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Mark Twain's Own Autobiography

by Mark Twain, Michael Kiskis (Editor), Sheila Leary (Foreword)

3.99 · rating details · 609 ratings · 96 reviews

Mark Twain’s Own Autobiography stands as the last of Twain’s great yarns. Here he tells his story in his own way, freely expressing his joys and sorrows, his affections and hatreds, his rages and reverence—ending, as always, tongue-in-cheek: “Now, then, that is the tale. Some of it is true.”
More than the story of a literary career, this memoir is anchored in the writ

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Paperback, 392 pages

Published February 25th 2010 by University of Wisconsin Press (first published 1969)

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Nov 30, 2010

Virgilio rated it

· review of another edition

“In this Autobiography I shall keep in mind that I am speaking from the grave. I am literally speaking from the grave, because I shall be dead when the book issues from the press”(Twain xxxv).
The Autobiography of Mark Twain explores the many aspects and anecdotes of Mark Twain’s life, as well as the many people who influenced Twain and his work immensely. He reveals his personal thoughts of the people around him, and the world around him. He reveals himself as a person who writes what he k...more“In this Autobiography I shall keep in mind that I am speaking from the grave. I am literally speaking from the grave, because I shall be dead when the book issues from the press”(Twain xxxv).
The Autobiography of Mark Twain explores the many aspects and anecdotes of Mark Twain’s life, as well as the many people who influenced Twain and his work immensely. He reveals his personal thoughts of the people around him, and the world around him. He reveals himself as a person who writes what he knows, as many of his beloved characters are based off of people he has known. Since the topic of the book is on his own life, it was very rich and full of detail. This is an exhilarating read, and is easily one of the best books I have read.
Mr. Twain had led very rich and full life, which increase the quality of the piece itself. He goes from having a very incomplete education to having a honorary degree from Oxford University. He’s narrowly avoided death by duel, and faces hardship in the forms of massive debt. He is surrounded by loving family members and greedy publishers. He meets many famous people, including President Ulysses S. Grant, who asked Twain for his help when writing his autobiography.
What struck me about this book was that, at the middle of the book, I started to treat it not as a a boring biography but as an immersive and interesting story. He presents the events of his life with certain flair. For example, when Twain and a fellow author talk about Twain’s private politics:
“Some days afterward I met her again for a moment and she gave me the startling information that she had written down everything I said, just as I said it, without any softening and purifying modifications… She begged me to let her publish.. but I said it would damn me before my time and I don’t wish to be useful to the world on such expensive conditions. (467) ”
However, the writing is a bit sporadic, as he tends to switch from an event from his early childhood to an event later in life. For example, he jumps from talking about his father’s style of cooking potatoes, to a feast that is being hosted by the Emperor of Germany. Although he is able to make it flow very well most of the time, it can become a hassle rereading notes trying to understand what was going on.
Mark Twain’s presentation of his own life is vivid and full. Though his writing was chaotic at times, the Twain flair makes the chaos more exciting, more lively than an ordinary autobiography. Its dynamic presentation, although exciting, can break the pacing of the book. Also, some points of his life by themselves seem mundane. However, in the end, the strengths of The Autobiography of Mark Twain highlights this book as an exciting read.
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Dec 16, 2010

Larry Bassett rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: autobiography

This is NOT the Mark Twain Post 100 years Autobiography that everyone is talking about. This book was copyrighted in 1959 by the editor Charles Neider. The 2010 Autobiography of Mark Twain. Vol. 1 is found elsewhere on GRs.

Neider's most important book, however, was arguably The Autobiography of Mark Twain (1959), in which he fashioned a chronological structure that was lacking in the original material and included never-before-published passages. Certainly the most widely read versio

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Mar 28, 2009

May rated it

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Shelves: non-fiction, historical

Striking: his use of chiasmus (crossing of terms in one sentence). For instance: "When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to go to pieces like this but we all have to do it" (p. 4). Well, that's high lit and philosophy, all packaged with one powerful sense of humor, plus a touch of teasing. Worse part is that I do feel that w...moreStriking: his use of chiasmus (crossing of terms in one sentence). For instance: "When I was younger I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not; but my faculties are decaying now and soon I shall be so I cannot remember any but the things that never happened. It is sad to go to pieces like this but we all have to do it" (p. 4). Well, that's high lit and philosophy, all packaged with one powerful sense of humor, plus a touch of teasing. Worse part is that I do feel that way about not remembering right--so he's able to touch me at a very vulnerable spot as well.
Another is: "Perhaps no bread in the world is quite so good as Southern corn bread and perhaps no bread in the world is quite so bad as the Northern imitation of it" (p. 5). Wow! I read Tom Sawyer (in French...) as a girl, and I see now why I liked it quite a bit. This is good stuff.

I finished this autobiography 2 weeks ago. It was a difficult read, because the format is so chopped up: it takes work to get into a piece, and before you know it, the piece is over and you have to work into a new one. BUT, it was not a finished work, Mark Twain dictated a lot of it toward the end of his life, and it was pieced together after his death. So, lower your expectations if you decide to get intimate with a pretty unusual person. 4 stars because it does not stand as a whole.

There are lots of "jewels" in those pieces: stories of his childhood, like the one of the frozen Mississippi (48-49) and the mesmerizer (66-76) which provides life-long munching material (and great topic to discuss with your teenager during a car drive). Loads of intricate thoughts put into striking forms, like: "As a rule, technicalities of a man's vocation and figures and metaphors drawn from it slip out in his talk and reveal his trade; but if this ever happened in Macfarlane's case I was none the wiser, although I was constantly on the watch during half a year for those very betrayals." This is a great thought: to listen to images used by someone to guess who they are. It's funny too, because it did not work in this case, and Mark Twain is the butt of what has become a joke (isn't it so funny to imagine him working so hard for 6 months with no results?).

Mark Twain ends his autobiography with the death of his daughter Jean (he asked his editor to do so if he thought it appropriate). He also shares the death of his wife and other daughter Suzy. There is little literary value and no humor in those final pieces, and it leaves you with a heavy heart that pain could strip this man of his spirit. Nice though (and reassuring...) that such a vivacious scoundrel could love his wife and their daughters with such dedication until death!

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Jul 07, 2008

Brian Flatt rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: anyone interested in the human drama of one of the world's most beloved authors

Ok, I have decided to mete out the 5 stars sparingly. The rating wouldn't mean much if it was given to just any old book that I happened to like.
This book though, is without a doubt, one of those few that actually deserves more than 5 stars and it is therefore one of my favorite books of all time.

Why?

Well, I think there are some books that you read and you think, upon closing the last page, "Hmmm, that was a pretty good book", but then if asked about it...moreOk, I have decided to mete out the 5 stars sparingly. The rating wouldn't mean much if it was given to just any old book that I happened to like.
This book though, is without a doubt, one of those few that actually deserves more than 5 stars and it is therefore one of my favorite books of all time.

Why?

Well, I think there are some books that you read and you think, upon closing the last page, "Hmmm, that was a pretty good book", but then if asked about it a few days later you might be hard pressed to remember much if anything about it. Other books you read, they affect you, they touch your life, your heart, your soul, and you are changed, a different person afterwards. I have not read too many of those books.

When people are asked to name the books that have changed their lives, I'm always amused at those whose lists are long. My list is short and this one is on the short list.

I absolutely fell in love with Mark Twain and his autobiography. It is even more interesting when you realize that Mark Twain never actually wrote an autobiography. What he did write were a grab bag assortment of small books and personal anecdotes, with the intention of someone else compiling it after his death into an autobiography. That is why each version will be slightly different. This is not the version that I read, but Amazon did not have a photo of it, so I chose this one.

I was just so taken in by the humanity of Mark Twain, his was an American life to be sure, but it was more than that. He was a living human being,much more than just one of America's, the world's, most beloved authors. He was also a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a friend. He was all of those and more. He lived the ups and downs of life. He lived through more than his fair share of tragedy and yet in the end, he was never beaten by life's circumstances. He stayed true to who he was. He stayed forever and inimitably, Mark Twain. He laughed, he cried, he was happy, and he was sad. In the end he was supremely human, not a perfect human being, and his flaws are readily apparent.
This was one of the few books that I have read where I actually had tears streaming down my face when I closed the last page.

From his early boyhood, to the many tragedies in his life, all the way up to the end when he lost his daughter and his wife, this book was incredibly poignant. You couldn't help loving this man even more and being sad that we have no equivalent of Mark Twain today. He died himself the following year after his daughter Jean died and the world has been the worse off ever since.
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Aug 20, 2010

Kathryn rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: memoir, classics, americana

I ought to have read through this much faster and less thoroughly since I was looking specifically for musical references while researching a Twain-themed library music program, but I couldn't help but read through most of it, especially towards the beginning. Yes, Twain constantly rambles into miscellaneous musings but those musings are often pure gold, skillfully rendered with often gut-splittingly hilarity.

He was an international celebrity at this point who didn't have to write ...more

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Apr 10, 2011

Julie Mendel rated it

· review of another edition

I found this book to be fascinating. There are personal philosophies, political aspects and well thought out plans incorporated in every page. Being one who journals, I was intrigued by the notes Twain left behind, things like "publish all of this but not until I am dead." the thought of not publishing his biography until he had been dead for a hundred years was genius, no worries about offending friends and acquaintances because they would also be gone as would likely be there childre...more

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Sep 01, 2011

Cathy Aquila rated it

· review of another edition

I really enjoyed this autobiography. Mark Twain for decades grappled with the best method to deliver his memoir. In the last 6 years of his life he decided that the "Final (and Right) Plan" would be a collection of dictations and manuscripts that catalog whatever thoughts popped into his mind at the time. The result is a collection of musings that are thoroughly entertaining. Although this volume is 750 pages (thank goodness for Kindle) the actual autobiography is a mere 270 pages....more

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Sep 18, 2009

Dirk rated it

· review of another edition

I had to stop reading this one half way through. I got the feeling this was Mark Twain's last joke on the world.

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Apr 25, 2011

Jeff rated it

· review of another edition

(Note: I just realized that Goodreads is lumping together the user reviews for this version that was published in 1959 along with the reviews for volume 1 of the 2010 version. This review is for the 1959 version.)

I liked this book, and I found it worth reading. I'm having a hard time deciding on a rating, though. On one hand, how awesome is it to have thoughts, observations, and reflections of Mark Twain as he looks back on his life? The foreward warns that it may not all be "go...more(Note: I just realized that Goodreads is lumping together the user reviews for this version that was published in 1959 along with the reviews for volume 1 of the 2010 version. This review is for the 1959 version.)

I liked this book, and I found it worth reading. I'm having a hard time deciding on a rating, though. On one hand, how awesome is it to have thoughts, observations, and reflections of Mark Twain as he looks back on his life? The foreward warns that it may not all be "gospel fact," though there is a genuine quality to it. (Twain is, as he says, "speaking from the grave," without concern for offending others.) On the other hand, some of it was a little slow going, especially some of the more anecdotal and/or trivial moments. Plus, this version is incomplete, due to his concerns about the content.

I bought this book (what I refer to as the 1959 version) and started reading it before I knew that a new version was going to be released, so if you choose to read this, keep in mind that there are a few versions available. The 2010 version is supposed to be complete, while I believe the foreward to this 1959 version said that some content was edited out. (However, the 2010 version won't be complete for another few years, as there are two more volumes yet to be released.) For the 1959 version, the content was rearranged into chronological order, while from what I gather, the 2010 version has the content in the supposedly intended order. The 2010 version is supposed to be more of an academic work, while you could argue that the 1959 work might be more appropriate for popular consumption.

This book gives an interesting look at what life was like for Twain, as well as what it was like in general in the 1800s to early 1900s. He talks about his humble beginnings in Missouri, his life and his family. He describes the various jobs he held during his life, as well as places he lived and traveled to, and friends he made along the way. One topic I wish he would have spoken more about was his literature, though I guess I can understand letting the works speak for themselves. The most interesting parts to me were when he talked about his family, including his wife, kids, and a certain nephew in particular, as well as contemporaries such as Ulysses S. Grant, Rudyard Kipling, and Bret Harte. Throughout the book, as he describes events, he offers observations on human nature that make it worth the read. I think I will read this again someday, though I will probably switch to the 2010 version, to see what I missed by reading this version.(less)

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Sep 14, 2007

Ethan rated it

· review of another edition

On receiving the news of his daughter's death: "It is one of the mysteries of our nature that a man, all unprepared, can receive a thunder-stroke like that and live. There is but one reasonable explanation of it. The intellect is stunned by the shock and but gropingly gathers the meaning of the words. The power to realize their full import is mercifully wanting. The mind has a dim sense of vast loss -- that is all. It will take mind and memory months and possibly years to gather the details...more

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Aug 19, 2007

John Wiswell rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Humor readers, biography readers, classics readers, literary readers

Why read anyone else on Mark Twain when you can read his own words? Twain was brutally honest, devoting entire chapters to times of personal loss and failure. He covers one particular night when he bombed at a lecture, showing no particular ego. In another he covers the night his brother died with savage emotional honesty. He explains as many aspects of his own development as he can think of, from growing cold in learning the ways of literature, to growing up on the Mississippi, to his spiritual...more

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Aug 28, 2011

Jan Strnad rated it

· review of another edition

Twain is one of my idols, so this book was a real treat. It was oversold a bit, which is probably why I rated it four instead of five stars.

Academics should love it. Mere fans, such as myself, find a good deal to ignore.

Some readers of the print version have complained about the massive weight and the small type. I read the Kindle version so didn't have those problems, but finding any particular entry again is very difficult on the Kindle. Scholars will want the print ve...more

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Aug 06, 2011

Lara Ruark rated it

· review of another edition

I am so glad to be finishing this book! Not just because Mark Twain is wonderful but because over 50% of this book is notes and a bio on everyone who was ever mentioned in this book. It was like buying a movie with extra dvds filled with bonus features. I personally would have just preferred reading Mark Twain's actual autobiography, but some readers may like all the extras. To each his own.

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Jul 14, 2011

Jonathan rated it

· review of another edition

This work, 100 years in limbo, begins with a tedious introduction by the chief editor and a succession of false starts by Clemens himself. This is soon enough forgotten as Twain hits his stride handsomely. The change comes when the author begins to use an attentive secretary to take his dictation. To this is added a brilliant structure: Twain uses his deceased daughter's biography of himself, made when she was a schoolgirl, as a launching point for his own reminiscences.

I look forwa...more

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Dec 22, 2009

Lavinia rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, journals-biographies-memoirs

Most of it is funny. And it’s frustrating when, compared to Twain, I’m leading an incredibly dull life. Everything that is interesting, funny, outrageous, supernatural & all seems to happen to him. And oh, the envy on his wittiness!
In some parts, it’s touchy. Not only the episodes about his mother and brother (characters in his books – Sid and Aunt Polly, for those who remember), but especially the memories about his wife and daughters. Susy’s biography, written when she was about 14 (have...more

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Mar 06, 2008

Alyson rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-love

This was a really interesting audiobiography. Mark Twain wrote it with the condition that it would be published after his death. This condition gave him greater freedom to express how he REALLY felt. He was quite merciless to about a couple of people in his life whom he detested.

He was a great observer of human nature. I don't agree with all of his conclusions, but he was quite brilliant. He would have made a great psychologist or salesman because of his understanding of other...more

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Jul 02, 2011

Noel Kelly rated it

· review of another edition

Audiobook - I got about 1/3 of the way through and gave up. This is less an autobiography than a selection of essays. The big deal is that Twain instructed that it not be released until 100 years after his death. Mind you, the autobiography itself was never completed and it was left to the curators to stitch together the material. Perhaps I am missing something or am lacking a full appreciation of the talents of Twain but this long awaited tome left me cold.

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Jun 13, 2011

Carolyn Phelps rated it

· review of another edition

Mark Twain's musings about himself, others, and events of the day are by turns witty, insightful, and biting. Those expecting a traditional autobiography will be disappointed, but for those who appreciate Twain's humor, this book is a delight.

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Nov 11, 2011

Amblingbooks.com marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: available-on-audio, biography, memoir

"It is worth reading because the man is in it." - Saturday Review

Listen to The Autobiography of Mark Twain on your smartphone.

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Jun 07, 2011

Julia Reed rated it

· review of another edition

I really feel like I should give this book five stars and write about how amazing it was, but I could not get into it and eventually had to give it up. Oh Mark, you will always have a place in my heart, but just not on my bookshelf.

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Aug 19, 2011

Carolyn rated it

· review of another edition

One of my favorite authors, maybe my favorite if I were forced to choose. Bits of his autobilography were a bit slow, but well worth the effort to get to know and love the man even more. Thank you for being you Mr. Clemens.

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Nov 29, 2008

Pat rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Kovacs

Recommended to Pat by: Sandra

Brilliantly and hilariously mean, for the most part. A rather disconnected collection of memories, anecdotes, and rants, set aside to be published posthumously. Twain spends several chapters each excoriating a former business partner of his and the writer Bret Hart. Of the widow of a poet friend, he says, "A strange and vanity-devoured, detestable woman! I do not believe I could ever learn to like her except on a raft at sea with no other provisions in sight." Most enjoyable. He ...more

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Aug 15, 2011

Gene Needham rated it

· review of another edition

I enjoyed diving into a different view of Twain. I purchased this after visiting his home where he wrote a great deal of his works. Worth the money if you are a Twain fan!

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Sep 30, 2011

Robert Frandeen rated it

· review of another edition

Having read all of Mark Twain and lots about him, I loved every page of this book. Nothing new in, just fun to hear from Mark Twain again, like an old reliable friend.

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Sep 21, 2011

JR Lazar rated it

· review of another edition

introduction and referencing was long and dull (probably 200 pages worth)...once the book got into the rhythm of Twain's daily musings, it became fun and interesting.

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Jan 08, 2011

Liz rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: mark twain fans

Recommended to Liz by: jen mcfadden

Shelves: autobiography, non-fiction, memoirs, nook-book

This was a very fascinating book to read. It was recommended to me by a friend, and I enjoyed it. It is a bit different than a typical autobiography. There are a lot of accounts of other people that is just heresay to mark twain, which makes the book very interesting. He has many strong opinions from politics, religion, and family. One of my favorite parts was at the end of the book when he discusses meeting Helen Keller. It was fascinating to learn of Mark Twain's childhood and learn of h...more

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Sep 02, 2011

Tom is currently reading it · review of another edition

This makes for very good reading. One can really get the gift of this man's writing through the telling of his life story. Quite an American.

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Jul 15, 2011

Centrillo is currently reading it · review of another edition

My Christmas gift from my son. Reading the hardcover-it's one of those books that you have to have in your hand. Not deep enough into it to rate.

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Jan 24, 2012

Lillian Schoellkopf rated it

· review of another edition

Could not get into this book!! I will try again, at some point. But it's dry as sawdust!!

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Jun 29, 2011

Suzanne rated it

· review of another edition

I read this for a book discussion, but was planning on reading it anyway, for several reasons. This is actually not an autobiography, but more a series of vignettes, not even all in chronological order. Although Twain's writing drips with intelligence and wit, I was ultimately disappointed. I still do not know anything about his childhood, and very little about his personal life, and there are big chunks of his life and career that are left undocumented. I guess I will have to read a biograph...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...more

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A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

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“congress - that great, benevolent asylum for the helpless” — 1 person liked it

“The easy confidence with which I know another man's religion is folly teaches me to suspect that my own is also. I would not interfere with any one's religion, either to strengthen it or to weaken it. I am not able to believe one's religion can affect his hereafter one way or the other, no matter what that religion may be. But it may easily be a great comfort to him in this life--hence it is a valuable possession to him.” — 1 person liked it

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