Mark Twain Books In Order

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn Books In Publication Order

  1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876)
  2. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885)
  3. Tom Sawyer Abroad (1894)
  4. Tom Sawyer, Detective (1896)
  5. Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians and Other Unfinished Stories (1989)

Diaries Of Adam and Eve Books In Publication Order

  1. Extracts from Adam’s Diary (1904)
  2. Eve’s Diary (1906)

Standalone Novels In Publication Order

  1. The Gilded Age (1873)
  2. A Murder, a Mystery and a Marriage (1876)
  3. The Prince and the Pauper (1881)
  4. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889)
  5. The American Claimant (1892)
  6. The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson (1893)
  7. Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc (1896)
  8. A Double Barrelled Detective Story (1902)
  9. A Dog’s Tale (1904)
  10. King Leopold’s Soliloquy (1905)
  11. A Horse’s Tale (1907)
  12. The Adventures of Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass (1928)
  13. The Adventures of Colonel Sellers (1965)
  14. Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven (2008)

Short Story Collections In Publication Order

  1. The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Stories (1867)
  2. Eye Openers (1871)
  3. Screamers (1871)
  4. Mark Twain’s Sketches (1872)
  5. Sketches New and Old (1875)
  6. The Stolen White Elephant (1882)
  7. Merry Tales (1892)
  8. The 1,000,000 Pound Bank-Note, and Other New Stories (1893)
  9. The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg and Other Stories (1900)
  10. The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories (1906)
  11. The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories (1916)
  12. Alonzo Fitz and Other Stories (2004)

Non-Fiction Books In Publication Order

  1. The Innocents Abroad (1869)
  2. The Innocents at Home (1869)
  3. Mark Twain’s Burlesque Autobiography; and, First Romance (1871)
  4. Roughing It (1872)
  5. A Tramp Abroad (1880)
  6. Life on the Mississippi (1883)
  7. How to Tell a Story and Other Essays (1897)
  8. Following the Equator (1897)
  9. English as She is Taught (1900)
  10. What is Man? and Other Essays (1906)
  11. My Debut as a Literary Person (1906)
  12. Christian Science (1907)
  13. Is Shakespeare Dead? (1909)
  14. Mark Twain’s Speeches (1910)
  15. Letters from the Earth (2009)

Autobiography Of Mark Twain Books In Publication Order

  1. Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1 (1925)
  2. Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 2 (1925)
  3. Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 3 (1925)

Anthologies In Publication Order

  1. 50 Great American Short Stories (1963)
  2. Famous and Curious Animal Stories (1989)
  3. Spells of Enchantment: The Wondrous Fairy Tales of Western Culture (1991)
  4. Prose and Poetry of the American West (1991)
  5. Demons: Encounters with the Devil and His Minions, Fallen Angels, and the Possessed (2011)

Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn Book Covers

Diaries Of Adam and Eve Book Covers

Standalone Novels Book Covers

Short Story Collections Book Covers

Non-Fiction Book Covers

Autobiography Of Mark Twain Book Covers

Anthologies Book Covers

Mark Twain Books Overview

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today’s top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader’s viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences biographical, historical, and literary to enrich each reader’s understanding of these enduring works. Perhaps the best loved nineteenth century American novel, Mark Twain’s tale of boyhood adventure overflows with comedy, warmth, and slapstick energy. It brings to life and array of irresistible characters the awesomely self confident Tom, his best buddy Huck Finn, indulgent Aunt Polly, and the lovely, beguiling Becky as well as such unforgettable incidents as whitewashing a fence, swearing an oath in blood, and getting lost in a dark and labyrinthine cave. Below Tom Sawyer s sunny surface lurk hints of a darker reality, of youthful innocence and na vet confronting the cruelty, hypocrisy, and foolishness of the adult world a theme that would become more pronounced in Twain s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Despite such suggestions, Tom Sawyer remains Twain s joyful ode to the endless possibilities of childhood. H. Daniel Peck is John Guy Vassar Professor of English at Vassar College and is the author of Thoreau s Morning Work and A World by Itself: The Pastoral Moment in Cooper s Fiction.

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today’s top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader’s viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences biographical, historical, and literary to enrich each reader’s understanding of these enduring works. ‘Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is the only one of Mark Twain’s various books which can be called a masterpiece. I do not suggest that it is his only book of permanent interest; but it is the only one in which his genius is completely realized, and the only one which creates its own category.’ T. S. EliotHuckleberry Finn, rebel against school and church, casual inheritor of gold treasure, rafter of the Mississippi, and savior of Jim the runaway slave, is the archetypical American maverick. Fleeing the respectable society that wants to ‘sivilize’ him, Huck Finn shoves off with Jim on a rhapsodic raft journey down the Mississippi River. The two bind themselves to one another, becoming intimate friends and agreeing ‘there warn’t no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don’t. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft.’As Huck learns about love, responsibility, and morality, the trip becomes a metaphoric voyage through his own soul, culminating in the glorious moment when he decides to ‘go to hell’ rather than return Jim to slavery. Mark Twain defined classic as ‘a book which people praise and don’t read’; Huckleberry Finn is a happy exception to his own rule. Twain’s mastery of dialect, coupled with his famous wit, has made Adventures of Huckleberry Finn one of the most loved and distinctly American classics ever written. Nominated for a Grammy for his work as co producer of the five CD box set The Jazz Singers 1998, Robert O’Meally is Zora Neale Hurston Professor of Literature at Columbia University and Director of Columbia University’s Center for Jazz Studies. He is the principal writer of Seeing Jazz 1997, the catalogue for the Smithsonian’s exhibit on jazz and literature, and the co editor of The Norton Anthology of African American Literature 1996.

Tom Sawyer Abroad

This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare’s finesse to Oscar Wilde s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim s Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must have addition to any library.

Tom Sawyer, Detective

Purchase one of 1st World Library’s Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. 1st World Library Literary Society is a non profit educational organization. Visit us online at www. 1stWorldLibrary. ORG WELL, it was the next spring after me and Tom Sawyer set our old nig*ger Jim free, the time he was chained up for a runaway slave down there on Tom’s uncle Silas’s farm in Arkansaw. The frost was working out of the ground, and out of the air, too, and it was getting closer and closer onto barefoot time every day; and next it would be marble time, and next mumbletypeg, and next tops and hoops, and next kites, and then right away it would be summer and going in a swimming. It just makes a boy homesick to look ahead like that and see how far off summer is. Yes, and it sets him to sighing and saddening around, and there’s something the matter with him, he don’t know what. But anyway, he gets out by himself and mopes and thinks; and mostly he hunts for a lonesome place high up on the hill in the edge of the woods, and sets there and looks away off on the big Mississippi down there a reaching miles and miles around the points where the timber looks smoky and dim it’s so far off and still, and everything’s so solemn it seems like everybody you’ve loved is dead and gone, and you ‘most wish you was dead and gone too, and done with it all.

Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians and Other Unfinished Stories

In 1885 while The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was becoming one of the best selling American classics of modern times, Mark Twain began this sequel in which Huck Finn, Tom Sawyer and Jim head west on the trail of two white girls kidnapped by Sioux warriors, learning the hard way that ‘book Injuns and real Injuns ain t the same.’ Fifteen thousand words into the work, Twain stopped in the middle of a sentence, never to go back; the unfinished story sitting on dusty shelves for more than a hundred years until The University of California cut a deal with Utah author Lee Nelson to finish it. This story, Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians, is the first new book with Mark Twain’s name on it in nearly a hundred years, with readers saying they can t tell where Twain stops and Nelson begins: a story of adventure, wit and wisdom with Tom and Huck seeking true love while tramping through hostile Indian country, befriending Bill Hickman and Porter Rockwell, stealing from the United States Army, then on to face a gunfight and hangman s noose in Sacramento, California. Author’s Note: I discovered Mark Twain s unfinished story Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer Among the Indians when it was published in Life Magazine in 1968. I was in the Brigham Young University barbershop, reading part of the story before my haircut, and I read the rest afterward. I was enthralled, hanging on every word as Huck, Tom and Jim joined up with the Mills family on the Platte River. A group of Sioux Indians befriended the family, then suddenly slaughtered the parents and older boys, and kidnapped the two girls and Jim. Huck and Tom joined forces with mountain man Brace Johnson to follow the Indians and rescue the girls. As they approached the Indian camp, getting ready for a daring rescue, the story suddenly ended, right in the middle of a sentence. I was so disappointed. Although Mark Twain wrote and published a number of books and stories after 1885, he never finished this one. Early in 2002, while watching a documentary on Mark Twain on a local PBS station, I remembered reading the Among the Indians story in the barbershop. By this time I had published a dozen historical novels with settings on the American frontier, and realized I was probably as qualified as any other living author to finish the work begun by Twain. A little research on the web led me to those who controlled the copyright The Mark Twain Foundation and the University of California Press. Contact was made, approval was granted, a contract was drawn up, and the following story is the result. I have no idea how Twain intended to finish the story, and I reason that he didn t know either, or he would have done it. I just hope that wherever he is, he enjoys my conclusion as much as I enjoyed his beginning.

Extracts from Adam’s Diary

Written at the end of Twain’s career, Extracts from Adam’s Diary was first published in 1897 and Extracts from Eve’s Diary in 1905. Twain’s Adam was based on himself while Eve was modelled after his wife Livy. It is fitting that these two essays be joined together in one package.

Eve’s Diary

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www. million books. com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: f nr’0 iiarij the other one, though I did make some close shots, for I saw the black blot of the clod sail right into the midst of the golden clusters forty or fifty times, just barely missing them, and if I could have held out a little longer maybe I could have got one. So I cried a little, which was natural, I suppose, for one of my age, and after I was rested I got a basket and started for a place on the extreme rim of the circle, where the stars were close to the ground and I could get them with my hands, which would be better, anyway, because I could gather them tenderly then, and not break them. But it was farther than I thought, and at last I had to give it up; I was so tired I couldn’t drag my feet another step; and be Saturday sides, they were sore and hurt me very much. I couldn’t get back home; it was too far, and turning cold; but I found some tigers, and nestled in among them and was most adorably comfortable, and their breath was sweet and pleasant, because they live on strawberries. I had never seen a tiger before, but I knew them in a minute by the stripes. If I could have one of those skins, it would make a lovely gown. To day I am getting better ideas about distances. I was so eager to get hold of every pretty thing that I giddily grabbed for it, sometimes when it was too far off, and sometimes when it was but six inches away but seemed a foot alas, with Saturday thorns between! I learned a lesson; also I made an axiom, all out of my own head my very first one: The scratched Experiment shuns the thorn. I think it is a very good one for one so young. I followed the other Experiment around, yesterday afternoon, at a distance, to see what it might be for, if I could. But I was not able to make out. I think it is a man. I had never seen…

The Gilded Age

THE consulting rooms of Dr Orion Hood, the eminent criminologist and specialist in certain moral disorders, lay along the sea front at Scarborough, in a series of very large and well lighted french windows, which showed the North Sea like one endless outer wall of blue green marble. In such a place the sea had something of the monotony of a blue green dado: for the chambers themselves were ruled throughout by a terrible tidiness not unlike the terrible tidiness of the sea. It must not be supposed that Dr Hood’s apartments excluded luxury, or even poetry. These things were there, in their place; but one felt that they were never allowed out of their place. Luxury was there: there stood upon a special table eight or ten boxes of the best cigars; but they were built upon a plan so that the strongest were always nearest the wall and the mildest nearest the window. A tantalus containing three kinds of spirit, all of a liqueur excellence, stood always on this table of luxury; but the fanciful have asserted that the whisky, brandy, and rum seemed always to stand at the same level. Poetry was there: the left hand corner of the room was lined with as complete a set of English classics as the right hand could show of English and foreign physiologists.

A Murder, a Mystery and a Marriage

An unpublished Mark Twain story surfaces 125 years after it was first written. a must read for any Twain enthusiast and a perfect introduction to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

America’s great love affair with Mark Twain continues with the paperback publication of this new work that first emerged in the fall of 2001. , A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage, Twain’s delightful rendition of life and a disturbing death in the mythical hamlet of Deer Lick, Missouri, chronicles the fortunes of a humble farmer, John Gray, determined to marry off his daughter Mary to the scion of the town’s wealthiest family. But the sudden appearance of a stranger found lying unconscious in the snow not only derails Gray’s plans but also leads to a mysterious murder whose solution lies at the heart of this captivating story. Including a foreword and afterword by best selling humorist Roy Blount Jr. and stunning, award winning paintings by illustrator Peter de S ve, A Murder, a Mystery, and a Marriage will delight Twain lovers for generations to come. 6 four color illustrations. Winner of the 2001 Hamilton King Award from the Society of Illustrators.

The Prince and the Pauper

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic includes a glossary, notes, and reading pointers for sharper insights to help the modern reader appreciate Twain’s perspectives, allusions, and language. After the young Prince Edward VI of England and a peasant boy switch places, the ‘little king’ tries to escape from a world in which he must beg for food, sleep with rodents, face ridicule, and avoid assassination. Meanwhile, the peasant, who is now the prince, dreads exposure and possible execution; members of the Court believe he has gone mad. As a result of the swap, both boys learn that social class, like so much of life, is determined by chance and random circumstance. Originally published in 1881, The Prince and the Pauper is one of Mark Twain’s earliest social satires. With his caustic wit and biting irony, Twain satirizes the power of the monarchy, unjust laws and barbaric punishments, superstitions, and religious intolerance. Although usually viewed as a child’s story, The Prince and the Pauper offers adults critical insight into a people and time period not really all that different from our own.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, by Mark Twain, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics: New introductions commissioned from today’s top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader’s viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences biographical, historical, and literary to enrich each reader’s understanding of these enduring works. One of the greatest satires in American literature, Mark Twain‘s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur s Court begins when Hank Morgan, a skilled mechanic in a nineteenth century New England arms factory, is struck on the head during a quarrel and awakens to find himself among the knights and magicians of King Arthur s Camelot.

What follows is a culture clash of the first magnitude, as practical minded Hank, disgusted with the ignorance and superstition of the people, decides to enlighten them with education and technology. Through a series of wonderfully imaginative adventures, Twain celebrates American homespun ingenuity and democracy as compared to the backward ineptitude of a chivalric monarchy. At the same time, however, Twain raises the question of whether material progress necessarily creates a better society. As Hank becomes more powerful and self righteous, he also becomes more ruthless, more autocratic, and less able to control events, until the only way out is a massively destructive war.

While the dark pessimism that would fully blossom in Twain s later works can be discerned in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur s Court, the novel will nevertheless be remembered primarily for its wild leaps of imagination, brilliant wit, and entertaining storytelling.

With over 200 of the original illustrations by Dan Beard. Stephen Railton teaches American literature at the University of Virginia. His most recent book is Mark Twain: A Short Introduction.

The American Claimant

The American Claimant is enormous fun. I’m here to celebrate the mad energy of this strange novel. In it we have the pleasure of seeing Mark Twain’s imagination go berserk,’ writes Bobbie Ann Mason in her charming introduction to this novel. The American Claimant is a comedy of mistaken identities and multiple role switches fertile and familiar Mark Twain territory all revolving around the serious debate between the hereditary aristocracy of Europe and the democracy of America. The central character, Colonel Mulberry Sellers, is an effusive and buoyant mad scientist, brim*ming with energy and hare brained ideas, whose voluble wackiness leaves the reader reeling in the wake of inventions that prefigure DNA cloning, fax machines, and photocopiers, and which include a Cursing Phonograph that stores up the profanity necessary for use with sailors at sea. At the same time, Twain delves deeply into issues of constructing self and identity, and into the moral and social questions raised by the increasing capitalism and industrialism of the United States. The American Claimant stands at a juncture between science fiction and fantasy, romance, farce, and political satire. It touches on the themes at the very center of American identity and of Twain’s own relationship to American society, woven together in the colorful crazy quilt that is Twain’s writing, a brilliant tapestry of free wheeling American idiom, standard English, and the stuffy utterances of English earls. As Twain himself said while writing The American Claimant, ‘I think it will simply howl with fun. I wake up in the night laughing.’

The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson

Unabridged Audiobook. 1 MP3 CD 6 hours, 33 minutes. Narrated by Michael Prichard Two half brothers look so similar as infants that no one can tell them apart. One, the legitimate son of a rich man, is destined for a life of comfort, while the other is condemned to be a slave as he is part black. The mother of the would be slave is also the nurse of the other; to give her son the best life possible she switches the two. Soon the boy who is given every advantage becomes spoiled and cruel. He takes sad*istic pleasure in tormenting his half brother. As they grow older, the townspeople no longer notice that the boys look similar, and they readily accept that each is born to his station. A local lawyer, David Wilson has had a similar experience. On his first day in the village he made an odd remark about a dog, and the towns people gave him the condescending name of ‘Pudd’nhead’. Although he was a young intelligent lawyer, he is unable to live down this name and toils in obscurity for over twenty years. Finally he is presented with a complex murder trial and is given the chance to prove himself to the townspeople and shake this unjust label. This complex murder mystery is a psychological study that explores how perceptions shape character. Twain combines biting satire, with his trademark scenes of farce and levity. This audiobook is on one CD, encoded in MP3 format and will only play on CD players and computers that have the ability to play this unique format.

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc

Very few people know that Mark Twain Samuel Clemens wrote a major work on Joan of Arc. Still fewer know that he considered it not only his most important but also his best work. He spent twelve years in research and many months in France doing archival work and then made several attempts until he felt he finally had the story he wanted to tell. He reached his conclusion about Joan’s unique place in history only after studying in detail accounts written by both sides, the French and the English. Because of Mark Twain’s antipathy to institutional religion, one might expect an anti Catholic bias toward Joan or at least toward the bishops and theologians who condemned her. Instead one finds a remarkably accurate biography of the life and mission of Joan of Arc told by one of this country’s greatest storytellers. The very fact that Mark Twain wrote this book and wrote it the way he did is a powerful testimony to the attractive power of the Catholic Church’s saints. This is a book that really will inform and inspire.

A Double Barrelled Detective Story

Mark Twain is best known for his novels and short stories. Twain uses his incredible whit to depict life in America. His books Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn have been read by school children for generations. His life on the Mississippi River has peeked the imagination of boys to go and build a raft and sail off into unknown adventures. Double Barrelled Detective Story is a story in which Sherlock Holmes finds himself in the Old West. From Wikipedia, At a mining camp in California, Fetlock Jones, a nephew of Sherlock Holmes, kills his master, a silver miner, by blowing up his cabin. Since this occurs when Holmes happens to be visiting, he brings his skills to bear upon the case and arrives at logically worked conclusions that are proved to be abysmally wrong by an amateur detective with an extremely keen sense of smell, which he employs in solving the case. This could be seen as yet another piece where Twain tries to prove that life does not quite follow logic.

A Dog’s Tale

For deft plotting, riotous inventiveness, unforgettable characters, and language that brilliantly captures the lively rhythms of American speech, no American writer comes close to Mark Twain. This sparkling anthology covers the entire span of Twain’s inimitable yarn spinning, from his early broad comedy to the biting satire of his later years. Every one of his sixty stories is here: ranging from the frontier humor of The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, to the bitter vision of humankind in The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, to the delightful hilarity of Is He Living or Is He Dead? Surging with Twain s ebullient wit and penetrating insight into the follies of human nature, this volume is a vibrant summation of the career of in the words of H. L. Mencken the father of our national literature.

King Leopold’s Soliloquy

This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR’d book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

A Horse’s Tale

Purchase one of 1st World Library’s Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. 1st World Library Literary Society is a non profit educational organization. Visit us online at www. 1stWorldLibrary. ORG I am Buffalo Bill’s horse. I have spent my life under his saddle with him in it, too, and he is good for two hundred pounds, without his clothes; and there is no telling how much he does weigh when he is out on the war path and has his batteries belted on. He is over six feet, is young, hasn’t an ounce of waste flesh, is straight, graceful, springy in his motions, quick as a cat, and has a handsome face, and black hair dangling down on his shoulders, and is beautiful to look at; and nobody is braver than he is, and nobody is stronger, except myself. Yes, a person that doubts that he is fine to see should see him in his beaded buck skins, on my back and his rifle peeping above his shoulder, chasing a hostile trail, with me going like the wind and his hair streaming out behind from the shelter of his broad slouch. Yes, he is a sight to look at then and I’m part of it myself. I am his favorite horse, out of dozens. Big as he is, I have carried him eighty one miles between nightfall and sunrise on the scout; and I am good for fifty, day in and day out, and all the time. I am not large, but I am built on a business basis. I have carried him thousands and thousands of miles on scout duty for the army, and there’s not a gorge, nor a pass, nor a valley, nor a fort, nor a trading post, nor a buffalo range in the whole sweep of the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains that we don’t know as well as we know the bugle calls. He is Chief of Scouts to the Army of the Frontier, and it makes us very important. In such a position as I hold in the military service one needs to be of good family and possess an education much above the common to be worthy of the place. I am the best educated horse outside of the hippodrome, every body says, and the best mannered. It may be so, it is not for me to say; modesty is the best policy, I think. Buffalo Bill taught me the most of what I know, my mother taught me much, and I taught myself the rest. Lay a row of moccasins before me Pawnee, Sioux, Shoshone, Cheyenne, Blackfoot, and as many other tribes as you please and I can name the tribe every moccasin belongs to by the make of it. Name it in horse talk, and could do it in American if I had speech.

Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven

Books for All Kinds of Readers. ReadHowYouWant offers the widest selection of on demand, accessible format editions on the market today. Each edition has been optimized for maximum readability, using our patent pending conversion technology. We are partnering with leading publishers around the globe to create accessible editions of their titles. Our goal is to have accessible editions simultaneously released with publishers new books so that all readers can have access to the books they want to read today. To find more books in your format visit www. readhowyouwant. com

The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Stories

THE CELEBRATED JUMPING FROG OF FALAVERAS COUNTY. In compliance with the request of a friend of mine, who wrote me from the East, I called on good natured, garrulous old Simon Wheeler, and inquired after my friend’s friend, Leonidas W. Smiley, as requested to do, and I hereunto append the result. I have a lurking suspicion that Leonidas W. Smiley is a myth; that my friend never knew such a personage; and that he only conjectured that, if I asked old Wheeler about him, it would remind him of his infamous Jim Smiley, and he would go to work and bore me nearly to death with some infernal reminiscence of him as long and tedious as it should be useless to me. If that was the design, it certainly succeeded.I found Simon Wheeler dozing comfortably by the bar room stove of the old, dilapidated tavern in the ancient mining camp of Angel’s, and I noticed that he was fat and bald headed, and had an expression of winning gentleness and simplicity upon his tranquil countenance. He roused up and gave me good day. I told him a friend of mine had commissioned me to make some inquiries about a cherished companion of his boyhood named Leonidas W. Smiley Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley a young minister of the Gospel, who he had heard was at one time a resident of Angel’s Camp. I added that, if Mr. Wheeler could tell me any thing about this Rev. Leonidas W. Smiley, I would feel under many obligations to him. Table of Contents CONTENTs; ‘The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County’; ‘Aurelia’s Unfortunate Young Man’; ‘A Complaint about Correspondents, Dated in San Francisco’; ‘Answers to Correspondents’; ‘Among the Fenians’; ‘The Story of the Bad Little Boy Who Didn’t Come to Grief’; ‘Curing a Cold’; ‘An Inquiry about Insurances’; ‘Literature in the Dry Diggings’; ”After’ Jenkins’; ‘Lucretia Smith’s Soldier’; ‘The Killing of

Mark Twain’s Sketches

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Sketches New and Old

Purchase one of 1st World Library’s Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. 1st World Library Literary Society is a non profit educational organization. Visit us online at www. 1stWorldLibrary. ORG My beautiful new watch had run eighteen months without losing or gaining, and without breaking any part of its machinery or stopping. I had come to believe it infallible in its judgments about the time of day, and to consider its constitution and its anatomy imperishable. But at last, one night, I let it run down. I grieved about it as if it were a recognized messenger and forerunner of calamity. But by and by I cheered up, set the watch by guess, and commanded my bodings and superstitions to depart. Next day I stepped into the chief jeweler’s to set it by the exact time, and the head of the establishment took it out of my hand and proceeded to set it for me. Then he said, ‘She is four minutes slow regulator wants pushing up.’ I tried to stop him tried to make him understand that the watch kept perfect time. But no; all this human cabbage could see was that the watch was four minutes slow, and the regulator must be pushed up a little; and so, while I danced around him in anguish, and implored him to let the watch alone, he calmly and cruelly did the shameful deed. My watch began to gain. It gained faster and faster day by day. Within the week it sickened to a raging fever, and its pulse went up to a hundred and fifty in the shade. At the end of two months it had left all the timepieces of the town far in the rear, and was a fraction over thirteen days ahead of the almanac.

The Stolen White Elephant

Three detective stories by Mark Twain with an introduction by Walter Mosely, the modern master of mystery writing, and an afterword by noted scholar Lillian S. Robinson. ‘The Stolen White Elephant‘ is a broad farce mocking the self proclaimed omniscience of many fictional detectives, told entirely in the form of a series of ridiculous telegraphs. Revolving around the theft of a literal white elephant, the gift of the King of Siam, this manifestly absurd story is nevertheless modeled after the real life efforts of a blundering New York Police Department to recover the corpse of one Alexander T. Stewart, stolen from his family vault in 1878. ‘A Double Barreled Detective Story’ is another delightful spoof of the mystery genre, then in its infancy, this time introducing the reader to Sherlock Holmes as he has never been seen before or since. Far from his usual elegant London haunts, the great detective is caught up in a melodramatic murder mystery of love, betrayal, and vengeance in a rough California mining town. Finally, in ‘Tom Sawyer, Detective,’ Twain gives us a lively adventure featuring Tom Sawyer as the great detective and Huck Finn as his Watson, investigating diamond thefts and murders back in Hannibal. Three delightful stories, all with Twain’s trademark wit and sense of fun.

Merry Tales

Books for All Kinds of Readers. ReadHowYouWant offers the widest selection of on demand, accessible format editions on the market today. Each edition has been optimized for maximum readability, using our patent pending conversion technology. We are partnering with leading publishers around the globe to create accessible editions of their titles. Our goal is to have accessible editions simultaneously released with publishers new books so that all readers can have access to the books they want to read today. To find more books in your format visit www. readhowyouwant. com

The 1,000,000 Pound Bank-Note, and Other New Stories

A delightful collection of diverse tales, ranging from short stories and personal essays to literary criticism and travel pieces, The L1,000,000 Bank Note gathers together nine works, many of which are now unobtainable elsewhere, that testify to the range of Twain’s humor and the diversity of his interests. It was published in 1893, in a disastrous decade for the United States, a time marked by doubt and waning optimism, rapid immigration, labor problems, unchecked Social Darwinism, and the rise of political violence and social protest. It was also a difficult time for Twain personally, as he was forced into bankruptcy and devastated by the death of his favorite daughter, Suzy. Yet the title story still brims with confidence and optimism, marking the moment of hope just before Twain turned to the grim stories of his later years. ‘The L1,000,000 Bank Note’ charts the magical rags to riches ascent of a virtuous and resourceful mining broker’s clerk from San Francisco who arrives in London with a single dollar in his pocket, and proceeds to ultimate and splendid financial success and fame in London society a paean to ingenuity and a celebration of its cunning confidence man narrator. The other pieces range from ‘Mental Telegraphy,’ a serious essay reflecting Twain’s continuing interest in the occult he and his wife would later try several seances, poignantly and unsuccessfully, to contact their daughter Suzy to a tongue in cheek ‘Petition to the Queen of England’ for relief from taxes. Readers will also find several of Twain’s famously engaging travel essays, combining autobiographical reminiscence, tall tales, and ruminations on society and culture in pieces on the new city of Berlin, advances in transatlantic travel, and, in ‘Playing Courier,’ a brilliant comedy of confusion at the common frustrations of international travel. A charming collection of tales that cover the wide range of Twain’s diverse interests.

The $30,000 Bequest and Other Stories

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www. million books. com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: WAS IT HEAVEN? OR HELL? CHAPTER I YOU told a lie?’ ‘You confess it you actually confess it you told a lie!’ CHAPTER II THE family consisted of four persons: Margaret Lester, widow, aged thirty six; Helen Lester, her daughter, aged sixteen; Mrs. Lester’s maiden aunts, Hannah and Hester Gray, twins, aged sixty seven. Waking and sleeping, the three women spent their days and nights in adoring the young girl; in watching the movements of her sweet spirit in the mirror of her face; in refreshing their souls with the vision of her bloom and beauty; in listening to the music of her voice; in gratefully recognizing how rich and fair for them was the world with this presence in it; in shuddering to think how desolate it would be with this light gone out of it. By nature and inside the aged aunts were utterly dear and lovable and good, but in the matter of morals and conduct their training had been so uncompromisingly strict that it had made them exteriorly austere, not to say stern. Their influence was effective in the house; so effective that the mother and the daughter conformed to its moral and religious requirements cheerfully, contentedly, happily, unquestionably. To do this was become second nature to them. And so in this peaceful heaven there were no clashings, no irritations, no faultfindings, no heart burnings. In it a lie had no place. In it a lie was unthinkable. In it speech was restricted to absolute truth, iron bound truth, implacable and uncompromising truth, let the resulting consequences be what they might. At last, one day, under stress of circumstances, the darling of the house sullied her lips with a lie and confessed it, with tears and self upbraid ings. There are not any words that can paint the consternation of the aunts. It was as if the sky had…

The Mysterious Stranger and Other Stories

Purchase one of 1st World Library’s Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. 1st World Library Literary Society is a non profit educational organization. Visit us online at www. 1stWorldLibrary. ORG It was in 1590 winter. Austria was far away from the world, and asleep; it was still the Middle Ages in Austria, and promised to remain so forever. Some even set it away back centuries upon centuries and said that by the mental and spiritual clock it was still the Age of Belief in Austria. But they meant it as a compliment, not a slur, and it was so taken, and we were all proud of it. I remember it well, although I was only a boy; and I remember, too, the pleasure it gave me. Yes, Austria was far from the world, and asleep, and our village was in the middle of that sleep, being in the middle of Austria. It drowsed in peace in the deep privacy of a hilly and woodsy solitude where news from the world hardly ever came to disturb its dreams, and was infinitely content. At its front flowed the tranquil river, its surface painted with cloud forms and the reflections of drifting arks and stone boats; behind it rose the woody steeps to the base of the lofty precipice; from the top of the precipice frowned a vast castle, its long stretch of towers and bastions mailed in vines; beyond the river, a league to the left, was a tumbled expanse of forest clothed hills cloven by winding gorges where the sun never penetrated; and to the right a precipice overlooked the river, and between it and the hills just spoken of lay a far reaching plain dotted with little homesteads nested among orchards and shade trees.

Alonzo Fitz and Other Stories

Purchase one of 1st World Library’s Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. 1st World Library Literary Society is a non profit educational organization. Visit us online at www. 1stWorldLibrary. ORG It was well along in the forenoon of a bitter winter’s day The town of Eastport, in the state of Maine, lay buried under a deep snow that was newly fallen The customary bustle in the streets was wanting. One could look long distances down them and see nothing but a dead white emptiness, with silence to match. Of course I do not mean that you could see the silence no, you could only hear it The sidewalks were merely long, deep ditches, with steep snow walls on either side Here and there you might hear the faint, far scrape of a wooden shovel, and if you were quick enough you might catch a glimpse of a distant black figure stooping and disappearing in one of those ditches, and reappearing the next moment with a motion which you would know meant the heaving out of a shovelful of snow But you needed to be quick, for that black figure would not linger, but would soon drop that shovel and scud for the house, thrashing itself with its arms to warm them Yes, it was too venomously cold for snow shovelers or anybody else to stay out long.

The Innocents Abroad

Fully entitled ‘The Innocents Abroad, or the New Pilgrims’ Progress,’ Twain’s colorful travelogue is a compilation of the newspaper articles he wrote while on a cruise to Europe, Egypt, and the Holy Land with other Americans. His account frequently uses humor to describe the people and places he visits, although this becomes highly satiric at times as Twain becomes frustrated with European profiteering, a pointless historical anecdote in Gibraltar, and the overly institutionalized nature of countries like Italy. Where he critiques, however, he also feels a strange reverence, as in the Canary Islands and the Holy Land. A more serious theme also flows through Twain’s experience. Twain sees the conflict between history and the modern world as he travels with Americans through much older civilizations, where they discover that they shouldn’t simply believe their guidebooks or what they are told by foreigners. In this landmark novel, Twain seems to search for the American identity after he has left home and embarked on an adventure across the world.

The Innocents at Home

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

Roughing It

Purchase one of 1st World Library’s Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. 1st World Library Literary Society is a non profit educational organization. Visit us online at www. 1stWorldLibrary. ORG This book is merely a personal narrative, and not a pretentious history or a philosophical dissertation. It is a record of several years of variegated vagabondizing, and its object is rather to help the resting reader while away an idle hour than afflict him with metaphysics, or goad him with science. Still, there is information in the volume; information concerning an interesting episode in the history of the Far West, about which no books have been written by persons who were on the ground in person, and saw the happenings of the time with their own eyes. I allude to the rise, growth and culmination of the silver mining fever in Nevada a curious episode, in some respects; the only one, of its peculiar kind, that has occurred in the land; and the only one, indeed, that is likely to occur in it. Yes, take it all around, there is quite a good deal of information in the book. I regret this very much; but really it could not be helped: information appears to stew out of me naturally, like the precious ottar of roses out of the otter. Sometimes it has seemed to me that I would give worlds if I could retain my facts; but it cannot be. The more I calk up the sources, and the tighter I get, the more I leak wisdom. Therefore, I can only claim indulgence at the hands of the reader, not justification.

A Tramp Abroad

Written by legendary author Mark Twain, A Tramp Abroad is widely considered to be one of the greatest books of all time.

In April 1878, Mark Twain and his family traveled to Europe. Overloaded with creative ideas, Twain had hoped that the sojourn would spark his creativity enough to bring at least one of the books in his head to fruition. Instead, he wrote of his walking tour of Europe, describing his impressions of the Black Forest, the Matterhorn, and other attractions. Neglected for years, A Tramp Abroad sparkles with Twain’s shrewd observations and highly opinionated comments on Old World culture and showcases his unparalleled ability to integrate humorous sketches, autobiographical tidbits, and historical anecdotes in a consistently entertaining narrative. Cast in the form of a walking tour through Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, and England, A Tramp Abroad includes among its adventures a voyage by raft down the Neckar and an ascent of Mont Blanc by telescope, as well as the author’s attempts to study art — a wholly imagined activity Twain ”authenticated” with his own wonderfully primitive pictures. This book reveals Mark Twain as a mature writer and is filled with brilliant prose, insightful wit, and Twain’s unerring instinct for the truth.

Life on the Mississippi

Purchase one of 1st World Library’s Classic Books and help support our free internet library of downloadable eBooks. 1st World Library Literary Society is a non profit educational organization. Visit us online at www. 1stWorldLibrary. ORG BUT the basin of the Mississippi is the BODY OF THE NATION. All the other parts are but members, important in themselves, yet more important in their relations to this. Exclusive of the Lake basin and of 300,000 square miles in Texas and New Mexico, which in many aspects form a part of it, this basin contains about 1,250,000 square miles. In extent it is the second great valley of the world, being exceeded only by that of the Amazon. The valley of the frozen Obi approaches it in extent; that of La Plata comes next in space, and probably in habitable capacity, having about eight ninths of its area; then comes that of the Yenisei, with about seven ninths; the Lena, Amoor, Hoang ho, Yang tse kiang, and Nile, five ninths; the Ganges, less than one half; the Indus, less than one third; the Euphrates, one fifth; the Rhine, one fifteenth. It exceeds in extent the whole of Europe, exclusive of Russia, Norway, and Sweden. IT WOULD CONTAIN AUSTRIA FOUR TIMES, GERMANY OR SPAIN FIVE TIMES, FRANCE SIX TIMES, THE BRITISH ISLANDS OR ITALY TEN TIMES. Conceptions formed from the river basins of Western Europe are rudely shocked when we consider the extent of the valley of the Mississippi; nor are those formed from the sterile basins of the great rivers of Siberia, the lofty plateaus of Central Asia, or the mighty sweep of the swampy Amazon more adequate. Latitude, elevation, and rainfall all combine to render every part of the Mississippi Valley capable of supporting a dense population. AS A DWELLING PLACE FOR CIVILIZED MAN IT IS BY FAR THE FIRST UPON OUR GLOBE.

How to Tell a Story and Other Essays

A series of essays by Twain on reading and writing. ‘How to Tell a Story,’ the title piece illuminates Twain’s own intuitive story telling genius, as he describes the three elements the pause, poker faced pseudo innocence, and the performance of a pretended identity that shape his writing. Even more intriguing, he looks at his celebrated dramatic performances of his written work, describing his struggle to perfect the delivery of Jim Blaine’s story of his Grandfather’s Ram from Roughing It, and comparing the end result to the original written version. Other pieces include ‘Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses,’ as Twain takes Cooper to task for committing, ‘in the restricted space of two thirds of a page of The Deerslayer…
. 114 offenses against literary art out of a possible 115.’ In the process of his scathing attack, Twain again gives us a clear view into his own writing, objecting above all to the fact that Cooper’s characters do not sound or act like real human beings. In other pieces, Twain defends the virtue of a dead woman, tries to protect ordinary citizens from insult by railroad conductors, and, in ‘The Private History of the ‘Jumping Frog’ Story,’ translates his celebrated story first into the ‘original’ French, and then back into English. A delightful collection of Twain’s wit and wisdom.

Following the Equator

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www. million books. com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. By trying we can easily learn to endure adversity. Another man’s, I mean. Pudd’nhead Wilson’s Nrw Calendar. YOU soon find your long ago dreams of India rising in a sort of vague and luscious moonlight above the horizon rim of your opaque consciousness, and softly lighting up a thousand forgotten details which were parts of a vision that had once been vivid to you when you were a boy, and steeped your spirit in tales of the East. The barbaric gor geousnesses, for instance; and the princely titles, the sumptuous titles, the sounding titles, how good they taste in the mouth! The Nizam of Hyderabad ; the Maharajah of Travancore; the Nabob of Jubbulpore; the Begum of Bhopal; the Nawab of Mysore; the Ranee of Gulnare; the Ahkoond of Swat; the Rao of Rohilkund; the Gaikwar of Baroda. Indeed, it is a country that runs richly to name. The great god Vishnu has 108 108 special ones 108 peculiarly holy ones names just for Sunday use only. I learned the whole of Vishnu’s LO8 by heart once, but they wouldn’t stay; I don’t remember any of them now but John W. c’ 35 And the romances connected with those princely native houses to this day they are always turning up, just as in the old, old times. They were sweating out a romance in an English court in Bombay a while before we were there. In this case a native prince, 16 years old, who has been enjoying his titles and dignities and estates unmolested for fourteen years, is suddenly haled into court on the charge that he is rightfully no prince at all, but a pauper peasant; that the real prince died when two and one half years old; that the death was concealed, and a peasant child smuggled into the royal cradle, and that this present incumbent was that smuggled substitute. This is the very material that so many o…

English as She is Taught

This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR’d book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.

What is Man? and Other Essays

This anthology is a thorough introduction to classic literature for those who have not yet experienced these literary masterworks. For those who have known and loved these works in the past, this is an invitation to reunite with old friends in a fresh new format. From Shakespeare’s finesse to Oscar Wilde s wit, this unique collection brings together works as diverse and influential as The Pilgrim s Progress and Othello. As an anthology that invites readers to immerse themselves in the masterpieces of the literary giants, it is must have addition to any library.

Christian Science

How does one teach Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, a book as controversial as it is central to the American literary canon? This collection of essays edited by James S. Leonard offers practical classroom methods for instructors dealing with the racism, the casual violence, and the role of women, as well as with structural and thematic discrepancies in the works of Mark Twain. The essays in Making Mark Twain Work in the Classroom reaffirm the importance of Twain in the American literature curriculum from high school through graduate study. Addressing slavery and race, gender, class, religion, language and ebonics, Americanism, and textual issues of interest to instructors and their students, the contributors offer guidance derived from their own demographically diverse classroom experiences. Although some essays focus on such works as A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur s Court and The Innocents Abroad, most discuss the hotly debated Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, viewed alternately in this volume as a comic masterpiece or as evidence of Twain s growing pessimism but always as an effective teaching tool. By placing Twain s work within the context of nineteenth century American literature and culture, Making Mark Twain Work in the Classroom will interest all instructors of American literature. It will also provoke debate among Americanists and those concerned with issues of race, class, and gender as they are represented in literature. Contributors. Joseph A. Alvarez, Lawrence I. Berkove, Anthony J. Berret, S.J., Wesley Britton, Louis J. Budd, James E. Caron, Everett Carter, Jocelyn Chadwick Joshua, Pascal Covici Jr., Beverly R. David, Victor Doyno, Dennis W. Eddings, Shelley Fisher Fishkin, S. D. Kapoor, Michael J. Kiskis, James S. Leonard, Victoria Thorpe Miller, Stan Poole, Tom Reigstad, David E. E. Sloane, David Tomlinson

Is Shakespeare Dead?

Samuel Langhorne Clemens 1835 1910, better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer. Twain is most noted for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 1876 and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 1885. He is also known for his quotations. His first important work, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, was published in 1865. His next publication was The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, which drew on his youth in Hannibal. The character of Tom Sawyer was modeled on twain as a child, with traces of two schoolmates, John Briggs and Will Bowen. His next major published work, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, solidified him as a noteworthy American writer. Some have called it the first Great American Novel. Finn was an offshoot from Tom Sawyer and proved to have a more serious tone than its predecessor. The main premise behind Huckleberry Finn is the young boy’s belief in the right thing to do even though the majority of society believes that it was wrong.

Mark Twain’s Speeches

ReadHowYouWant publishes a wide variety of best selling books in Large and Super Large fonts in partnership with leading publishers. EasyRead books are available in 11pt and 13pt. type. EasyRead Large books are available in 16pt, 16pt Bold, and 18pt Bold type. EasyRead Super Large books are available in 20pt. Bold and 24pt. Bold Type. You choose the format that is right for you. This is Volume Volume 2 of 2 Volume Set. To purchase the complete set, you will need to order the other volumes separately: to find them, search for the following ISBNs: 9781427072320Books for All Kinds of Readers ReadHowYouWant offers the widest selection of on demand, accessible format editions on the market today. Each edition has been optimized for maximum readability, using our patent pending conversion technology. We are partnering with leading publishers around the globe to create accessible editions of their titles. Our goal is to have accessible editions simultaneously released with publishers’ new books so that all readers can have access to the books they want to read today. To find more books in your format visit www. readhowyouwant. comTo find more titles in your format, Search in Books using EasyRead and the size of the font that makes reading easier and more enjoyable for you.

Letters from the Earth

This is a strange place, and extraordinary place, and interesting. There is nothing resembling it at home. The people are all insane, the other animals are all insane, the earth is insane, Nature itself is insane. Man is a marvelous curiosity. When he is at his very very best he is a sort of low grade nickel plated angel; at is worst he is unspeakable, unimaginable; and first and last and all the time he is a sarcasm. Yet he blandly and in all sincerity calls himself the ‘noblest work of God.’ This is the truth I am telling you. And this is not a new idea with him, he has talked it through all the ages, and believed it. Believed it, and found nobody among all his race to laugh at it. Moreover if I may put another strain upon you he thinks he is the Creator’s pet. He believes the Creator is proud of him; he even believes the Creator loves him; has a passion for him; sits up nights to admire him; yes, and watch over him and keep him out of trouble. He prays to Him, and thinks He listens. Isn’t it a quaint idea? Fills his prayers with crude and bald and florid flatteries of Him, and thinks He sits and purrs over these extravagancies and enjoys them. He prays for help, and favor, and protection, every day; and does it with hopefulness and confidence, too, although no prayer of his has ever been answered. The daily affront, the daily defeat, do not discourage him, he goes on praying just the same. There is something almost fine about this perseverance. I must put one more strain upon you: he thinks he is going to heaven! He has salaried teachers who tell him that. They also tell him there is a hell, of everlasting fire, and that he will go to it if he doesn’t keep the Commandments. What are Commandments? They are a curiosity. I will tell you about them by and by.

Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1

‘I’ve struck it!’ Mark Twain wrote in a 1904 letter to a friend. ‘And I will give it away to you. You will never know how much enjoyment you have lost until you get to dictating your autobiography.’ Thus, after dozens of false starts and hundreds of pages, Twain embarked on his ‘Final and Right Plan’ for telling the story of his life. His innovative notion to ‘talk only about the thing which interests you for the moment’ meant that his thoughts could range freely. The strict instruction that many of these texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they came out, he would be ‘dead, and unaware, and indifferent,’ and that he was therefore free to speak his ‘whole frank mind.’ The year 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Twain’s death. In celebration of this important milestone and in honor of the cherished tradition of publishing Mark Twain’s works, UC Press is proud to offer for the first time Mark Twain’s uncensored autobiography in its entirety and exactly as he left it. This major literary event brings to readers, admirers, and scholars the first of three volumes and presents Mark Twain’s authentic and unsuppressed voice, brim*ming with humor, ideas, and opinions, and speaking clearly from the grave as he intended.

Spells of Enchantment: The Wondrous Fairy Tales of Western Culture

Zipes brings together the best literary fairy tales ever written, giving readers a sense of the history of the genre and its evolution. Includes more than 60 tales by writers such as Hans Christian Andersen, Wilhelm Grimm, Voltaire, Goethe, Hawthorne, Yeats, Hesse, Thurber, Jane Yolen, Angela Carter, and more. Illustrated.

Prose and Poetry of the American West

Prose and Poetry of the American West is an extraordinarily comprehensive collection of short stories, poems, and essays about the American West that represents the extensive contributions of all its people: men, women, natives, and immigrants. The more than fifty authors included are listed according to their birth dates; and their production, spanning four and a half centuries, is divided into four periods. Work defines each period and shows how selected authors exemplify it. Among those representing the Emergence Period 1540 1832 of explorers and pioneers entering the American West and a new state of consciousness are Pedro de Casta eda, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Jedediah Smith, and Walt Whitman. The Mythopoeic Period 1833 1889 is represented by, among others, Helen Hunt Jackson, Mark Twain, Bret Harte, Andy Adams, Owen Wister, Black Elk, Luther Standing Bear, Stephen Crane, Willa Cather, and John C. Neihardt. In the Neo mythic Period 1890 1914, such authors as Thomas Hornsby Ferril, Man Sandoz, Frank Waters, Dorothy Johnson, Walter Van Tilburg Clark, Wallace Stegner, Wright Morris, and William Stafford begin revising the old myths of the American West. Finally, in the Neo western Period 1914 to the present Edward Abbey, Gary Snyder, James Welch, Jimmy Santiago Baca, and others demonstrate how the land west of the ninety eighth meridian has shaped the creative consciousness. This admirable anthology, filling a need long felt by readers, shows writers singing about the American West, the land of dreams; then recording great deeds in it; and finally turning to examine their thoughts about it.

Related Authors

Leave a Comment