FORGOTTEN BOOKS #90: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARK TWAIN, VOLUME ONE

In a moment of marketing genius, Mark Twain declared that his Autobiography not be published until a 100 years after his death. Twain died in 1910. Now we have Volume One of Twain’s rambling reminiscences: all 760 pages. Twain decided that the best way to create his Autobiography was to walk around telling stories and having a stenographer follow him around taking down every word Twain spoke. The result is very much like a blog: subject follows subject almost randomly. Yes, there are some tedious passages, as you might expect in a book this large. But Twain’s humor and wit appear on almost every page. I’ll be waiting eagerly for the next two volumes (1200 pages!). If you’re a Mark Twain fan, the 100 year wait is over!

14 thoughts on “FORGOTTEN BOOKS #90: THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARK TWAIN, VOLUME ONE

    1. george Post author

      You would think Twain would tell his life story in chronological order, Jeff. But, no. Always a maverick, Twain came up with this stream-of-consciousness approach that seems very modern. Almost like blogging.

      Reply
    1. george Post author

      Portions of the AUTOBIOGRAPHY have leaked out over the years, Todd. But this “authorized” version seems complete. Twain doesn’t pull any punches.

      Reply
  1. Todd Mason

    Yes, he published excerpts while still alive in NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, and Harper had the first expurgated book edition in 1912, iirc. We can only hope these volumes are the whole surviving smear! Bad faith advertising, otherwise.

    Reply
  2. Todd Mason

    I read nearly all the Twain I could get my hands on from about age 10-11…the Neider volumes, the novels, didn’t enjoy the travelogues as much (though did like the sketches and such embedded in them). Little did I know how soon I, too, wuold be venturing out to Hawaii.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      I read a lot of Twain as a kid, then I read more while working on my dissertation, Todd. Twain is a very uneven writer. But when he’s “on,” no one can touch him for brillance and humor.

      Reply
    1. george Post author

      I think it’s available for a Kindle, Beth. That’s one of the attractions of an ebook reader for me: no more 700 page tomes to wrestle with! I plan on buying one in 2011.

      Reply

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