Mark Twain on Travel

by Terry Mort

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known to most as Mark Twain, was a quintessential American writer who spent much of his life traveling the world. He encountered colorful characters, cultures, and a variety of adventures along the way, and Mark Twain on Travel is a timeless collection of his writings on the subject. Excerpts included are from classics such The Innocents Abroad ; A Tramp Abroad ; Life on the Mississippi ; Roughing It ; and Following the Equator .

Genres: Travel, Nonfiction

304 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2005

Reviews

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mort has taken highlights from MT's five travel books and turned them into a sampler, of sorts. His Introduction sets the tone/mood for this collection, reminds the reader of the complexities of Twain and provides some info on his personal life. This is a shortened version of MT's travels, as he often added "bulk to his books" for money, which sadly some publishers still encourage today.
I was overcome with nostalgia reading about the Big River, as I too grew up on the Mississippi. And as Twain rambles out west and around the world, so does his writing, often veering off course. But that is where his wit comes in, the fun parts.
Highly recommended for anyone wanting a condensed version or refresher course on Mark Twain.

[Marilyn Sue Michel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find the excerpts mostly bland and boring. I would recommend reading one of Twain's books over the excerpt idea. They highlight his faults without delivering much of a charge. The rhythm of a book depends on the whole book. Some of his idioms are difficult to decipher more than 150 years after he wrote them, I gave them a brief attempt at understanding but mostly just moved on. A great writer!

[Edmond · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ramblings on and on of Mark Twain on his travels around the globe.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has snippets of Mark Twain's works on "travel", and so while I enjoyed the individual stories, I yearned for them in their entirety and in their context. I would say this book frustrates in that you wish you had not begun it and had just started reading Mark Twain himself. I gave it 2 stars because it has piqued my interest in Twain, and I shall endeavor to read all his books on his travels.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book - excerpts from the places Twain traveled when he was earning a living as a travel writer, and then a bit of other stuff. You really do get a feel for the places, and he writes with great dry humor with some sarcasm thrown in. Makes me wish I had been able to sit around and listen to him talk.

[Alix · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting compilation of travel anecdotes not particularly captivating in its entirety but I love Twain's pen style and the almost orientalist depiction of foreign lands. A good read for travel lovers and wanderlust folk.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love mark twain - most of the time. some parts of his books bog down. therefore, this book is great cuz it is a collection of stories from his travel books. you get the good parts without the slow parts. you just gotta take everything with a grain of salt :)

[Blake · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mark Twain is a very funny man and this was a very enjoyable look at his extensive travels and it follows a nice path around many parts of the world, giving a great pre-automobile look at travel.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the stories are more interesting than others, but the writing is fun, unique and clever.

[Jennifer]

everyone must read this book! it's amazing how traveling hasnt really changed, even with all the advances of the last 100 years. :)