Benjamin Griffin and Harriet Elinor Smith are editors at the Mark Twain Project, which is housed within the Mark Twain Papers, the world’s largest archive of primary materials by this major American writer. Under the direction of General Editor Robert H. Hirst, the Project’s editors are producing the first comprehensive edition of all of Mark Twain’s writings. --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

"The great American author, aided by his scholarly editors, continues to spin out a great yarn covering his long life. . . . Twain admirers will find this volume indispensable and wil eagerly await the third volume." STARRED REVIEW ― Kirkus Reviews Published On: 2013-07-01

"Meticulously edited. . . . A treasure deserving shelf space next to Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer." STARRED REVIEW -- Bryce Christensen ― Booklist Published On: 2013-09-15

"Twain is incapable of going more than a few paragraphs without making you laugh or think hard. . . . Don't loan this book out: you'll never see it again." ― Bloomberg Pursuits Published On: 2013-10-01

"Another delightful round of humor and candor, reminiscence and insider sketches of the people and politics of Twain’s day."
― The Sacramento Bee Published On: 2013-09-28

"Contains more of Twain’s ranging, astute, and unfailingly candid portrayals of his private and public lives. Excoriations of politicians appear next to affectionate family stories and bemused observations on the absurdities of life, helping to fill out our understanding of America’s greatest humorist." ― The New Yorker, Page-Turner Published On: 2013-10-02

"Set aside all ideas of starting at the beginning and reading through to the end. This is a book to keep on your bedside table, or in the kitchen, or the garage, or anyplace else you might want to pick it up. Follow Clemens' own advice in reading it, as he did in writing it: Start reading at no particular point; wander at your free will all over it; read only about the thing that interests you for the moment; drop it the moment its interest threatens to pale; and turn your eye upon the new and more interesting thing that has intruded itself into your gaze meantime. Believe me, there are plenty of these in this wonderful volume." ― The Hartford Courant Published On: 2013-10-03

"One sees a mind bubbling and hears a uniquely American voice." ― Literary Review Published On: 2013-10-01

"Twain traveled extensively and befriended many luminaries, and his colorful experiences give the book the same Dickensian scope as the first volume, and presents a vivid picture of America in the 19th century and Twain’s indelible mark on it." ― Publishers Weekly Published On: 2013-10-01

"This is vintage Twain―timeless, and still germane." ― BookPage Published On: 2013-10-04

"Twain is frequently sad and cynical in these late-in-life writings (just a few years before his death) but his devastating wit and sharp-eyed commentary are on full display as well." ― Christian Science Monitor

"The publishing sensation of the year." -- Jonah Raskin ― San Francisco Chronicle Published On: 2013-10-11

"What we’ve inherited is no ordinary book. You may begin at the beginning and read to its end; you may reach into it like a grab bag and enjoy whatever you pull out. It doesn’t matter." ― Dallas Morning News Published On: 2013-10-12

"Twain ambles through eternal truths and trivia, telling of world events and personal piques. Witticisms appear at random intervals, and the ensuing laughter can be dangerous to the lower extremities if one doesn’t have a vicelike grip on this weighty tome." ― The Christian Science Monitor Published On: 2013-10-16

"In case you had any doubt about it, the new book demonstrates that Twain dictated as well as he wrote." ― The Washington Post Published On: 2013-10-13

"One of the more marvelous literary projects of our time."

― The Buffalo News Published On: 2013-10-20

"As much a sensitive and articulate historical work as an autobiography, the book is almost inexhaustible in its content. . . . What seems like a mountain of anecdotal scraps and opinions results in a clear picture of Clemens as Twain." ― Library Journal Published On: 2013-11-15

"If you surrender yourself to the sound of his voice, the pleasure of Twain’s company proves pretty hard to resist. His narrative may be loose, but at least it never loses sight of its subject." ― The New Yorker, Page-Turner Published On: 2013-11-14

"Because this edition of The Autobiography of Mark Twain is rich and open-ended even as it provides a text built with incredible insight and care, it is likely, indeed, to live up to its billing as the "Complete and Authoritative Edition."" ― Resources for American Literary Study Published On: 2015-01-01 --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

*Starred Review* In the second volume of this meticulously edited autobiography, readers hear Twain contrast his work with autobiographies giving readers “an open window” showcasing the famous people in the authors’ lives. His autobiography, Twain explains, serves not as a window but as “a mirror, and I am looking at myself in it all the time.” To be sure, this volume—comprising material Twain dictated between April 1906 and February 1907, two years before ending his dictation—does afford glimpses of notable contemporaries, including Bret Harte, James Russell Lowell, and Helen Keller. But the narrative repeatedly shows the novelist scrutinizing himself: watching, for instance, how he scowls at the depredations of Jay Gould, how he smiles at the antics of a pet cat, how he grieves at the anniversary of his wife’s death. The episodes of self-examination spin out—as Twain acknowledges—like an “excursion . . . that sidetracks itself” unpredictably. But Griffin and Smith’s careful annotations clarify the chronology running through Twain’s reflections about the face looking back at him from his mirror—now set in the perfect deadpan of a master humorist, now contorted with the acute anguish of a distressed soul. A treasure deserving shelf space next to Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. --Bryce Christensen --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Praise for Volume 1

“It feels like a form of time travel. One moment you’re on horseback in the Hawaiian islands ― or recovering from saddle boils with a cigar in your mouth ― and the next moment you’re meeting the Viennese maid he called, in a private joke, ‘Wuthering Heights.’ We can hardly wait for Volume 2.”― New York Times

“Twain's autobiography, finally available after a century, is a garrulous outpouring―and every word beguiles.”― Wall Street Journal

“I start reading Twain’s Autobiography at any page and don’t want to stop, for the sheer voluptuous pleasure of the prose.”― Roger Ebert --This text refers to the hardcover edition.