paperback)

by Mark Twain (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Invaluable ready reference, brimming with amusing and insightful quotes, includes hundreds of Twain’s most memorable quips and comments on life, love, history, culture, travel and diverse other topics, among them "He is now fast rising from affluence to poverty"; "Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please"; and "More than one cigar at a time is excessive smoking."

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (December 23, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486406644
• ISBN-13: 978-0486406640
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,269 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great collection of clever quotes about all aspects of life., January 22, 2005

By	Monika "equestrienne_23" (Davis, California) - See all my reviews

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain, the author of such books as "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" among others, was a highly intelligent and incredibly witty man. His keen observations of the world, and the often satirical commentary he made on it, are a delight to read, and this book pulls together some real gems from many of his books, speeches, and personal notebooks. There are some 358 quotations included, divided into categories as follows: (1) on men, women, children, and human nature, (2) on love, marriage, and romance, (3) on virtue, vice, and conduct, (4) on politics and history, (5) on religion, (6) on youth and aging, (7) on truth, honesty, lies, and illusion, (8) on reading, writing, and education, (9) on health and exercise, (10) on money and business, (11) on travel, and (12) on various other subjects. Each quote is attributed to its source for easy reference. This is a very slim and very affordable little volume, only fifty-five pages in length, and in fact my only criticism is that it doesn't include more material. But it is still well worth getting, and at this price it won't break any pocketbooks.

Here is a small selection of what you can expect:

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence in society" (pg. 3).

"Familiarity breeds contempt -- and children" (pg. 7).

"It is better to deserve honors and not have them than to have them and not deserve them" (pg. 15).

"Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself" (pg. 23).

"Heaven for climate, Hell for company" (pg. 28).

"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years" (pg. 28).

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good little quote book, December 28, 2005

By	Mathew A. Shember (Cupertino, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I have always been a fan of Mark Twain since I first read Huck Finn.

This is a great little book his quotations from his writings and speeches.

It's a nice little stocking stuffer as the book is small.

Some of my favorites:

"Classic." A book which people praise and don't read.

Honesty is the best policy--when there is money in it.

Some people like when they tell the truth. I tell the truth lying.

In God We Trust. I don't belive it would sound any better if it were true.

Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself.

Martyrdom covers a multitude of sins.

When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries of life disappear and life stands explained.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and wise , July 5, 2005

By	Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

Mark Twain was one of the funniest human beings that ever visited this planet. He was also a very decent one . He was skeptically wise and had the ability to a sentence or two put the most pretentious of all creatures , the human one, in its place.
This is the man who upon the premature publication of an obituary about him, replied " The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated".
One special reason I have a particular love for his work, is the fact that he of all the great writers, showed the most sympathy and insight into the life and situation of the Jews.
He is one of the few writers who it seems to me never has to try to be funny, because he simply is.
This collection of some of his most famous quips and remarks is a real treat.