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This volume spans the length of Mark Twains career, and contains some of his most famous shorter works, which all centre on the subject of Money. The Celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County is the most perfect tall tale in the English language, three flawless pages about Jim Smiley and the bizarre sidelines he would investigate to win a bet, any bet, written in a miraculous mid-19th century California vernacular. If that isnt enough, Twain tops it with the best closing paragraph of any work I have ever read ever. <p> The $1,000,000 Bank note is almost surreal, or Marxist, the story of a derelict made an unwitting guinea pig by two elderly millionaires, curious to see what would happen to an honest but poor man in the possession of such an impractible note. The frightening fetishistic power of currency structures a somewhat creepily benevolent narrative, and the opening paragraphs audaciously cram a novels worth of misfortune. <p> I have taught this book at the college level for a few years now; it definitely sheds Twains unfortunate Americana image, and it reveals the darker genius of this beloved author. Twains greatest work, The Mysterious Stranger will enrage fundamentalist Christians, several of whom have dropped my course because of this novella. <p> Asking people to think about what is real, what is behind existence, though, is no crime and should be inoffensive. Young people who are harmed by systematic thinking will react to this book like people being deprogrammed from a cult: they will hate it. But Twain, who was in anguish when he wrote this, had the honesty to ask difficult questions. <p> Read The Mysterious Stranger as a guide to Twains futuristic thinking, his tribute to the mind above all other things.

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Any reader who loves a good book will relish the vicarious experience of traveling with Twain, his wife, Livy, and Clara, one of their three daughters as they tour the world on the lecture circuit. Its important to understand the necessity of the trip: Twain was 60, facing bankruptcy, and signed on for the lecture tour in order to pay off his debt. The grueling schedule and unpredictable travel accommodations take no toll on his writing, however. Prepare to laugh – hard and often. Was it hot in India? I believe that in India cold weather is merely a conventional phrase and has come into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish between weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which will only make it mushy. <p> Teachers – do not pass on the opportunity to laugh and learn and share the world with your students. Geography, history, culture, language, climate, language arts (oh, his choice of words and phrases!), politics, time zones, botany, geology, biology, religion – all are explored and described and relevant today. Jimmy Buffetts Remittance Man, Thats What Living is to Me, and Take Another Road all spring from this book (especially the remittance man, a character youll meet early in the book). There is also an unfinished story with which you can challenge your students. I worked with nineteen 4th and 5th grade gifted students one summer, and they spent two weeks reading, scripting, and animating a 70 minute video of this book. They loved it, and so will your students if you plan accordingly. <p> A good accompanying video is On the Trail of Mark Twain with Peter Ustinov, but only as a companion – NOT as a replacement! Go for it… where else will you get the opportunity to travel from Vancouver to Hawaii to Fiji to Australia to New Zealand to Ceylon to India to South Africa? The book chronicles their travels in such a way that you can pick it up and focus on one region without losing anything. But dont let that stop you from reading the whole book. See the Southern Cross and the Blue Mountains. Get rousted out of your comfortable train berth to change cars in Australia because the gauge of the tracks changes from wide to narrow. Meet the dingo and the Aboriginals, eavesdrop on Twains conversation with Satan and God in India, explore the diamond mines of South Africa near the Trappist Monastery, and steer clear of the sharks in the Great Barrier Reef. <p> There is more adventure in this one book than a whole years subscription to National Geographic. My favorite part? Twains vivid description of that bird of birds – the Indian crow. No, wait, its the hand-car ride down the Himalayas. No, wait… ah, who can pick? <p> Read it yourself, and find out why

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This book contains a couple of very entertaining short stories, including the one mentioned in the title, along with a great ending about Adam and Eve, as well as a lot of ancedotes about all sorts of things. <p> If you are a fan of Mark Twain, I would highly recommend this collection. The ancedotal material contains a lot of insight into Samuel Clemons, as well as his transition to the writer, Mark Twain. I was much impressed. I found myself thinking of Leno and Carson in regards to a lot of his observations from local papers which he found humorous. Certainly, American humor in general, owes quite a lot to Mark Twain, and this collection is certainly a fine example of that. <p> A great read and a priceless gem for all Twain fans.

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Mark Twain had a way with words. Hes sort of become a caricature because of the popularity of a couple of his books, and many only know of him through the various visual productions of his stories, but he shows his depth of understanding and the broadness of his thoughts in his fun to read, easy to grasp essays. <p> The essaya were introduced to me through a blog about the philosophical question of free will. At first glance, I thought I was being entertained by another one Twains latest satires. Instead, I felt like I was engaged in a modern lecture between a seasoned philosophy professor and his most accomplished student. <p> Through the dialogue, you get a sense that this piece of writing is the epitome of Samuel Clemens look on life, although debatable. Regardless of how you feel at the end of the essays, if read carefully, you will at least question your own daily motives and perhaps everyone elses that has come before you. I have thoroughly enjoy this read. <p> Mark Twain has a knack for explaining reality without any of its grand notions. Thats why I love this book. Its a bible that you can read in one sitting and reveals why people act as they do.

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There is no nicer surprise for a reader than to discover that an acknowledged classic really does deliver the goods. Mark Twains Roughing It is just such a book. The adventure tale is a delight from start to finish and is just as engrossing today as it was 125 years ago when it first appeared. <p> Roughing It tells the true-ish escapades of Twain in the American West. Although he clearly speaks with forked tongue, Roughing It is informative as well as humorous. From stagecoach travel to the etiquette of prospecting, the modern reader gains considerable insight into that much-fictionalized time and place. Do you know about sagebrush, for example? <p> Sage-brush is very fair fuel, but as a vegetable it is a distinguished failure. Nothing can abide the taste of it but the jackass and his illegitimate child, the mule. But their testimony to its nutritiousness is worth nothing, for they will eat pine knots, or anthracite coal, or brass filings, or lead pipe, or old bottles, or anything that comes handy, and then go off looking as grateful as if they had had oysters for dinner. <p> Roughing It is informally structured around the narrators attempts to strike it rich. He meets a motley, colorful crew in the process; many mishaps occur, and it shouldnt surprise you that Twain does not emerge a man of means. But he withstands it all in such a relentless good humor that his misfortune inspires laughter. <p> Roughing It is wonderful entertainment and reminds you how funny the world can be–even its grimmer districts–when youre traveling with the right writer.

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A matchless eye with an acidic pen – Americas post-Civil War years brought a renewed interest in the European scene. Journeys known as Grand Tours led tourists to take ship to the Continent. They fanned out across the landscape with the intent to know Europe. Their return home resulted in a flurry of published accounts. Twain satirizes both the tourists and their writings with delicious wit. Ever a man to play with words, his tramp refers to both himself and the walking tour of Europe he purports to have made. By the time youve reached the end of the account of the walking tour incorporating trains, carriages and barges, you realize that the longest walk Twain took occurred in dark hotel room while trying to find his bed. He claims to have covered 47 miles wandering around the room. <p> Twain was interested in everything, probing into both well-known and obscure topics. His judgments are vividly conveyed in this book, standing in marked contrast to his more reserved approach in Innocents Abroad. A delightful overview of mid-19th Century Europe, Tramp is also interlaced with entertaining asides. Twain was deeply interested in people, and various types are drawn from his piercing gaze, rendered with acerbic wit. Some of these are contemporary, while others are dredged from his memories of the California mines and other journeys. He also relished Natures marvels, recounting his observations. A favourite essay is What Stumped the Blue-jays. A nearly universal bird in North America, Twains description of the jays curiosity and expressive ability stands unmatched. He observes such humble creatures as ants, Alpine chamois, and the American tourist. Few escape his perception or his scathing wit. This book remains valuable for its timeless rendering of characters and the universality of its view. It can be read repeatedly for education or entertainment.

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The funniest book ever written-in the history of time! – Ok, maybe that is a minor overstatement, but this is one hilarous book, to be read by people who have travelled, who plan to travel, and generally, people who want to laugh. A lot. <p> The book is also surprising for its timeless points about the journeying of certain upper white, middle class people going on a grand tour of Europe. I frequently had to remind myself that it was written in 1869 because his observations and the behavior of his shipmates is so close to the way people I studied abroad with acted-only a few years ago. <p> Twain also puts those cosmopolitan people who claim to have traveled, but dont know anything about any place they have been but and just like to lord it over everyone else that they have travelled and you have not. <p> Reading this book is like listening to a very wise, old man tell you about his adventures. Its not like a book, more like one long conversation. Twain takes nothing seriously-not himself, his fellow travelers or the places they visit. The words are another adventure-sometimes, you know he is setting you up for something, other times he is serious for a while, then you end up in the middle of a joke. <p> Twain is making humorous observations, at a time when a different standard was acceptable. Not to mention, he does manage to get a few zingers in there about what people are willing to accept and what they do not. <p> You will laugh yourself silly and want to book a trip-not to Europe, just to anywhere, after reading this book.

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This story has been a favorite of many since they have read as a child. They have re-read it many, many times, most recently to their own children (who will also enjoy it), and it continues to be rich and engaging. <p> A beggar (Tom Canty) and a prince (Edward Tudor), who look so alike as to be twins, meet and swap clothes for a lark. But an accident of judgment stretches the lark into an adventure, and the adventure into a nightmarish struggle of life and death, honor and dishonor. <p> Hasnt everyone wished to be royalty at some point in their lives? And especially if you were the poorest of the poor, like Tom Canty, wouldnt it be your dearest wish as a child? This is a great and yet fearful adventure, superbly detailed and believable. It was carefully written in such a manner that genuine history leaves it possible. One of Twains best ever.

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You might wonder what prompted Mark Twain to sidle from straight fiction into the realm of outright fantasy. Twain transports a Connecticut shop foreman twelve centuries into the past [and 5 000 kilometres!] to Camelot and Arthurs court. Initially confused and dismayed, Hank Morgans Yankee practicality is quickly aroused and he becomes a major figure among the panopolied knights. With the title of The Boss, his rank equals The King or The Pope with its uniqueness. His elevation doesnt distract him from a more profound impulse, however. Hanks Yankee roots and wide experience evoke an ambition – nothing less than revolution. He wants to sweep away the monarchy and aristocracy and establish an American-style republic in Arthurian Britain. <p> Mark Twains scathing criticism of the sham of hereditary monarchy bolstered by an Established Church makes this among his choicest writings. He resents the condition of a Church which turned a nation of men into a nation of worms. A fervent believer in individual freedom, Twain uses Hank to voice his disdain of Britains royalty. Its no more than might be expected of a man who boasted of but one ancestor – who sat on the jury that executed Charles I. Hank knows revolutions never succeed when implemented from above. Revolution be achieved only when the individuals attitude changes from meek acceptance to self assertion. Hanks method reaches people through clandestine schools and factories, publication of a newspaper and establishment of a telephone system. These new forms of manufacture and communication become the foundation by which Hank expects to abolish the ancient, mis-named, chivalric tradition. Does he change the course of history? <p> Twain relocates the roots of American democracy from the heart of the frontier yeoman farmer to the brain of the urban industrial worker. Here the man of wide, practical experience shows how to survive compared to those with a formal education. Hank has a simple ambition – establishment of a republic – but utilizes a broad spectrum of ideas to bring it about. He would gladly replace the Established Church of Rome with his own Presbyterian ideals, but is aware that it would be swapping one evil for another. Each man should select his own religion, or make one he contends. Yet, finally, it is this dread force that impairs his desire for change. The final sequence stands as a peer to the biblical Armageddon, Twain wallowing in a frightful bloodletting unseen in any of his other works. <p> Mark Twain contrasts the Reign of Terror of the French Revolution with the centuries of slavery, serfdom, and poverty that killed countless more people than that spasm of excising of aristocracy. What else spurred him to write of human rights with such passion? He had written of slavery before, but this book is especially wrathful in describing the peculiar institution eliminated in his homeland but a generation before. He forces the king to experience the slaves condition, a form of degradation he would have all aristocrats endure. Every feature of the human condition is examined in this timeless treasure. He challenges you to follow his gaze, considering whether todays societies, monarchical or not, will endure the scrutiny.

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The book is noted for its colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi River. Satirizing a Southern antebellum society that had ceased to exist about twenty years before the work was published, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is an often scathing look at entrenched attitudes. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a novel by Mark Twain, first published in England in December 1884 and in the United States in February 1885. Commonly named among the Great American Novels, the work is among the first in major American literature to be written in the vernacular, characterized by local color regionalism. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, a friend of Tom Sawyer and narrator of two other Twain novels (Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom Sawyer, Detective).

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