My Autobiography: "chapters" from the North American Review

By Mark Twain

Book Overview

Published a few years before his death in 1910, these "chapters" from the autobiography of Mark Twain read much like most of his celebrated literary efforts. His plain-spoken words are at times affectionate, joyful, and reverent; at other times, they are angry or sorrowful; but always, they are genuine. Recalling the episodes of his life, his warm family relationships as well as friendships and acquaintances, his literary career, and his celebrity as one of the most lionized figures of the Gilded Age (a phrase he invented), these character sketches, essays, diary entries, letters, and other writings reveal Twain as both the subject and the storyteller.
Compiled between 1870 and 1910, the "chapters" recall a life that began in a quiet Missouri town, followed by a boisterous boyhood in Hannibal, Missouri (with recollections of the "real" Huckleberry Finn), life as a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi, his adventures as a young man in rough Nevada mining towns, and the years spent as a widely renowned author living in large eastern cities and abroad. Here also are somber passages noting the deaths of his beloved wife Livy and three of their children.
"Clemens intended his autobiography to be chatty and entertaining; he promised to stay on the topic only as long as it interested him. Thus the book is chatty and entertaining, a lively hodgepodge of anecdotes, pronouncements, and descriptions -- all of them distinctly Mark Twain." -- Publishers Weekly.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486408981
• ISBN13: 9780486408989
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 288 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.3" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

Mark Twain's Own Story

"Mark Twain's Own Autobiography" consists of a collection of anecdotal reminiscences dictated by Twain over a period of years. In it the reader will get a sense of the facts of his life and the emotions which flowed out of his life and on to the pages. More than a real autobiography, this is more Twain storytelling, with himself as a main subject. The wit which we love in his novels we will enjoy in this book. Sit back, read and enjoy.

Mark Twain is an American Icon

I appreciate the musings of Mark Twain and learned a lot about him from this autobiography that I had not known. I encourage everyone to get to know about this American Icon.

Only for a fan of S.Clemens

I checked this book out of the library two months ago (woops!)and although it did not compel me to voraciously read it through beginning to end, it does quietly beckon to finish his story. I love Samuel Clemens and the way he looked at life. He made outrageous statements concerning people and God, and often irreverent. I'm a Christian and probably should be offended, but I'm not. The reader can see in his books, the quieter search for truth and spirituality. This autobiography is one of them. In his own words.."this autobiography of mine does not select from my life its showy episodes, but deals mainly in the common experiences which go to make up the life of the average human being." His softer side is exposed when discussing his children and thier questions. His young daughters were not jaded and cynical in thier approach to the meaning of life and God, so it often threw him off guard when trying to answer them. He is considered to be the great writers/satirists of American history, and yet he exposes his weaknesses and insecurities readily. He makes the ordinary, unknown man feel comfortable in his "presence". Mr. Clemens had a keen sense of the human ego..he knew that when most people recollect their past, famous and non, they tend to glorify and embellish thier success and justify what wasn't. Often when he is recalling stories, he will finish them with "events which...I have imagined have happened to me" or "Now, then, that is the tale. Some of it is true." Love that! I also appreciate the fact that Michael Kiskis did not interject his commentary throughout the autobiography (like many commentators do.) He made the distinction between his writing and Twain's clear. His was a simple introduction and follow-up of notes.It's probably a slow-read, but I recommend it to anyone that wanted to become better aquainted with Samuel Clemens and his life story!

An American Humorist writes about Americans

Mark Twain is the quintesential American curmudgeon. His style formed an era and no one could ever reproduce him although many have tried. Read the book and meet the Man. I laughed out loud and at times was gripped with the wringing unrelenting pathos of this great master. I had to laugh at myself a time or two...