Samuel Clemens

This is the book that everyone knew, in Mark Twain's time, that he had to write. It is the story of his youth on the Mississippi and his career as a riverboat pilot before the Civil War, which contains not only some of his very best writing, but remains our most vivid picture of this colorful era in American history. It might be fairly said that LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI is to steamboat life what MOBY DICK is to whaling, only without need for a plot, at least not one invented by the author. This is a book taken from life, which transfers life onto the printed page as well as anything in American literature.

Shortly after his inglorious "military career" in a Confederate militia, as related in "A Private History of a Campaign That Failed," Mark Twain "lit out for the Territories" when his brother was appointed secretary to the governor of Nevada. The result was one of the greatest books in the literature of the American West, full of first-hand accounts of cowboys, miners, roughnecks, and assorted colorful characters as only Mark Twain could describe them.

In which America's greatest writer accompanies a boatload of often ridiculous, provincial pilgrims on The Tour of Europe and the Holy Land, as pretensions are punctured, much supposedly taken for granted is viewed with a jaundiced eye, and what could be a mere travel book rises to the level of great literature: a microcosm of the entire human comedy.

One of the finest of Twain's travel books, detailing (often hilariously) his adventures in Europe, as a Yankee confronting the Old World. France, Germany, and Switzerland will never quite seem the same again. A fascinating glimpse of far times and places, seen through the eye of America's best writer.

One of the finest of Twain's travel books, detailing (often hilariously) his adventures in Europe, as a Yankee confronting the Old World. France, Germany, and Switzerland will never quite seem the same again. A fascinating glimpse of far times and places, seen through the eye of America's best writer.

Mark Twain here collaborates with Charles Dudley Warner in a novel which gave its name to the era in which it was written. Here is a definitive dissection of the pretenses of the high Victorian era, its corruption, hypocrisy, and, in Twain's eye, comic absurdities.

Mark Twain here collaborates with Charles Dudley Warner in a novel which gave its name to the era in which it was written. Here is a definitive dissection of the pretenses of the high Victorian era, its corruption, hypocrisy, and, in Twain's eye, comic absurdities.

Shortly after his inglorious "military career" in a Confederate militia, as related in "A Private History of a Campaign That Failed," Mark Twain "lit out for the Territories" when his brother was appointed secretary to the governor of Nevada. The result was one of the greatest books in the literature of the American West, full of first-hand accounts of cowboys, miners, roughnecks, and assorted colorful characters as only Mark Twain could describe them.

In which America's greatest writer accompanies a boatload of often ridiculous, provincial pilgrims on The Tour of Europe and the Holy Land, as pretensions are punctured, much supposedly taken for granted is viewed with a jaundiced eye, and what could be a mere travel book rises to the level of great literature: a microcosm of the entire human comedy.

In which America's greatest writer accompanies a boatload of often ridiculous, provincial pilgrims on The Tour of Europe and the Holy Land, as pretensions are punctured, much supposedly taken for granted is viewed with a jaundiced eye, and what could be a mere travel book rises to the level of great literature: a microcosm of the entire human comedy.

The title novella in this sparkling collection is one of Twain's most deadly satires, about civic vice disguised as virtue and its devasting consequences. Any volume of Twain's shorter pieces makes excellent reading. Here was a writer who could make any conceivable subject entertaining and often profound. Also included are "My Debut as a Literary Person," "The Esquimau Maiden's Romance," "A Double-Barreled Detective Story," a notable SHERLOCK HOLMES parody, and many more.

The title novella in this sparkling collection is one of Twain's most deadly satires, about civic vice disguised as virtue and its devasting consequences. Any volume of Twain's shorter pieces makes excellent reading. Here was a writer who could make any conceivable subject entertaining and often profound. Also included are "My Debut as a Literary Person," "The Esquimau Maiden's Romance," "A Double-Barreled Detective Story," a notable SHERLOCK HOLMES parody, and many more.

One of the finest of Twain's travel books, detailing (often hilariously) his adventures in Europe, as a Yankee confronting the Old World. France, Germany, and Switzerland will never quite seem the same again. A fascinating glimpse of far times and places, seen through the eye of America's best writer.

One of the finest of Twain's travel books, detailing (often hilariously) his adventures in Europe, as a Yankee confronting the Old World. France, Germany, and Switzerland will never quite seem the same again. A fascinating glimpse of far times and places, seen through the eye of America's best writer.

Shortly after his inglorious "military career" in a Confederate militia, as related in "A Private History of a Campaign That Failed," Mark Twain "lit out for the Territories" when his brother was appointed secretary to the governor of Nevada. The result was one of the greatest books in the literature of the American West, full of first-hand accounts of cowboys, miners, roughnecks, and assorted colorful characters as only Mark Twain could describe them.

Shortly after his inglorious "military career" in a Confederate militia, as related in "A Private History of a Campaign That Failed," Mark Twain "lit out for the Territories" when his brother was appointed secretary to the governor of Nevada. The result was one of the greatest books in the literature of the American West, full of first-hand accounts of cowboys, miners, roughnecks, and assorted colorful characters as only Mark Twain could describe them.

Mark Twain here collaborates with Charles Dudley Warner in a novel which gave its name to the era in which it was written. Here is a definitive dissection of the pretenses of the high Victorian era, its corruption, hypocrisy, and, in Twain's eye, comic absurdities.

This fictionalized "biography" told by an intimate companion of Joan of Arc was thought by Mark Twain to be his finest work. It was hugely popular in its time, and while the tastes of subsequent generations may have elevated HUCKLEBERRY FINN and THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER to a higher level, JOAN OF ARC still remains one of Twain's most colorful and passionately-imagined books.

This fictionalized "biography" told by an intimate companion of Joan of Arc was thought by Mark Twain to be his finest work. It was hugely popular in its time, and while the tastes of subsequent generations may have elevated HUCKLEBERRY FINN and THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER to a higher level, JOAN OF ARC still remains one of Twain's most colorful and passionately-imagined books.

This fictionalized "biography" told by an intimate companion of Joan of Arc was thought by Mark Twain to be his finest work. It was hugely popular in its time, and while the tastes of subsequent generations may have elevated HUCKLEBERRY FINN and THE MYSTERIOUS STRANGER to a higher level, JOAN OF ARC still remains one of Twain's most colorful and passionately-imagined books.