Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1

The Complete and Authoritative Edition

By: Mark Twain

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 24 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

“I’ve struck it!” Mark Twain wrote in a 1904 letter to a friend. “And I will give it away - to you. You will never know how much enjoyment you have lost until you get to dictating your autobiography.”

Thus, after dozens of false starts and hundreds of pages, Twain embarked on his “Final (and Right) Plan” for telling the story of his life. His innovative notion - to “talk only about the thing which interests you for the moment” - meant that his thoughts could range freely. The strict instruction that many of these texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they came out, he would be “dead, and unaware, and indifferent” and that he was therefore free to speak his “whole frank mind”.

The year 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Twain’s death. In celebration of this important milestone, here, for the first time, is Mark Twain’s uncensored autobiography, in its entirety, exactly as he left it. This major literary event offers the first of three volumes and presents Mark Twain’s authentic and unsuppressed voice, brimming with humor, ideas, and opinions, and speaking clearly from the grave, as he intended.

Edited by Harriet Elinor Smith and other editors of the Mark Twain Project.

Mark Twain (1835 - 1910) was born Samuel L. Clemens in the town of Florida, Missouri. One of the most popular and influential authors our nation has ever produced, his keen wit and incisive satire earned him praise from both critics and peers. He has been called not only the greatest humorist of his age but the father of American literature.

©2010 2001 by the Mark Twain Foundation. All Rights Reserved. Transcription, reconstruction, and creation of the texts, introduction, notes, and appendixes copyright 2010 by the Regents of the University of California (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“With the uncensored Twain finally here, we’re the furthest thing from indifferent.” ( Time magazine)

“Twain’s memoirs are a pointillist masterpiece from which his vision of America - half paradise, half swindle - emerges with indelible force.” ( Publishers Weekly)

“Mark Twain, always so blithely ahead of his time, has just outdone himself: he’s brought us an autobiography from beyond the grave.” (Ron Powers, author of Mark Twain: A Life)

References hard to get through, but his words are

If you can get through the first few hours of the referencing of material, then you'll be handsomely rewarded with Twain's own words and wisdom. Fabulous Man.

Interesting read

The start of the book was a little slow, as the editors spent a bit more than needed in telling of what sources each pice came from.

Once you get past that, and twain gets to tell his story it is excellent

Loved my time with the book!

I have been a fan of Twain's books and love his wit and comments on life. This book was such a pleasure to "listen" to. I don't think I could have read it though. I like how it is not written from the time of his birth to when he finished writing, but how one story leads to another which leads to another. I really enjoyed this book and highly recomend it. I look forward to the next two volumes.

Didactic

Too much about his writing in relation to the amount of it. Good for librarians and researchers maybe.

Good story, good reader.

From the multiple starts and stops at attempting an autobiography, Samuel Clemmens finds organization by using his daughter's biography, of him, as well as other methods as a rough outline to tell his tale. He is a good storyteller and Grover Gardner did a superb job. I did skip most of the first three chapters though as it was notes about how the autobiography was put together from so much separate material.

outstanding

Just an absolute work of art. a masterpiece and well read . a must for any historical context.

loved it

the humor and wit of Mark Twain is engaging and unmatchable. listened to it twice:)

More Like a Visit with Mark Twain than a Biography

After patiently waiting for the narrator to thank hundreds of patrons who made this listen possible, I finally got to hear the scholars who put the work together provide me with intriguing advanced organizers to help me navigate the next ten hours with Mr. Twain. When the book finally shifted into first person, I was treated to a delightful visit with a man like that uncle or grandfather that many were blessed with as children who would ramble through stories of his life both funny and poignant that you begged to hear over and over. His microscopic examination of the "Gilded Age" is a treasure. His discussion of his friendship and help to General Grant offered great insights into that interesting man. The listen never leaves the listener more than of few moments without another taste of Mark Twain's genius humor.

Excellent

I listened to all 3 volumes, so I am only going to post a review here on the first. Overall, excellent as you would expect given the author. But, word of caution - it takes about 1/3 of the first volume to get going. Twain wrote his autobiography in fits and starts and the editors choose to start volume one with a portion he wrote as kind of a stand alone. Once you get past that, most of the material was written on a consistent basis, so the flow is much better. Recommend

Intermittently fascinating and stultifying.

Sam Clemens dictated his autobiography onto recording cylinders and then, eventually, to a private secretary. Very little editing evident. These books could have been tightened up considerably. Maybe the repetitive rambling narrative is part of its charm. Or not.