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 The strict instruction that many of these texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they came out, he would be “dead, and unaware, and indifferent” and that he was therefore free to speak his “whole frank mind”.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

A masterly all together different autobiography

I was frequently reminded of Nelson Mandela's "Conversations with myself" while listening to Samuel L. Clemens a.k.a. Mark Twain's first volume of his 'complete' autobiography. While it takes the form of a short life sketches, Twain's vivid descriptions, fine humour and humaneness resonated with me at different levels. When a great deal of his autobiography is related by hooking on to his daughter, Suzy's 'biography' of him, it felt as if I was caught up in a net of fondness and in the end sadness as his reminiscences were framed by her death. You can hear a man of great satire showing how utmost human and vulnerable one can be.

In short, this autobiography pulls you in and shares the whole range of human experiences with you in the style of a storyteller. It is not so well structured and unconventional, parts written, huge parts dictated, but with a very honest feel to it. I was able to laugh and cry with Twain.

Grover Gardner made me believe that Twain was himself telling the story. Such excellent narration, I have not heard for some time.

About the technical introduction, it could put you off in listening further or you could explore the treasure trove at an online site. I found that it hugely enriched this audio-book. I would strongly advise to make a turn there. The photos and some manuscript pages helped me gain something tangible to understand the times and the persons Mark Twain spoke of.

This is a must listen to everyone.

It rambles, but it's fascinating...

There is so much wit and humor in here that it is hard to say anything bad about it. It *IS* scattered (by its own admission) and it is also feels "unfinished" but it is well worth reading. He lived through such a fascinating era, saw so much, and knew so many historical figures that it would be worth reading for that reason alone.

If they would just leave it alone

I'm only a few hours into this and if I could find some way to edit out the notes and details entered by the editors. Twain\s work is varied, as one should expect. So is dull, most would be wonderful, except for the notes on what was included and why. I imagine that a great deal of work went into this and that work is appreciated. But keep it out of a very interesting story written by a great writter.

Enjoyable

I enjoyed this book immensely and at times I felt as though I was actually listening to Mark Twain himself. Although this audio book is long, it is well worth taking the time to listen and learn about one of the greatest authors, his demeanor, disposition, strengths and weakness, and finally what made him so great.

Makes a better printed book than an audiobook

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

This is just too dry, and I am not much interested in the scholarly context. Where's the Twain?

What was most disappointing about Mark Twain’s story?

Not enough Twain; too much commentary about how the story was put together. Waiting forever for Twain's actual story.

Have you listened to any of Grover Gardner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. I liked the narrator, no problem there.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No

Disappointing. Twain Needs an Editor

This sprawling autobiography is a long, rambling assortment of Samuel Clemens' observations and recollections on his life. What I didn't know going in was that this huge volume is an academic attempt to connect all of the author's autobiographical essays into a multi-volume edition. I learned this from an interview with one of the editors on NPR. The editor explained that a reader could open to any chapter of the tome and have a cohesive read. Of course, that is harder to do on audio, and perhaps that's why the book seems so disjointed and rambling here. There are definitely sparks of that old Twain charm, especially when he writes about his youth. But the way the book meanders about, it is more of a chore to audit, and not as satisfying as I expected. I think the editors would do everyone a favor if they actually do some editing and give us a more cogent, concise picture of the man rather than the kitchen sink.

I now know why Clemens waited.

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Glimpses of life from the 1870's till Twain's death are scattered throughout which will probably delight historians.

What could Mark Twain have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Cut out some of his petty tales of spite. Whoever it is that was riling him up is also DEAD. I gave up after the first Audible segment but will try to finish--when my library is empty...

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Clemens is as honest as a person can be but some of his petty grievances should have been laid to rest permanently 100 years ago. When he didn't like someone, he REALLY didn't like him. And his use of adjectives to describe the reasons for his dislike wore thin after only a few stories. However, I'm now anxious to learn more about U.S. Grant because of what a great a human being he was, according to his friend Mark Twain. I guess that shows Twain's flip side and just how effusiive his praise could be when he actually admired a person.

Disappointing--

I suppose I listened to the hype but I thought there might be some of Mark Twain in his prime here. Never mind that the editors' introduction is half an hour too long. Not his fault. But this is that self-impressed, dull Mark Twain who wrote all those books that aren't classics. There is little charm, no humor, and a void of interesting stories.
Apparently he had an idea that if a biography isn't sequential, it must be special. However, he didn't publish this book. It just came out a century or so after his death. So whatever the editors and publishers had in mind, this isn't a book Twain insisted on publishing. And one thing I certainly learned about Twain is that, if there was a chance to make money without embarrassing himself, he would publish. But wait, I already knew that. I don't think I learned anything new about the guy--or the writer.
Only historians of U.S, Grant would find huge hunks of this monster interesting. A lot of it I remember reading elsewhere. But most of all, if Twain wasn't writing humorously, he wasn't Twain for me.

Disjointed

This may have been the way Twain intended this memoir to be published but feel the joke he played is on all of us. This volume, since I won't read another, is wholly a waste of time. It jumps around a lot from different time periods. The entire first chapter is a self congratulatory circle jerk of praise for the editors, their contributors, the UPS guys, and anyone else who paid to be associated with this disaster. This is no more a memoir than is Harry Potter. These are the ramblings of an old writer dictating the inane and trivial. He heaps praise on the coming Russian Revolution without much knowledge about the Bolşeviks. He name drops U.S. Grant, Helen Keller, Tchaikovsky, GEN. Sickles, and Edwin Booth like Eminem at a pimp party. I was disappointed in this book. I was hoping for so much more.

so disappointed

Would you try another book from Mark Twain and/or Grover Gardner?

No. Too much talk about the autobiography and too little uninterrupted biography

Would you ever listen to anything by Mark Twain again?

Sadly this book left me feeling that Mark Twain is fixated on money, status and entitlement