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Autobiography of Mark Twain: Volume 1, Reader's Edition (Autobiography of Mark Twain #1)

by Mark Twain , Harriet E. Smith (Editor)

3.85 of 5 stars 3.85 · rating details · 5,048 ratings · 580 reviews

This Reader’s Edition, a portable paperback in larger type, republishes the text of the New York Times bestselling hardcover Autobiography in a form that is convenient for the general reader, without the editorial explanatory notes. It includes a brief introduction describing the evolution of Mark Twain’s ideas about writing his autobiography, as well as a chronology of hi ...more

Paperback , Reader's Edition-- No Annotations , 440 pages

Published March 26th 2012 by University of California Press (first published 1924)

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Nov 26, 2014 mai ahmd rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: سير-ذاتية

يقول مارك توين إنه كتب هذه السيرة من أجل لقمة العيش .. والمؤسف حقا إنه خلال كتابته لهذه السيرة فقد ابنته جين مما جعله يتوقف عن الكتابة حتى عاد لها بعد فترة مريرة من الحزن والشعور بالفراغ فتجده يردد لمن بنيت هذا البيت فالفراغ يحيط به بعد خطوب عديدة مرت عليه منها وفاة زوجته ورفيقة دربه وأميرة حياته الزوجة التي قال عنها توين إنها أنبل وأرق وأجمل مخلوق عرفته في حياتي

مارك توين كاتب رائع قرأت له توم سوير قبل كم شهر ووجدت أن تلك الرواية الرائعة لا تقل براءة وجمالا وشقاوة عن ذلك الكارتون الرائع الذي جس
يقول مارك توين إنه كتب هذه السيرة من أجل لقمة العيش .. والمؤسف حقا إنه خلال كتابته لهذه السيرة فقد ابنته جين مما جعله يتوقف عن الكتابة حتى عاد لها بعد فترة مريرة من الحزن والشعور بالفراغ فتجده يردد لمن بنيت هذا البيت فالفراغ يحيط به بعد خطوب عديدة مرت عليه منها وفاة زوجته ورفيقة دربه وأميرة حياته الزوجة التي قال عنها توين إنها أنبل وأرق وأجمل مخلوق عرفته في حياتي

مارك توين كاتب رائع قرأت له توم سوير قبل كم شهر ووجدت أن تلك الرواية الرائعة لا تقل براءة وجمالا وشقاوة عن ذلك الكارتون الرائع الذي جسد هذه القصة الخلابة والتي تثير مختلف المشاعر الطفولية وأنت تشاهدها وتوين هو يحكي عن طفولته يجرك جرا إلى شخصية توم .. هناك رابط بلا شك ففي داخل توين كان يقبع طفل صغير اسمه توم سوير على إنه من الغرابة إنه لم يأت على ذكر القصة أبدا في سيرته

توين حكى عن قصته مع دور النشر وأول ناشر رفض أن ينشر له وكيف إنه على مدى عشرون عاما كان ساخطا على ذلك الناشر إلا إنه في لقاء لاحق به أبدى
اعتذاره ووصف نفسه بأنه أغبى رجل في العالم للقرن التاسع عشر ..

بإمكانك أن تقرأ لتوين ساعات دون أن تشعر بالملل إنه كاتب رقيق وحساس ومشاغب يضحكك تارة ويجعلك تشعر بالحزن تارة أخرى يقدم تجارب في الحياة مليئة بالحكمة والحصافة ورجاحة الرأي والفضائل التي يكتسبها الإنسان من خلال تجاربه مع الحياة إلى جانب تلك الظرافة المحببة التي يمتلكها توين والتي خلدته على مر السنين .. أحببت توين مرتين مرة عندما قرأت له توم سوير والمرة الثانية حين قرأت سيرته المليئة بالحب والتواضع ..

...more

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Dec 22, 2010 Jen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

I read the whole thing cover to cover (minus the appendix notes, which I merely browsed). And as massive as it was, I was genuinely sad when the last page came. That's all? I'm ready for volume two right now.

I feel so fortunate to be alive in 2010 and get to read these words Twain didn't want published until 100 years after his death. Actually, much of it has been published before so there was a lot I was already familiar with. But it was almost magical to read Twain's thoughts, musings, and mor ...more

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Jan 15, 2011 blue-collar mind rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Well let me start off by saying I have always disliked Garrison Keillor and now feel certain that it would be reciprocal if say we met at a party. I am quite sure he would stand in the middle of the room and give us his opinion on any number of subjects while many tried to politely ignore his pompous drift. And that finally I would not be able to keep my opinion silent and the two of us would end with a "oh, really? Why should I care what you think?" sort of back and forth that is never resolved Well let me start off by saying I have always disliked Garrison Keillor and now feel certain that it would be reciprocal if say we met at a party. I am quite sure he would stand in the middle of the room and give us his opinion on any number of subjects while many tried to politely ignore his pompous drift. And that finally I would not be able to keep my opinion silent and the two of us would end with a "oh, really? Why should I care what you think?" sort of back and forth that is never resolved and leaves everyone around with a churning stomach and discreet searches for another bar and a chair out of earshot.
For those of you not aware of why a review about Mark Twain's autobiography starts with a skewering of the MidWestern Alexander Woollcott(an early 20th century pompous ass who also started to believe his own press, but at least had some childlike enthusiasm for others), feel free to check out GK's take on this book in the New York Times recently.I heard about the review from 3 other people and only recently looked at pieces of it.
And then do remember that Twain was a great American writer who popularized the travelogue, the American historical novel and was a master of creating sketches of American life, while lampooning the stubborn, the crass and sometimes the hateful or desperate in our world.
GK on the other hand, has mined middle america for a type of tongue in cheek dumbed down swill that affords a chuckle of recognition over his knowledge of cultural mileposts for a tiny group of people that may have existed for 30-40 years-if they ever existed at all. He might have begun that crap as satire, but his own limited abilities to create a fine point have made his believers see his homespun b.s as truth that middle-country caucasians are god's gift to the world. Oh, that he has a style there is no doubt, but so did Henry Luce and Leni Reifenstahl. And Sarah Palin who probably tunes in regularly.
In my humble estimation, the sketches throughout this book and the sense that Twain went at this a few different ways is exactly why this book is worthwhile. The chance to pick up this hefty book (it's main drawback) and be drawn into a story about a Venetian house that he has rented that he puzzles over (why are the stables right below the bedrooms? why are the walls all the ugliest yellow?) is priceless. Twain says:"I shall go into details of this house, not because I imagine it differs from any other old time place or new-time place on the continent of Europe, but because every one of its crazy details interest me..." This by the way, was a particular area that GK moaned over, asking why we would care. I am not sure I understand his point. Have you read Twain before? Did you not expect details galore?
I would say, I'd like less of Suzy, Twain's daughter in this, but that is to be expected from a very proud father. But stories like the story of being spied on without clothes by girls at a young age and then remaining terrified all of his childhood that they would tease him in front of their group is simple truth. And then when he runs into one of the girls as old people--that's the type of tale that I WOULD stand in the middle of the room at a party to enjoy.

As you can imagine, I have not finished the book and do not expect to. Sort of like a child's pool in the backyard in hot August, the idea is to dip in as needed. It also seems like a nice neighborly book to keep around the other books, allowing them to look with awe at its massive bulk and feel comforted that they were all in a house that appreciated diversity and had no truck with coordinated displays on shelves. And of course, if a certain radio hack in love with his own voice happens by one fine day I can always use it for a quick chuck. It will survive the anger. And flourish in spite of it, of that I have no doubt.
...more

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Mar 10, 2011 Linda rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: memoir

I read this in the audiobook version.
The editors’ long and tedious explanation of the autobiographical material takes up most of the first part of this three-part audiobook. I believe that Mark Twain would have had a good laugh at the pomposity of the editors and their footnotes; unfortunately I found it insufferably boring and a very poor use of audio. If I had been reading a print version I would have skimmed or skipped this beginning all together.

I wanted to read Twain’s writing not what all ...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Sheri rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

It is a sorry day when I have to write a review of anything by Mark Twain and say I didn't like it, given that I adore Twain and pretty much all of his (previously) published works. So why didn't I like this book? And why will I boycott Volumes 2 and 3 when (presumably) they're published? Because this book is the literary equivalent of what you see when a famous musician dies and his/her copyright heirs rush to release every garage recording ever made by the dead musician. The only difference he ...more

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Nov 23, 2010 Jason Pettus rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: victorian , history , nonfiction , personal-favorite

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

It's funny, I think, how random the process can sometimes be of who we as a culture decide to remember for decades or sometimes centuries after their time, and who we tend to forget just a generation or two after their death, no matter how famous they were when alive; take for example Samuel Clemens, who I (Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

It's funny, I think, how random the process can sometimes be of who we as a culture decide to remember for decades or sometimes centuries after their time, and who we tend to forget just a generation or two after their death, no matter how famous they were when alive; take for example Samuel Clemens, who I'll be referring to for the rest of this essay by his pen-name Mark Twain, no more notorious in the late 1800s than a hundred other people who served as his peers, but now a century later with 90 percent of those peers forgotten by the general public, but with Twain still thought of in an almost godlike fashion, pretty remarkable for a failed journalist and a bit of a crank who is best known for a series of folksy populist tales about a romanticized American past. But then again, once you stop and think about it, Twain actually accomplished a lot more than these businessmen and politicians around him who have now faded into obscurity; because for international readers who might not know, Twain came of age in a period of American history very similar in my opinion to what a place like India is going through right now -- a period when the US was dragging itself from second-world to first-world status for the first time, and was desperate to establish its first generation of artists, writers and thinkers to have a truly global effect on culture, artists who espoused an entirely new school of thought apart from what they learned simply by traveling to the already established parts of the cultured world. And Twain was one of these people, who at first became an international hit by writing post-Civil-War "pastoral" tales about a quaint and innocent rural America that had never actually existed, then honed his skills in his later years into a series of brilliantly satirical tales challenging the status quo, establishing a type of unique "American humor" (snarky, political, pop-culture-infused) that many Americans fondly look at as an integral part of our entire national spirit.

So no wonder, then, that Twain's century-in-waiting autobiography has unexpectedly become such a huge hit (see this fascinating NYT article for more -- turns out that the academic press who put this out went with an original print run of only 7,500 copies, thinking that the 800-page tome would be of interest to scholars only, but with it in actuality selling a third of a million copies in just its first few months); not just because of Twain's still near-holy status with most Americans, but because of the instantly intriguing hook behind its publication, the fact that Twain demanded that it not be published until a full hundred years after his death, so that he could feel free to write whatever nasty little stuff about the people around him that he wanted. Now, granted, this hasn't quite held true in the resulting century -- four smaller versions of this behemoth manuscript were published at various points throughout the 20th century -- but here on the literal centennial of his death, we are finally seeing the full and uncensored version for the first time, a publicist's wet dream that has made for dozens of fevered headlines from a lazy mainstream press.

But there are several important things to know about this book before reading it (technically only volume one of a coming three-book set), things that will help temper your enthusiasm down to a reasonable level; for example, of that giant bound volume now in stores, a full half of it is merely obsessive notes concerning the condition of the "Mark Twain Papers" when they were unearthed again for this project, with there turning out to have been three different physical copies in the vaults with multiple sets of notes, their authors and ages often in doubt, which was then further complicated by the fact that Twain sometimes out-and-out lied in these reminisces, sometimes exaggerated the truth, and sometimes in his old age simply got details wrong when transcribing them. And that's the second important thing to know -- that far from this being a traditional bio written in a linear or thematic order, Twain constructed these notes in the years before his death by dictating them to a stenographer from his bed in the mornings, three hours a day, nearly every day for four years straight, which he found such a delightful arrangement that he decided not to give his thoughts any kind of order at all, but rather ramble on about whatever struck his fancy that particular moment, no matter how little it might correspond to what he was talking about the day before. And pardon the trendiness of saying something like this, but that really does make this book less of a "biography" and more like the world's first blog, one that had maybe a dozen real-time readers back when he was first writing it, and especially when you add the literal clipped newspaper articles that Twain included in these transcripts, to further illustrate whatever little topic he was talking about that day. (In fact, Twain addresses this very issue in a highly meta way, spending several days discussing the tiny little scandal that was rocking the nation that week [some middle-class mom accidentally getting snubbed at some White House event], then musing on whether anyone was going to remember this incident even a decade from then, much less the "high future" of the early 2000s he was envisioning when writing it.)

And that's really the third important thing to understand about this book -- that despite the salacious reports from a contemporary media industry desperate to prove its own relevance, there's not really anything in Twain's autobiography that's going to come as a big shock, with his hundred-year delay done mostly to protect the feelings of little nobodies who Twain was angry at in his grumpy old age, such as the chapter on the horrible Italian woman who once rented his family a run-down house one summer. I mean, yes, Twain definitely unloads at various points on famous peers like, say, Jay Gould (banking magnate and the ninth richest man on the planet at his death); but Gould was one of the most hated men in the country by that point, the exact kind of tycoon that Twain skewered in his vicious The Gilded Age , so it comes as no surprise that he would dump on him in his "secret" memoirs as well. Now add a scholarly 60-page introduction to the entire thing, plus a copy of all the failed attempts Twain made at this autobiography in the years before this dictation process, and you quickly realize that the meat of this volume really only lays in a 300-page section right in the middle of it, a much more manageable challenge than what this doorstop of a book suggests.

But still, there's plenty of interesting things to read about in that 300-page core, including lots of stories about his childhood in rural Missouri and how they relate to his fictional books about that period; lots of invective against the various schemers, dreamers and other inventors who essentially bankrupted Twain several times over the course of his life; plenty of anecdotes about contemporaries like U.S. Grant, Booker Washington and Grover Cleveland; plenty of stories about family life, the ins and outs of marriage and fatherhood, and the various places they all lived over the decades; and on and on like this, most delivered in the same trademark style that make his public books so loved as well, a combination of optimism and fatalism that Twain was a master of spinning and twisting so much that you find yourself eventually laughing out loud from its sheer pathos. And that, frankly, may be Twain's best and last laugh of all, that he would have the balls to assume that these digressions would be such a hot item even a century after his death, and the talent to prove himself right. It was a fine read that I'm glad I took on, one I'd recommend to others, although only to those who already know a bit about his life and works; and I have to say that I'm now eagerly looking forward to the other two volumes in this series, hitting stores slowly over the next five to six years.

Out of 10: 9.3 ...more

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Jan 19, 2011 Fred Houston rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Twain requested that his publisher wait 100 years after his death to publish his Autobiography because he wanted to vent about some of the people he knew in his lifetime, but didn't necessarily want to instigate libel suites. So I was ready for some classic, vintage Twain, and as soon as I was aware of the book I ordered it.

Well, after slogging my way through most of it I can say that, for me, there is a lot of auto, and not a lot of biography in the book. Twain is unable to write anything witho Twain requested that his publisher wait 100 years after his death to publish his Autobiography because he wanted to vent about some of the people he knew in his lifetime, but didn't necessarily want to instigate libel suites. So I was ready for some classic, vintage Twain, and as soon as I was aware of the book I ordered it.

Well, after slogging my way through most of it I can say that, for me, there is a lot of auto, and not a lot of biography in the book. Twain is unable to write anything without injecting a humorous observation or two into the mix, and this he does with alacrity. And for the most part I enjoyed reading his comments and observations. But when he spends about 50 pages going on about the villa he rented in Italy and how disappointing it was, maybe because of things not having to do with the villa at all, he started losing me.

The editors did an outstanding job of pulling his writings into a form that makes sense, and added notes where the notes would add needed clarification. I found the notes helpful in understanding what Twain was going on about at times.

While I can't say I really enjoyed the 967 page book, I think I did come away with a better appreciation for Samuel Clemens. He lived in an exciting time in American History, and seems to have met most of the important people who shared this time with him. His descriptions of the people he knew reveals him to have been quite a humanist, even though he couldn't resist taking a few humorous shots at nearly everyone he talks about in the book. His world was filled with opportunists, scam artists, adventurers, near-do-wells, as well as the famous and well-educated. To be a successful author in his time, a writer needed to be 90% shrewd businessman, and 10% author. Twain was certainly that, although he reveals himself to be an overly optimistic speculator himself.

Overall, I think if you have read Twain's classic novels and enjoyed them, you will probably also enjoy this Autobiography. It is, after all, classic Twain. ...more

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Oct 21, 2010 Steven Peterson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

WOW! This volume is a wonder. For one thing, it provides something like a mystery novel perspective on the archeology of Samuel Clemens'/Mark Twain's autobiography. He wrote fragments to be part of this document over a period of four decades. Simply getting a sense of the architecture for this work desired by Twain is a contribution of this work.

Also, Twain notes that he is unable to be consistently honest about his life. Nice candor! He demanded that his version not be published until 100 years ...more

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Feb 16, 2012 Mr. Mullins rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction , memoirs

For full disclosure, I am biased towards Twain, and though many may not like the unconventional structure or all the academic discussion surrounding the actual voice of Twain, I enjoyed it tremendously. His voice was there in the text. It was as one poster pointed out like sitting down with him and having a conversation. It flowed from one item to the next as he wished it to often with acute insight into historical figures he had dined with or met and his wide travels. I look forward to what com ...more

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May 16, 2015 hayatem rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: سيرة-ذاتية

الرائع مارك توين ما إن تقرأ عن مغامراته وشقاوته في أيام الصبا والشباب حتى تدرك أنه لاغرابة في أن هذه الروح الطفولية التي تعدو أمامك كتبت رائعة " توم سوير ".

ومن مغامراته التي تنم عن تهوره وإقدامه أذكر ما قام به وقت عمله كمراسل لصحيفة "مورننغ كول" وهو افتعاله ورفقائه للحرائق بغرض خلق مادة للنشر الصحفي و الذي كان شحيحاً آن ذاك.

حقيقةً لم أجد في سيرته ما يثير للدهشة أو ما قد يميّزه عن الغالبية العظمى من جيله من الكتاب .
هي شبيه بأغلب السيّر الذاتية التي نقرأها لأدباء وعظماء ومشاهير من حولنا؛ من حيث ت ...more

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Oct 15, 2012 Mark Mikula rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

It makes me feel uncomfortable to admit that I did not get much out of the Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1. With the exception of a handful of passages, I thought it was a dreary mess, not worth publication. For someone as revered and iconic as Mark Twain, I expected to enjoy this so much more.

I am reminded occasionally in revisiting Twain about how frequently he impresses me with his skill with the language--especially with verbs--though. The verbs really crackle in his writing, primarily ...more

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Jan 09, 2011 Andres rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: sonyreader

This is volume one of what is supposed to be a 3-volume work, but as of this writing is the only volume that has been published. A few days ago the news that some idiot is publishing a sanitized (censored) version of Huckleberry Finn made headlines. The idea is to expunge the word "nigger" from the book. While I can understand that the term is charged with emotional energy due to its derogatory use, it is nonetheless part and parcel of the history of the time, and Huckleberry Finn, as a beautifu This is volume one of what is supposed to be a 3-volume work, but as of this writing is the only volume that has been published. A few days ago the news that some idiot is publishing a sanitized (censored) version of Huckleberry Finn made headlines. The idea is to expunge the word "nigger" from the book. While I can understand that the term is charged with emotional energy due to its derogatory use, it is nonetheless part and parcel of the history of the time, and Huckleberry Finn, as a beautiful example of the literary heritage of our nation should not be tampered with in any way. Hopefully readers will be cultured enough to recognize it is a product of its time, written by a man who supported abolition even before it was in vogue. Revisionism is a nasty thing, whether it be holocaust deniers or literary censors.

Now, I did just finish reading Volume 1, and in the same article that made reference to the above, this volume is mentioned as a surprise best-seller. I am having trouble understanding why Twain's autobiography doing well would surprise anyone. He was a fascinating man, living at a fascinating time, and with a talent for humor that anyone would kill for. His autobiography, what has been published so far, is very readable, and filled as much with humor as with the pathos of Clemens's many tragedies. Reading his funny asides on the events of his time, along with his biting commentary on the evil and common stupidity he saw, interspersed with his anguish and despair at the loss of his wife and several of his children was a rare experience.

The only thing I could complain about is that the tome has more notes and appendixes than actual autobiography, but that is par for the course in a work of this nature. Mark Twain left instructions that his autobiography not be published until a 100 years after his death. I am just happy I happen to be alive at the time, and also hope they hurry up with the other two tomes. ...more

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Nov 19, 2010 Brady rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The five stars is for the actual autobiography itself. The book is over 700 pages, but about half of that is introduction, preliminary manuscripts and notes, additional notes, etc etc. I think the editors went a bit overboard with that side of it. But Twain's actual content is terrific. Simply terrific. He led a most amazing life and relates it in such a way it feels like anyone could also achieve it. I look forward to the future volumes - especially if it's easier to avoid all the editorial mat ...more

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Oct 01, 2010 Natalie marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: non-fiction

Why leave your autobiography unpublished for 100 years? so you can be "dead, and unaware, and indifferent" by the time anyone reads it according to Mark Twain ! I am looking forward to this first volume of uncensored autobiography to be released Oct 29th! Might be a time capsule of quotes or a revelation of the goings on a century ago, or neither .. . but it's tempting stuff nonetheless.

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Dec 01, 2010 Richard Sutton rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommends it for: writers and readers alike

First and foremost, this is not a book to be...completed. At least not in a linear fashion. Rather, it is a collection of the observations of the nineteenth century's most formidable speaker, novelist and pundit. Mr. Clemens -- Twain if you prefer -- is still, 100 years after his death, a remarkably honest, gifted and very funny writer. The volume begins with almost 5/8" of literary authenticity and notes regarding the inception of this particular attempt at publishing it all. Thumb past it quic First and foremost, this is not a book to be...completed. At least not in a linear fashion. Rather, it is a collection of the observations of the nineteenth century's most formidable speaker, novelist and pundit. Mr. Clemens -- Twain if you prefer -- is still, 100 years after his death, a remarkably honest, gifted and very funny writer. The volume begins with almost 5/8" of literary authenticity and notes regarding the inception of this particular attempt at publishing it all. Thumb past it quickly, unless you enjoy your reading very dry and factual. Keep in mind as you begin to fall into a deep sleep, that this is not by the author, but rather by the legion of pu8blishers, editors and the like who have collaborated to present the author's words. Or to put it another way, unless you are a Doctoral candidate in American Letters, thumb right past it into the initial collection of musings regarding the publishing industry as revealed in his work with President U.S. Grant and his memoirs. his continues with comments about Clemens' sad business involvement with an early typesetting machine and its quirky, slightly unhinged inventor, then on to notes about his time in London and Vienna. I was almost rolling on the floor reading the comments about Londoner's willingness to patronize the musical and comic arts.

The book then launches into a version of a previously attempted publishing of a partial manuscript...you get the idea, of his life. This is an amazing, unvarnished look at where we all came from and is particularly useful to any writer interested in capturing an authentic voice of the last half of that century and the beginning of the twentieth.

All in all, this is highly entertaining, almost clairvoyant in it's conclusions, pertinent to our time and also colored with a distinctively period sensibility. It should be in every American writer or reader's bookshelves. pick it up, find a chapter or section of interest and read away. Twain's words will stay with you much longer than the fatigue in your arms from hefting it in the first place. But isn't that appropriate for the first truly universally known media celebrity? ...more

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Dec 14, 2010 David rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read only the free ebook sample from the Amazon Kindle Store.
I may purchase the printed hardcover edition.
More importantly, I registered online to http://marktwainproject.org .
As you will find on the home screen, they have the latest electronic edition of the entire first volume of the autobiography, complete with annotations, commentaries, and appendices. It's free.

The sample I read prepared me for the online features. Besides the text of the autobiography, you get highlighted links to every I read only the free ebook sample from the Amazon Kindle Store.
I may purchase the printed hardcover edition.
More importantly, I registered online to http://marktwainproject.org .
As you will find on the home screen, they have the latest electronic edition of the entire first volume of the autobiography, complete with annotations, commentaries, and appendices. It's free.

The sample I read prepared me for the online features. Besides the text of the autobiography, you get highlighted links to every supporting document. Every Mark Twain electronic book prepared by the Project is available.

Read the Introduction. You will learn that Twain worked on autobiographical materials for nearly forty years. What appear to be many starts and stops, became a valuable resource, thousands of pages. Every work of fiction is autobiographical, as are the travelogues, such as Innocents Abroad. Each autobiographical topic has an original annotated version that was published in magazines or newspapers. Each book he published allowed for extension of the copyright by adding fresh material to newly released editions from expanded versions of the original autobiographies.

If you hold a bias against historical fiction as a reliable interpretive resource, put your bias aside. The background supporting material is here. For example, I have an Edison Amberola (cylinder record player), a 1908 model. Mark Twain wanted to use a much earlier version of an Edison recording device, but Edison told him to wait his turn to get one. Eventually, Twain used one for dictation, but gave up after a few days, having already recorded over four dozen cylinder. Each cylinder holds only about 3-5 minutes.

My real interest is in writing my own memoirs. Like Twain, I have all kinds of autobiographical material published already in five blogs. I have more than twenty years of handwritten journals. Should I emulate Twain or Benjamin Franklin for storytelling? Either might be a smart move and good practice. Twain hated Franklin's style. I wouldn't try to emulate Twain's Eastern Tennessee dialogue. ...more

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Jun 07, 2011 Michael rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I just spent several hours browsing this book drawn from Twain's intermittent writing, typing and dictating over 30 years or so. It strikes me as a ponderous academic folly. For all the time spent editing these papers the result is a formless jumble of outtakes and emphemera.

Much of it is obviously sketches that Twain intended to revise later or never wished to publish.
Example from page 240 about Villa de Quarto:

"There is a history of the house somewhere, and some time or other I shall get it ...more

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Aug 28, 2015 Fahad Alqurain rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

عظيم عظيم جداً

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Apr 30, 2015 Michele rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: memoirs , nonfiction

Do yourself a favor and don't get this as an audiobook.
...what? am I the only one that attempted to listen to this tome?...
Bottom line- too many footnotes, editor explanations, and the story isn't linear enough for sound to be your only guide.

I will attempt this again but with a physical book this time.
I am a little apprehensive; a book should be edited and have a story to tell. From the many author and editor-added explanations in the audiobook, Mark Twain's purpose with these volumes was to ...more

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Jun 04, 2011 Haven Fairfield rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

My wife wanted this and got it for Christmas from her very generous brother and sister-in-law. Apparently, they forgot about her shady husband's pilfering ways. I snagged it away from her 'to read' pile before she had time to remove the shrink wrap. I then commenced to take three months to read the damned thing. My only regret is that I forgot I was part of this "Goodreads" website. I had been writing reviews of books prior to reading this one. This means I should write a review of Mark Twain's ...more

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Feb 01, 2011 Thomas Clark rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This was a book that I enjoyed studying, learning as much about Mark Twain as his specific beliefs on how an autobiography should be written. It is a large, detailed text with notes, cross references, and editorial comment. The editing and compilation is very detailed, and very laudable. Mark Twain believed that his autobiography should be dictated to a stenographer and not follow chronological order. He spoke as subjects crossed his mind, hopping from one topic to the next. This book is like ta ...more

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Nov 13, 2010 Laura rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Bettie, Chrissie, Hayes

Shelves: audio-books , memoir-biography , read-2010

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Coming up at BBC Radio 4: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00vrcwp

Read by Kerry Shale. After dozens of false starts Mark 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 these texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they came out, he would be "dead, and unaware, and indifferent" and therefore ...more

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Dec 07, 2010 Robert Busko rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This particular autobiography is like setting down with Samuel Clemens in a room and having a casual conversation with the man. His thoughts are clear and expressed conversationally and appear to come to the forefront almost as if he were speaking privately with a friend. One of the most impressive things about Clemens in his autobiography is his willingness to speak candidly and with little restraint. I suspect this came from his knowing that what he said would not be published for 100 years af This particular autobiography is like setting down with Samuel Clemens in a room and having a casual conversation with the man. His thoughts are clear and expressed conversationally and appear to come to the forefront almost as if he were speaking privately with a friend. One of the most impressive things about Clemens in his autobiography is his willingness to speak candidly and with little restraint. I suspect this came from his knowing that what he said would not be published for 100 years after his death. There is freedom in that.

While the author reveals much about himself and his relationships with those present in his life, I must say that he also provides us with an intimate window into life in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Early on in volume one, Clemens talks about life on this families farm. He goes into some detail in listing the foods that they ate regularly. Whether these were his favorites and merely an inventory of dishes is not clear. What is clear is that his family lived well for the time. Also his discussions about mining in Nevada is eye opening.

The book isn't in chronological order. In fact the book is unfinished in certain aspects. Chapters are titled "Chapter" without any name. Clearly Clemens intended to return and further organize them. Also, notes are added in places. Whether these were intended for himself or for someone else is unclear.

Anyone who has ever read Tom Sawyer or the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn will be interested in the impressive volume. Books of this nature require that I take them in stages. Having been through the book once, I will return again and again to reread sections. This will continue until volume two is released.

I highly recommend The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1. It is the closest you'll get to meeting Mark.

...more

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Jul 28, 2012 Austin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I came away from reading (listening to actually - it was an audiobook) Mark Twain's autobiography with what feels like a healthy understanding of who Mark Twain was and to some extent what he was like. This was especially gratifying because, as is the case with most humans, he reminds me a lot of myself in some ways, notably his inability to wake up or stay awake in the wee hours of the morning to tend the needs of the children (I fall asleep, and stay asleep with no known exceptions), and his d I came away from reading (listening to actually - it was an audiobook) Mark Twain's autobiography with what feels like a healthy understanding of who Mark Twain was and to some extent what he was like. This was especially gratifying because, as is the case with most humans, he reminds me a lot of myself in some ways, notably his inability to wake up or stay awake in the wee hours of the morning to tend the needs of the children (I fall asleep, and stay asleep with no known exceptions), and his dependence on the social acumen of his wife to prevent his committing social faux pas with alarming regularity. I wish I could remember all the times I laughed out loud because of some humorous anecdote, which likely caused some consternation to those who may have seen me. Countless were the times that I found myself nodding vigorously in assent with some viewpoint presented. One of my most common reactions to Mark Twain's very unique musings was the notion that I had thought that same thing my whole life, and never been able to express it, and certainly never expressed it that thoroughly and precisely. He commands words like few others can, and he does it with ease and unpretentious skill. His eloquence is never forced, always spontaneous. He frequently employs words in surprising flavors, and avoids the common literary errors of triteness and pretension. Unlike me, he detests the use of parentheses, calling them tools of the unrefined. A good writer can say what he wants to say without the unnecessary interruption of a parenthetical statement (a fact with which I find myself agreeing, while hating him for pointing it out).

Twain had that most welcome of qualities, and arguably one of the most necessary for interesting reading - a knowledge of human nature. It was his intention in this final attempt at autobiography not to chronicle primarily the important events of his life, the "big moments," because life is not made up of the big events. Reading this book altered my own approach to journalling because Twain insists that life is not comprised substantially of the events of a man's life. The real fabric of a man's life consists of his thoughts and feelings and values. The events of his life are just a sketchboard upon which are written all those feelings and thoughts and emotions and values. I have often felt at the end of a journalling session that I had somehow missed the heart of the matter, even after faithfully recording the events of the day. What was missing was how I felt about those events. Twain often described the most ordinary of events, but he did it with such witty insight, that he capably discovered the epic within the ordinary.

That was the substance of the autobiography, was discovering the epic within the ordinary. ...more

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Sep 11, 2012 Steven rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Though this is not a great book, it is a good contribution to the picture of the man who was perhaps our greatest idealist. He lived through and witnessed so much important history. He knew presidents, kings, scoundrels, and very simple people. He speaks with a great deal of warmth and humanity about many different people. And he pokes as much fun, and scorn, at himself as he does anyone else (particularly editors) in this rambling reminiscence.

The book is too long. It is best digested as an aud ...more

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Nov 12, 2010 James Enge rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is not Twain's greatest work, and a lot of it has seen the light of day before. But earlier editions distorted the book in two ways, one of which Twain intended and the other he didn't.

Whereas this edition proposes to publish the complete text of Twain autobiographical writings in three volumes (and online at http://www.marktwainproject.org ), earlier editions left a lot of the text out. That would have been fine with Twain: he envisioned a series of editions after his death, each successiv This is not Twain's greatest work, and a lot of it has seen the light of day before. But earlier editions distorted the book in two ways, one of which Twain intended and the other he didn't.

Whereas this edition proposes to publish the complete text of Twain autobiographical writings in three volumes (and online at http://www.marktwainproject.org ), earlier editions left a lot of the text out. That would have been fine with Twain: he envisioned a series of editions after his death, each successive one being more complete. He was particularly interested in having earlier editors suppress elements of the book that might pain those still living after his death, and he tossed a bunch of newspaper clippings into the book, on the (justified) premise that 100 years or more later, some of the figures and events he was talking about would have become obscure.

On the other hand, earlier editions (like Neider's 1959, which is the one I'd seen before) went against Twain's intentions by imposing a chronological order on his reminiscences. Twain's great plan for an autobiography was to free-associate while dictating, so that he would talk about present and past events mixed up together.

So this, in its completeness and it chaotic pattern, is the book Twain intended to write, and is worth reading for that reason alone. The planless plan, which would have spelled boring jumbled doom if it was followed by a less-gifted talker, really does work for Twain. If the current page is a little dull, Twain probably knows it and is planning to change course with another story, a wisecrack, a savage political observation--something.

For me, standout sections of this book include Twain's discussion of his brother Orion, who seems to have been bipolar, and Twain's account of how he patiently and gently corrected an overzealous editor. (This story has appeared elsewhere but never in full.) But there is a lot else here, including a sort of 19th century Paris Hilton--a woman who was famous simply for being famous. That story made me feel better about our crappy media culture--apparently it's always been crappy, even since the invention of mass media.

Twain completists will want this volume. Others may want to sample it online before they take the plunge.

...more

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Oct 17, 2011 Mark rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I had to put this one down for a while. This is a challenging read that requires some patience. Anyone looking for a chronological autobiography or conventional memoir will be sorely disappointed. Twain had two basic concepts guiding his auto-bio. One, it should not follow an expected timeline but be more of a random collection of life experiences. And two, it should not be published until 100 years after his death, to allow him the freedom to write from his heart without offending anyone. The r ...more

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Sep 29, 2012 M. Fenn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So, Mark Twain's autobiography, volume 1. Yes, the book is 736 pages, but Twain's story itself is only 405. The rest is made up of a very thorough introduction, explanatory notes, appendices, references, and the index.

I found the introduction quite interesting, as the editor set out the history of Twain's attempts at writing his autobiography over the years and the method he finally settled on. They also delved into what had been done with the manuscript after his death. His previous biographers So, Mark Twain's autobiography, volume 1. Yes, the book is 736 pages, but Twain's story itself is only 405. The rest is made up of a very thorough introduction, explanatory notes, appendices, references, and the index.

I found the introduction quite interesting, as the editor set out the history of Twain's attempts at writing his autobiography over the years and the method he finally settled on. They also delved into what had been done with the manuscript after his death. His previous biographers, for example, didn't stand by the order to keep it all unpublished for 100 years. They used quite a bit of it in their own writings on Twain and didn't necessarily follow Twain's wishes in how they edited what they used. Harriet Elinor Smith and her colleagues have set that right, I believe.

That's who I want to thank, to begin with. The editors took on a massive undertaking by trying to bring this tome together, organizing the manuscript, doing the detective work to discover in what order things were originally written, and what changes might have been made by those shifty biographers of the past. Kudos to them.

Kudos, too, of course, to Mr. Clemens for his talented storytelling and the method he finally settled on. After years of struggling to write his story, and often refusing to, he discovered that dictating his thoughts to a competent and enthusiastic audience—in this case, the stenographer Josephine S. Hobby—was what fit the bill. Also, and this is the really cool part in my mind, he chose to change up the structure. Instead of writing a strictly linear piece, Clemens' story jumps around in time, paying more attention to how events connected in the author's brain, instead of how they connected chronologically. I think it's brilliant.

As are the stories themselves. Clemens was a master storyteller, raconteur, and, as his mother described him, and embroiderer. The tales of his life bear that mark. I found myself smiling a lot, and laughing, while reading this. Tearing up, occasionally, too. He talks about his own life and that of his family, but he also talks about the goings on of the day, sharing his thoughts about U.S. Grant (a big fan), Teddy Roosevelt ("one of the most impulsive man in history"), and Helen Keller ("She is fellow to Caesar, Alexander, Napoleon, Homer, Shakespeare, and the rest of the immortals."), among others.

One of my favorite parts of the Twain saga was the insertion of pieces of the biography his daughter Susy had written about him when she was 13. He insisted that the excerpts be inserted as they were, with no corrections made to the spelling or grammar, although he would comment sometimes on a unique spelling or turn of phrase. His love for and pride in his daughter is so apparent, it's all the more tragic to read of her death from meningitis at the age of 24.

And, of course, Clemens talks about himself, such as his attendance at an author's reading at Vassar College. He was one of nine authors and the only one that kept his piece to 10 minutes. He ended up sneaking out the back when "by 5:30 a third of the house was asleep; another third were dying; and the rest were dead."

Clemens sarcastic wit, control of language, and warm heart shined throughout this volume, and I was sad when it ended, even if it did wound me. I can't wait for the next one. ...more

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Apr 02, 2013 James rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mark Twain did not write a conventional autobiography, and it has not been published conventionally. He tried at various times and in various ways to get his life story down on paper, and what resulted was a mishmash of unordered (or at least unconventionally ordered) stories, notes, copies of old talks, and miscellany that kind-of sort-of adds up to life story. He also asked that it not be published until 100 years after his death–while portions of it have been published previously, the 2010 ed ...more

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Mar 08, 2015 Tom marked it as to-read · review of another edition

I can't believe that Mark Twain had this in mind. The most accessible of Great American Authors has had his final work published in a text that is virtually unreadable without klieg lights and a magnifying glass. This book, and Twain's readers, deserve a better, more accessible volume. One that people might want to actually sit down and read sometime without feeling like they're prepping for an exam.

Beware -- this book is not really intended for the common or casual reader. This is a Big Fat Sch ...more

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About Mark Twain

Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain , was an American author and humorist. He is noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), called "the Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).

Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer . He apprenticed with a printer. He also work Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain , was an American author and humorist. He is noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), called "the Great American Novel", and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876).

Twain grew up in Hannibal, Missouri, which would later provide the setting for Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer . He apprenticed with a printer. He also worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to his older brother Orion's newspaper. After toiling as a printer in various cities, he became a master riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River, before heading west to join Orion. He was a failure at gold mining, so he next turned to journalism. While a reporter, he wrote a humorous story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," which proved to be very popular and brought him nationwide attention. His travelogues were also well-received. Twain had found his calling.

He achieved great success as a writer and public speaker. His wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty.

However, he lacked financial acumen. Though he made a great deal of money from his writings and lectures, he squandered it on various ventures, in particular the Paige Compositor, and was forced to declare bankruptcy. With the help of Henry Huttleston Rogers, however, he eventually overcame his financial troubles. Twain worked hard to ensure that all of his creditors were paid in full, even though his bankruptcy had relieved him of the legal responsibility.

Born during a visit by Halley's Comet, he died on its return. He was lauded as the "greatest American humorist of his age", and William Faulkner called Twain "the father of American literature".

Excerpted from Wikipedia . ...more

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn, #1)

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer & Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

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“He said that man’s heart was the only bad heart in the animal kingdom; that man was the only animal capable of feeling malice, envy, vindictiveness, revengefulness, hatred, selfishness, the only animal that loves drunkenness, almost the only animal that could endure personal uncleanliness and a filthy habitation, the sole animal in whom was fully developed the base instinct called patriotism, the sole animal that robs, persecutes, oppresses and kills members of his own tribe, the sole animal that steals and enslaves the members of any tribe.” — 44 likes

“I have been on the verge of being an angel all my life, but it's never happened yet.” — 14 likes

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