Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain

by Mark Twain and Alex Ayres

Book Overview

Arranged alphabetically by topic, from Adam to Youth, and culled from his novels, speeches, letters, and conversations, this anthology of quotes is timeless and represents the very essence of Mark Twain -- hilarious, cranky, and insightful.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060157836
• ISBN13: 9780060157838
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 276 Pages
• Weight: 1.22 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

GOOD book!

Mark Twain has a lot off beautiful and uplifting words of wisdom. I recommend it to all. Author: Bogdan Alexandru Thoughts across Time

Honesty: the best of all the lost arts

And so it goes, page after page. You'll find your favorites. "Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed sownstairs a step at a time." Pudd'nhead Wilson 1894, ch 6. There's how Mr. Ayres presents them from a variety of sources, Twain's books as well as speeches, his notebook and essays and a few from letters and some listed as attributed to him. I have a nice collection of books on my favorite subjects but this simple one, nothing fancy, is one I go back to time and again. I find myself quoting him in various contexts and glad that I know the quotes. the art of Mr. Ayres is to cull out the various quotes from so many sources. Twain said them, Ayres found them and put them together very sensibly by catagories such as Heroism, Music andd Right and Wrong. It's an A to Z compendium. You'll find plenty of lively, homespun quotes that often feel like the very heart of the American character. Can't go wrong with this book.

A good little quote book

I have always been a fan of Mark Twain since I first read Huck Finn. This is a great little book his quotations from his writings and speeches. It's a nice little stocking stuffer as the book is small. Some of my favorites: "Classic." A book which people praise and don't read. Honesty is the best policy--when there is money in it. Some people like when they tell the truth. I tell the truth lying. In God We Trust. I don't belive it would sound any better if it were true. Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself. Martyrdom covers a multitude of sins. When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries of life disappear and life stands explained.

The Wit and Wisom of Mark Twain

A hilarious book of qoutes, sayings, and one-liners only Mark Twain could have the genious to create.A qoute from Adam, the first of many: Adam was but human - this explains it all. He did not want the apple for the apple's sake, he wanted it only because it was forbidden. The mistake was in not forbidding the serpent; then he would have eaten the serpent.From Adam, the wit and humor only becomes more hysterical, more riveting, more evident; and we soon discover the true intelligence of Mark Twain. He was not an ordinary man; for no mere ordinary man could have thought, and often dared, to utter such words as Mark Twain, in the era in which he lived.The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain contains some of his most outrageous qoutes, either written within his books, or his journals, and spanning more than four decades. A great read, which you don't have to start at the beginning, and work your way to the end. And a perfect way to escape the drollery of prime time television.