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Mark Twain

Letters From The Earth Paperback – August 20, 2013

by Mark Twain (Author)

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Letters From the Earth is a somber collection of essays and stories written by Mark Twain after the death of his wife and one of his daughters. Satan writes a probing letter to his fellow archangels Michael and Gabriel about the inconsistencies of human religious faith, in the title story. In this posthumously published book, Twain uses his characteristic acerbity and lucid powers of observation to investigate the nature of existence.

Print length

70 pages
Language

English
Publisher

EMP Press
Publication date

August 20, 2013
Dimensions

5.98 x 0.15 x 9.02 inches
ISBN-10

1619491575
ISBN-13

978-1619491571
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Twain sentimentalists will gasp, Bible-belters will turn purple, austere stylistic purists will raise eyebrows -- but dyed-in-the-wool Twain enthusiasts will grab hungrily for what amounts to a new volume by the 'Lincoln of our literature' ... The pages in this volume range from furious to funny, from deadly earnestness to frothy wordplay. --Library Journal

About the Author

Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on November 30, 1835, in the village of Florida, Missouri. He attended the ordinary western common school until he was twelve, the last of his formal schooling. In a span of fifteen years he was successively a typesetter, a steamboat pilot, a soldier for three weeks, a silver miner, a newspaper reporter, and a bohemian in San Francisco known as "Mark Twain." But in 1865, deeply in debt, he acknowledged a talent for "literature, of a low order, i.e., humorous." In the next forty years, he published more than a dozen books and hundreds of shorter works, including his masterpiece, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ EMP Press (August 20, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 70 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1619491575
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1619491571
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 4.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.98 x 0.15 x 9.02 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #2,311,996 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #51,362 in Classic Literature & Fiction

Customer Reviews:
390 ratings

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Mark Twain
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Mark Twain is the pseudonym of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 - 1910). He was born and brought up in the American state of Missouri and, because of his father's death, he left school to earn his living when he was only twelve. He was a great adventurer and travelled round America as a printer; prospected for gold and set off for South America to earn his fortune. He returned to become a steam-boat pilot on the Mississippi River, close to where he had grown up. The Civil War put an end to steam-boating and Clemens briefly joined the Confederate army - although the rest of his family were Unionists! He had already tried his hand at newspaper reporting and now became a successful journalist. He started to use the alias Mark Twain during the Civil War and it was under this pen name that he became a famous travel writer. He took the name from his steam-boat days - it was the river pilots' cry to let their men know that the water was two fathoms deep.
Mark Twain was always nostalgic about his childhood and in 1876 The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was published, based on his own experiences. The book was soon recognised as a work of genius and eight years later the sequel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, was published. The great writer Ernest Hemingway claimed that 'All modern literature stems from this one book.'
Mark Twain was soon famous all over the world. He made a fortune from writing and lost it on a typesetter he invented. He then made another fortune and lost it on a bad investment. He was an impulsive, hot-tempered man but was also quite sentimental and superstitious. He was born when Halley's Comet was passing the Earth and always believed he would die when it returned - this is exactly what happened.
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Connor Burnett

For Hardcore Twain Fans Only

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2020

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If you're a big fan of Mark Twain, you will certainly be entertained by this book. Its main draw-in being that it was prevented from being published until 1962, due to the fear that it may tarnish Twain's reputation as "America's Writer." Not only does it include the title's story but also passages that were cut from his other works such as "A Tramp Abroad" If you're new to Mark Twain, I can't say this would be the best book to start with though. As so much of this book has connections to the most well-known material he put out. Its recommended that you read his most famous titles first and then come back to this if you're craving more.

5 people found this helpful

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L. Laurent

Letters from the Earth should be required reading

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2015

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Letters from the Earth came close to never being published - so controversial were Twain's views on the negative aspects of organized religions. His daughter Clara, executor of her father's estate, refused to allow the manuscript to see the light of day, thinking she was protecting Twain's reputation. Fortunately, she was finally persuaded, 50 year's after Twain's death, to change her mind after a family friend convinced her that "Mark Twain belonged to the world" and that by the 1960's the public's opinions about religion were changing. It was only then that the 1939 manuscript edited by Bernard DeVoto was made available to the world.

Letters from the Earth confirms Twain's world-class status as an acute and objective observer of the human condition - particularly for the hypocritical aspects of institutional religions whose goals Twain saw were to control mankind, not serve it. Letters from the Earth should be required reading for every high school-er (and adult who hasn't yet read it); I can think of no better text to stimulate critical thinking about religion in both its beneficial and self-serving aspects - especially in this era when Christianity has been conflated by some with greedy Capitalism. Twain himself described his writing in this work as "sarcastic" - but it was sarcasm with well-deserved purpose. One of my favorite quotes (and there are many) describes the Creator's view of his own handiwork: "He took a pride in man; man was his finest invention; man was his pet, after the housefly . . . ."

20 people found this helpful

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Rando CalrissianTop Contributor: Science Fiction Books

Some Funny Passages but Not Great

Reviewed in the United States on March 3, 2021

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I think unless you have all of Twain's other works and biographicals covered you can probably leave this one on the Amazon shelf. There are definitely some classic Twain Sarcasm moments and choice defining of the human animal, but overall this reads pretty much like what it is — filler from the mind of a literary genius. Granted his filler is literally better than anything most of us could ever write, but in a world of limited hours to read endless works, including others from Twain, you're probably just as well moving on. Caveat: none of above applicable to true "Twain Scholars" who want to read every aspect.

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a cameron

gem of Mark Twain that waited 100 years to publish

Reviewed in the United States on March 13, 2021

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I first purchased a copy in about 1960 as a Xmas present for mom- when it first appeared. It was a bit scandalous then, and it is still a whole lot of fun. It was sort of a bible for me, and I have passed copies down to my Sunday school class kids over the years. This book gives clearer ideas about Twain that you would miss in his other books. It could be a gateway book to the rest of the books except Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer which were once considered the epitome of American Novels- but perhaps the liberal use of the N word makes them unteachable now. This book is not the Disney version of Twain.

One person found this helpful

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William C. Lloyd

Not the whole book

Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2012

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This "Letters from the Earth" is only "Letters from the Earth" itself. Let me explain: The full volume titled "Letters from the Earth" is [was?] a full-sized book containing not only "Letters from the Earth" itself -- which is, itself, absolutely marvellous and will never be forgotten by anyone who reads it -- but also a number of other small masterpieces by Twain, all discovered posthumously and edited and published by one Bernard DeVoto. THAT's what I thought I was buying [my own old copy has disappeared]. What a disappointment. So I'm sending this on as a gift for someone, and trying once again to find the real thing. And THIS thing doesn't even have page numbers!

54 people found this helpful

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Jaroca2

Timeless?

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2014

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Yes.

Father History discussing time immemorial and the ultimate creature. (We are egotistical, are we not?)

I have many of his works, including the first and second editions of his autobiography from the Mark Twain Project. His foresight and insights are truly amazing to me.

This could have been written within the past year and still be on target. His observations of the human condition are unparalleled. Enlightening, bright, dark, inspiring, foreboding, humor, pathos.........add your own descriptives

We don't need psychiatrists, we need to make this book mandatory reading in all schools.

His is a treasure of the ages and this work proves it.

Enjoy.

8 people found this helpful

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glitzqueen

Twain to the Max

Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2012

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This Kindle version was bought as a gift; the actual book has been in my library for decades and is among the rare volumes that get re-read. Here Twain makes mince of sacred cows in a fashion I'd be tempted to call inimitable if it weren't for Terry Pratchett, whose "Small Gods" carries on in the same spirit. Much of the material in these Twain essays is true laugh-long-and-loud stuff. His send-ups of elaborate Victorian etiquette spring first to mind, including such instructions as how to preserve proper decorum while saving someone from a fire. Much as I love "Huck" (especially the Stephen Dowling Butts riff), I'd pick this volume in a heartbeat, if I could have only one work by Mark Twain. If you haven't read it yet, you're in luck; enjoy yourself!

6 people found this helpful

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Louise L. Kurylo

Well reasoned, but dated

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2019

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The substance of the book is what I expected (and with which I agree). Not surprisingly, the style of writing shows its age and was less enjoyable to read than I expected from Mark Twain. Okay.

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Iwona Piasecka

Witty and funny take on religious.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 14, 2021

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Witty. Satan used to have it all, but he said one or two things too many and God had enough and sent him to Earth. From there, Satan writes letters to his brothers in Heaven, reporting about human way of living, loving and believing. It's quite funny to read Mark Twain's take on religion and beliefs.

Paul Davies

I am amazed that these texts survived to be published - Very ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 18, 2015

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Mark Twain expertly takes apart religion in a far more powerful way than Richard Dawkins ever could. By using humor to point out everything that is clearly insane about the bible and religious belief, he presents a very well thought out critique. We see that Twain knows his bible inside out as he presents witty, but intelegent, arguments against long held belief. I am amazed that these texts survived to be published - Very pleased that they did.

One person found this helpful

Travis Tee

One of my favourite books. Bought it as a gift to my ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 2, 2017

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One of my favourite books. Bought it as a gift to my mother, and she liked it as well. Funny, clever and very interesting commentary on religion and human nature, by one of the wittiest men in history.

April Lewis

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 30, 2017

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Very amusing book.

Amazon Customer

Four Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 9, 2017

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Wasn't blown away by this

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Letters From The Earth Paperback – August 20, 2013

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