Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion

by Mark Twain

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Genres: Classics

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1878

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.

Reviews

[S. Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short piece of travel writing by Mark Twain detailing a leisure trip to Bermuda. Twain's vivid descriptions of the voyage and island stay are interspersed with stories shared by his fellow travelers, and punctuated with his legendary wit and sarcasm.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. Twain's observations and overheard conversations are hysterical. Nobody travels and keeps a journal like Twain.

[Betty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could never give him less than five stars for anything he’s written. This was a short trip over the sea to Bermuda. He let’s other people tell their stories. He just asked the questions.

[Forked Radish · Rating 4 out of 5]

A spider monkey?

[Dale · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story of a trip by Mark Twain to Bermuda - starts fairly weak and ends strong

The title of this essay has it right - these are just a series of stories about a trip that Twain and some friends took to Bermuda from New York City. Twain wrote this for "The Atlantic" in 1877 and his wry style makes him an excellent travel companion.

In reality, Twain's story of the trip is the story of the people he meets along the way. Most of the stories are humorous, some are duds and about an equal number are quite funny. I won't forget the story about the town with the cat situation for quite a while.

Twain on Bermuda:

"We never met a man, or woman, or child anywhere in this sunny island who seemed to be unprosperous, or discontented, or sorry about anything. This sort of monotony became very tiresome presently, and even something worse. The spectacle of an entire nation groveling in contentment is an infuriating thing."

Read more at: http://dwdsreviews.blogspot.com/2011/...