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 The strict instruction that many of these texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they came out, he would be “dead, and unaware, and indifferent” and that he was therefore free to speak his “whole frank mind”.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)

Humor & Wisdom

I experienced a few low spots, but the deep human insights of SLC kept me rapt in attention.

As he intended

Like some of the other readers, I was impatient with the beginning of the audiobook: the Introduction accounts for nearly sixty pages of the print version. But after listening to this volume, which is only the first (!), I have come to think that the scholarly introduction enhanced my eventual appreciation of the work.


It is important for the reader to understand how different MT's is from other autobiographies, and the Introduction helps to make that clear. When I heard (read) that MT stubbornly insisted that his dictations were to be arranged just as he dictated them, rather than being reorganized into a chronological, more narrative order, I didn't think this could work. But the result is that I feel like I'm witnessing the operation of MT's own mind, and picking up the connections between what had happened previously in his life and the events of the days in which he was dictating.


In particular, I thought that his reconstruction of Susy's biography of him, with interspersed corrections and reminiscences, made that work (which I've read and taught as a separate publication called "Papa") come alive in a way which reading it by itself does not.


The reminiscences also make clear something that I had never noticed before, which is the extent to which he was a virtual New Yorker, at least later in life.


What comes through very clearly is MT's personality. I get the impression that it would have been a great thing to be his friend, but I would not have enjoyed being on his bad side! His scorn for people he saw as misguided, venal, or unreliable was withering.


To those who think the thing is just too damn long, I guess I would suggest that that is what you read an unabridged version for. An abridged version (leaving out the editor's introduction and some of MT's earlier autobiographical attempts) would probably be more readable, but I felt that this version rewarded my patience.


Yes, it's a doorstop, but I'm looking forward to Volumes 2 and 3!

Boring!

I was so excited to listen to this and was so disapointed. But it does show how much has changed in 100 years. He wanted to wait until everyone was gone before he let everyone read it so it would not cause problems or offend. But these really big revelations about famous people were so insignificant, by todays standards, that it became very mundane and a chore to listen to.. There were a few parts that I thought were very interesting and gave insight to a much different era, but for the most part it was just plain boring..

Mark Twain is hard to beat

This is a treat ... to hear the words of the word master, Mark Twain ... uncensored

Takes a while to get going

Absolutely hilarious first volume of Twain's autobiography. Or should I say "autobiography"? It turns out to be very useful to check Wikipedia every now and then because this is really part autobiography and part tall tales, and you'll want to check the accuracy of things fairly often.

And the first several chapters are stuff related to, but not the actual autobiography that you're probably looking for. That doesn't start until chapter 20 or so.

Not what I was expecting...

As an English teacher, I like to get Audible books that are entertaining because I am reading, researching, and grading all the time during the school year. I have loved Twain all my life and have even gone to Hannibal to participate in workshops - which were awesome. When I heard the autobiography was being released, I was thrilled. When I started listening to all the acknowledgements, I thought, "How interesting to know who the people and institutions are who contributed to this great work." Then when it began to sound more like an autobiography of those who edited and sweated and argued and agreed over the many processes that go into the manuscript, I thought, "This is not about Twain but about those who put the book together. So it should be called the AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF CONTRIBUTORS TO TWAIN'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY." I cannot pick up a book or an audio book and not give it fair chance, though, so I trudged on. The first fifteen chapters or so are not what I believe Twain had envisioned for his autobiography. I believe that Twain Scholars would love this book and use bits and pieces in university level classes, but I think Twain wanted it to be published without all the credits to the additional contributors. I have finally reached parts that are uninterruped chapters of Twain, but then between the chapters there are always "discussions" or "commentaries" on what went into putting the book together. In a way, I feel tricked by the way this "autobiography" has been marketed because it is not PURE Twain autobiography. It is too "heavy" for continued interest. I am hoping it "lightens up" with the text Twain intended. I may have to put it away until summer but if I had known that it was going to be a compilation of compilations through the decades of those who contributed, I would not have gotten it and wish I had my credit back. I give it three stars because I know scholars would love it and the Twain sections are satiric with some serious sides of Twain.

Awe and Goosebumps

At the time I purchased this edition there was only one review on this site and it criticized the book for "endless dribble on the making of autobiography...very boring." Needless to say I was a bit concerned, but I have waited so long for this work to be released I went ahead and ordered.

This autobiography is thrilling for people, like me, who are devoted to the works of Samuel Clemens. This is the first volume of his autobiography which Clemens instructed not be published until one hundred years after his death.

Yes -- there are long passages of scholarly notes, what the previous reviewer called "endless dribble." This is an important work of history, requiring diverse sets of notes, letters and dictations made by Clemens over many years to be collected and woven together into one work. Clemens undertook to write an autobiography and then had several changes of mind and heart over the years, leaving for posterity an unfinished autobiography and diverse manuscripts needing to be pieced together. This volume has detailed notes on context, primary references and other information important to understanding how the various manuscripts are pieced together. That is why I think the contents ("List of Manuscripts and Dictations") is especially useful for following the audio version, as it allows listeners to have a sense of format, and to skip ahead as needed without being lost in citiations.

The chapters that contain Clemen's writing are pure Mark Twain. Here are candid notes about his life, his successes, his failures; candid observations of people he knew -- such as Ulysses S. Grant. I am listening with awe, and with goosebumps. Here is the autobiography that we had to wait a hundred years to read. I'm looking forward to the next volume (understatement).

The narrator is a good match for this work.

Not Much Added

I listened to the old version. This doesn't add much. There's a free audio version out there of the old one with a better reader.

Much better than what I expected

Where does Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is not just the man, but his life and times in ways which defy explanation. You just have to hear this! (Yes, the first part is sooooooo boring, but persevere!) Unexpected pieces of news from long ago: A woman physically dragged from the white house, American genocide of a native people over a 3 day period across the globe, and a woman famous simply for being written about (LONG before Paris Hilton). He makes people you knew only from long ago history exams come alive, with all their faults (long fallen from the history books) and holds up shining examples of fine individuals you never heard of. This is history (albeit disjointed) as you have never heard it. Amazing.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1?

Dragging the woman from the white house.

What about Grover Gardner’s performance did you like?

Matter-of-fact.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed outloud several times.

Any additional comments?

Can't wait for Volume II.

I wasn't a mark Twain fan, now I am!

I never was fond of Mark Twain, read a couple of his books, basically didn't care for them and wasn't impressed. Got this because my sister said it was good so I could criticize her taste. I know, sibling rivalry. Anyway, I had to skip forward so much because instead of his autobiography I got a dissertation on how they decided to include stuff, which I wasn't interested in. Listened to the 1st 1/3 of part 1, and thought he's a cynical person boasting about the famous people he knew to impress, continued listening, though. The Further I go the more I get what a great man this really was. When he talks about his family I almost wish he was my dad, no offense dad. One of his descriptions about the day he chased the turkey was wonderful and made my wonder how he did it, many people describe the dew at dawn type of things and it's just ok, This put me there. Big Complaint? I have two, one with the book-let him speak and lose the introduction-pay attention to what he says about introductions, He meant you! The other with narration: use two people so we can tell the unnecessary comments of the Mark Twain society or whoever they are from his. The narrator is good and reads well. He should be the voice of Mark Twain and let someone else waste their voices on the rest of the stuff they put in as forward. Probably couldn't find any one willing to risk it.