Mark Twain, página 16 de 83

Mark Twain fu un personaggio estroso ed eclettico che per primo, come ebbero a riconoscere molti critici, fu riconosciuto come vero scrittore americano. La sua vita fu molto densa di avvenimenti e di impegno sociale: comincio la sua carriera di scrittore di racconti umoristici, e fini per divenire, dopo alcune travagliate vicende personali, un severo e irriverente cronista delle vanita, sferzante contro ogni ipocrisia e crudelta umana, nonche critico delle religioni. A meta carriera, con Huckleberry Finn, combino fine umorismo, solida narrativa e critica sociale, ad un livello senza rivali nel mondo della letteratura americana. Nativo degli stati del sud, mantenne sempre lo stile di quei luoghi: ruvidi, sinceri, diretti. Qualita che lo fecero apprezzare non solo in patria. La sua Autobiografia e stupefacente: nel suo racconto di vita si trovano non solo le informazioni circa la sua vita, ma la vita di un intero paese che si stava affermando come grande potenza mondiale, non trascurando le vicende della gente comune, lavoratori che stavano facendo grande una nazione. Unopera non solo di cronaca, quindi, ma di grande apertura ai temi sociali, utile per capire come andavano le cose.

"I''ve struck it!" Mark Twain wrote in a 1904 letter to a friend. "And I will give it awayto 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 notionto "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 The strict instruction that many of these texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they came out, he would be "dead, and unaware, and indifferent," and that he was therefore free to speak his "whole frank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 and in honor of the cherished tradition of publishing Mark Twain''s works, UC Press is proud to offer for the first time Mark Twain''s uncensored autobiography in its entirety and exactly as he left it. This major literary event brings to readers, admirers, and scholars 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.Editors: Harriet E. Smith, Benjamin Griffin, Victor Fischer, Michael B. Frank, Sharon K. Goetz, Leslie Myrick

Mark Twain wrote this book about Christian Science in 1907, three years before his death. Although he was most interested in spirituality and the basics of mental healing, he was a fierce enemy of Mrs. Baker Eddy, the founder of the Christian Science movement. The essays in this book highlight what Twain really thought about this religious movement.

Escritas en 1906, y censuradas por sus herederos hasta 1963, estas consideraciones sobre la religión son una lectura sorprendente y original; un conjunto de pensamientos -en ocasiones ácidamente críticos, otras, crueles e incluso irreverentes- que no deja indiferente.

This volume includes the most important essays by American novelist and writer Mark Twain. Headlined by "What Is Man?", his fictional dialogue regarding the nature of man, there are also the followings works included:The Death Of JeanThe Turning-Point Of My LifeHow To Make History Dates StickThe Memorable AssassinationA Scrap Of Curious HistorySwitzerland, The Cradle Of LibertyAt The Shrine Of St. WagnerWilliam Dean HowellsEnglish As She Is TaughtA Simplified AlphabetAs Concerns Interpreting The DeityConcerning TobaccoThe BeeTaming The BicycleIs Shakespeare Dead?

The most widely known character in American fiction, Col. Mulberry Sellers, is again introduced to readers in an original and delightful romance, replete with Mark Twains whimsical humor.

"Roughing It" is another one of Mark Twains chronicles of his wandering years, this one being the prequel to "Innocents Abroad." His adventures take place in the Wild West, Salt Lake City and even in Hawaii - among other places. He even enlists as a Confederate cavalryman for some time. The book is also a prolific example for Twains excellent sense of humour.

The character of American humor, and its want of resemblance to the humor of Kamtschatka and Patagonia,will the reader forgive us if we fail to set down here the thoughts suggested by these fresh and apposite topics? Will he credit us with a self-denial proportioned to the vastness of Mr. Clementss very amusing book, if we spare to state why he is so droll, orwhich is as much to the purposewhy we do not know? This reticence will leave us very little to say by way of analysis; and, indeed, there is very little to say of "The Innocents Abroad" which is not of the most obvious and easy description. The idea of a steamer-load of Americans going on a prolonged picnic to Europe and the Holy Land is itself almost sufficiently delightful, and it is perhaps praise enough for the author to add that it suffers nothing from his handling. If one considers the fun of making a volume of six hundred octavo pages upon this subject, in compliance with one of the main conditions of a subscription books success, bigness namely, one has a tolerably fair piece of humor, without troubling Mr. Clements further. It is out of the bounty and abundance of his own nature that he is as amusing in the execution as in the conception of his work. And it is always good-humored humor, too, that he lavishes on his reader, and even in its impudence it is charming; we do not remember where it is indulged at the cost of the weak or helpless side, or where it is insolent, with all its sauciness and irreverence. The standard shams of travel which everybody sees through suffer possibly more than they ought, but not so much as they might; and one readily forgives the harsh treatment of them in consideration of the novel piece of justice done on such a traveller as suffers under the pseudonyme of Grimes. It is impossible also that the quality of humor should not sometimes be strained in the course of so long a narrative; but the wonder is rather in the fact that it is strained so seldom.

This huge volume contains Mark Twains letters, starting from the year 1853, where he lived in New York and Phliadelphia, and ending with his last trip to Bermuda in the year of his death, 1910. His most important speeches are also included in this volume.

Editor and Commentator: Albert Bigelow Paine

Edited and Arranged by David Widger