Mark Twain

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.

As America's finest writer, Mark Twain could make entertaining reading -- and great literature -- out of almost anything. Here we have a book begun out of adversity. The great novelist, satirist, and public celebrity was broke, ruined by various ill-advised investment schemes; but, being a man of honor on a public stage, he resolved to pay off every cent of his crushing debt. He did so by going on a two-year, round-the-world lecture tour, where he spoke to sold-out houses in Europe, India, and Australia, all the while gathering material for yet another best-selling travel book, filled with his trademark wit and brilliant observation. Even after more than a century this book is still a must-read. Whatever has been forgotten about the times and places Twain describes he has recreated for us, vividly and forever.

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.

This is one of the world's most beloved children's books, the famous story of the poor boy who just happened to look exactly like the young Prince Edward (soon to be King Edward VI) and what happened when one day they changed clothes. The result is an exciting adventure story, mixed with social satire and, just under the surface, Twain's outrage at the crudities and cruelties of the Tudor age.

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.

THE AMERICAN CLAIMANT is a less-known, but brilliantly satirical novel, which ranks behind THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN and PUDDIN'HEAD WILSON, but is still of major interest, as anything by Mark Twain does. Among the "Merry Tales" is a searing dissection of the follies and illusions of war, "A Private History of a Campaign That Failed."

THE AMERICAN CLAIMANT is a less-known, but brilliantly satirical novel, which ranks behind THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN and PUDDIN'HEAD WILSON, but is still of major interest, as anything by Mark Twain does. Among the "Merry Tales" is a searing dissection of the follies and illusions of war, "A Private History of a Campaign That Failed."