3.0
Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1
ByPublisher Description
Mark Twain's final and uncensored masterpiece, presented in three volumes, is a landmark publication in American literature.
“Twain will begin to seem strange again, alluring and still astonishing . . . in ways that still resonate with us.”—New York Times
“His crystalline humor and expansive range are a continuous source of delight and awe.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
"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 The strict instruction that many of these texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they came out, he would be "dead, and unaware, and indifferent," and that he was therefore free to speak his "whole frank mind."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, brimming with humor, ideas, and opinions, and speaking clearly from the grave as he intended.
Editors:
Harriet E. Smith, Benjamin Griffin, Victor Fischer, Michael B. Frank, Sharon K. Goetz, Leslie Myrick
“Twain will begin to seem strange again, alluring and still astonishing . . . in ways that still resonate with us.”—New York Times
“His crystalline humor and expansive range are a continuous source of delight and awe.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review
"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, brimming with humor, ideas, and opinions, and speaking clearly from the grave as he intended.
Editors:
Harriet E. Smith, Benjamin Griffin, Victor Fischer, Michael B. Frank, Sharon K. Goetz, Leslie Myrick
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesAutobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1 Reviews
3.0
“This was almost like reading a text book. It wasn't always told in chronological order, however, which was sometimes confusing. I feel it was more "Mark Twain's researchers explaining Twain's life, humor, and idiosyncracies complete with footnotes." (like the red wavy line trying to tell me that I've misspelled idiosyncracies!).
I did learn a lot. I did not know how instrumental he was in helping President Grant get appropriate compensation for Grant's autobiography. I didn't know about the many deaths he experienced in his family (a brother, two children, his wife.)
I especially laughed at one of his quotes late in the book. By that point, I knew that Twain was a stickler about his use of punctuation. Names, dates, spellings could be changed or corrected, but his punctuation was gospel. He learned that a proof-reader was "improving my punctuation," he "telegraphed orders to have him shot without giving him time to pray."”
About Mark Twain
Harriet Elinor Smith is an editor at the Mark Twain Project, which is housed within the Mark Twain Papers, the world's largest archive of primary materials by this major American writer. Under the direction of General Editor Robert H. Hirst, the Project's editors are producing the first comprehensive edition of all of Mark Twain's writings.
Other books by Mark Twain
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