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78th out of 157 books
—
56 voters
The Complete Essays of Mark Twain
Mark Twain is best known as one of this country's finest humorists and novelists. As this collection confirms, he was one of our finest essayists as well. Gathered here in a single volume, these pieces reveal the complete range of this esteemed American writer and contain some of his best, funniest, and most caustic work. "English as She Is Taught," "What Is Man?," and "Le...more
Paperback, 732 pages
Published
November 2nd 2000
by Da Capo Press
(first published October 25th 1963)
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Samuel Clemens's essays are as valuable as his fiction. Reading through them, I could see him there, behind the podium, right arm hugging his belly and left elbow resting on it, chin in left hand, just talking. jawing. tellin' it like it is.
p.s. his knowledge of Shakespeare is laughable but he still deserves an E for effort.
p.s. his knowledge of Shakespeare is laughable but he still deserves an E for effort.
Jun 30, 2007
Steve Carpenter
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Shelves:
lightreading
While most people know his short stories and novels, Twain's essays show off his true spit and polish. The wit that made him famous is raw and unbridled in his critical works, a favorite of mine being Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses. If you dislike Cooper's work as much as I do (and obviously as much as Twain) you'll enjoy it too. His essays on what he dubs "Mental Telegraphy" are a digression from his sardonic humor, and while preserving his wit, he enters into a more "serious" tone for the...more
I was burrowing through my mother's book shelves and ran across a hard cover version of this book, dusty and yellowed. I had to pick it up.
While I have not completed reading collection, but from the first, I was reminded clearly why I love Mark Twain's works. It has been far too long since I have immersed myself in his humor and devastating wit. The essays reprinted in this collection are superb examples of many of Twain's facets and follow him through many of his incarnations.
Any lover of Twain...more
While I have not completed reading collection, but from the first, I was reminded clearly why I love Mark Twain's works. It has been far too long since I have immersed myself in his humor and devastating wit. The essays reprinted in this collection are superb examples of many of Twain's facets and follow him through many of his incarnations.
Any lover of Twain...more
Twain's wry, provocative essays are as timeless in their content (war, mortality, taxes) as they are peerless in their form. Twain lays bare the cosmic impotence of the human animal, while upholding a basic reverence -- if one may use that word here -- for the sheer gumption of the species.
Imagine how vibrant America's public schools would be if they replaced their tired "Social Studies" curricula with the plain-spoken wit and wisdom contained in this volume. The world is still catching up with...more
Imagine how vibrant America's public schools would be if they replaced their tired "Social Studies" curricula with the plain-spoken wit and wisdom contained in this volume. The world is still catching up with...more
Each is a jewel.
3
A venture into Twain's essays gives you a sense of movement in writer's life--you get a feel for him developing, peaking, regressing, and deepening as a man of letters. Some of the essays hold up quite well--his advice for writing humor, for example--and some are so topical that they merely serve as historical curiosities. Such, I gathered from this book, is the price of being prolific.
Twain's crackling wit and keen insight is on full display in this collection of his short, non-fiction work. For a full dose of Twain's acerbic wit, pick up this great anthology.
Some pretty entertaining little essays.
May 20, 2013
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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...more
More about Mark Twain...
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...more
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