The Best Short Stories of Mark Twain
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I like a good story told well. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself. --Mark Twain
I like a good story told well. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself. --Mark Twain
I like a good story told well. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself. --Mark Twain
I like a good story told well. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself. --Mark Twain
I like a good story told well. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell them myself. --Mark Twain
Product Description
Since 1917 The Modern Library prides itself as ''The modern Library of the world s Best Books''. Its paperback series feature treasured classics, major translations of great works, and rediscoveries of keen literary and historical merit.Featuring introductions by leading writers, stunning translations, scholarly endnotes and reading group guides. Production values emphasize superior quality and readability. Competitive prices, coupled with exciting cover design make these an ideal gift to be cherished by the avid reader. --- This unique collection of Twain s essential short stories and semiautobiographical narratives is a testament to the author s vast imagination. Featuring popular tales such as' Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog' and 'The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg', as well as some delightful excerpts from 'The Diaries of Adam and Eve', this compilation also includes darker works written in the author s twilight years. These selections illuminate the depth of Twain s artistry, humor, irony, and narrative genius.
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Well, I called on good-natured, garrulous old Simon Wheeler, and I inquired after your friend Leonidas W. Smiley, as you requested me to do, and I hereunto append the result. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Well, I called on good-natured, garrulous old Simon Wheeler, and I inquired after your friend Leonidas W. Smiley, as you requested me to do, and I hereunto append the result. Read the first page
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I have no doubt that Mark Twain was one of the greatest writers ever and if you've read his more popular work then I suggest that you sit down with these rarely printed short stories to prove to yourself just what a genius he was. The stories here are so good they're unavoidable for Twain devotees. They amount of imagination crammed into these pages could provoke years of inspiration and pondering.
While they are mostly all unrelated tales, Twain does have one main subtext for pretty much all of them-the futility of religion. Like myself, Twain believes that the romantic, fantastic notion of a judging, ever-watching and vengeful God to be absurd and works in so many ironies and injustices that give them a cruel, but somewhat realistic edge. The story of the Good Little Boy Who Did Not Prosper is but one shining example.
A lot of the stories are told from Twain's point of view, whether they are true are not I cannot possibly tell, but it's amusing to think of him at the centre of all these adventures.
Of the 23 stories on offer some only last a few pages while epic yarns such as Captain Stormfield's Visit To Heaven can fill-out 51 jam-packed pages. My favorites stories would have to A Private History of a Campaign That Failed (in which Twain and his Rebel pals spend the Civil War hanging around, swimming in ponds and hiding from the Yankees, until they accidently kill an unarmed enemy) and Political Economy (where Twain finds it appropriate to attach a thousand lightning conductors to the top of his house only for it to attract the mother of all lightning storms).
It's a perfect book for any Mark Twain fan, anyone who loves good literature or anyone studying English.
While they are mostly all unrelated tales, Twain does have one main subtext for pretty much all of them-the futility of religion. Like myself, Twain believes that the romantic, fantastic notion of a judging, ever-watching and vengeful God to be absurd and works in so many ironies and injustices that give them a cruel, but somewhat realistic edge. The story of the Good Little Boy Who Did Not Prosper is but one shining example.
A lot of the stories are told from Twain's point of view, whether they are true are not I cannot possibly tell, but it's amusing to think of him at the centre of all these adventures.
Of the 23 stories on offer some only last a few pages while epic yarns such as Captain Stormfield's Visit To Heaven can fill-out 51 jam-packed pages. My favorites stories would have to A Private History of a Campaign That Failed (in which Twain and his Rebel pals spend the Civil War hanging around, swimming in ponds and hiding from the Yankees, until they accidently kill an unarmed enemy) and Political Economy (where Twain finds it appropriate to attach a thousand lightning conductors to the top of his house only for it to attract the mother of all lightning storms).
It's a perfect book for any Mark Twain fan, anyone who loves good literature or anyone studying English.
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Thoroughly enjoyable book once you become accustomed to the southern drawl and twainisms. Brilliant stories full of hidden messages that were and still are ahead of their time but still pertinent to todays world.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3 reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Unavoidable!
26 Jan 2007
Format:Paperback
I have no doubt that Mark Twain was one of the greatest writers ever and if you've read his more popular work then I suggest that you sit down with these rarely printed short stories to prove to yourself just what a genius he was. The stories here are so good they're unavoidable for Twain devotees. They amount of imagination crammed into these pages could provoke years of inspiration and pondering.
While they are mostly all unrelated tales, Twain does have one main subtext for pretty much all of them-the futility of religion. Like myself, Twain believes that the romantic, fantastic notion of a judging, ever-watching and vengeful God to be absurd and works in so many ironies and injustices that give them a cruel, but somewhat realistic edge. The story of the Good Little Boy Who Did Not Prosper is but one shining example.
A lot of the stories are told from Twain's point of view, whether they are true are not I cannot possibly tell, but it's amusing to think of him at the centre of all these adventures.
Of the 23 stories on offer some only last a few pages while epic yarns such as Captain Stormfield's Visit To Heaven can fill-out 51 jam-packed pages. My favorites stories would have to A Private History of a Campaign That Failed (in which Twain and his Rebel pals spend the Civil War hanging around, swimming in ponds and hiding from the Yankees, until they accidently kill an unarmed enemy) and Political Economy (where Twain finds it appropriate to attach a thousand lightning conductors to the top of his house only for it to attract the mother of all lightning storms).
It's a perfect book for any Mark Twain fan, anyone who loves good literature or anyone studying English.
While they are mostly all unrelated tales, Twain does have one main subtext for pretty much all of them-the futility of religion. Like myself, Twain believes that the romantic, fantastic notion of a judging, ever-watching and vengeful God to be absurd and works in so many ironies and injustices that give them a cruel, but somewhat realistic edge. The story of the Good Little Boy Who Did Not Prosper is but one shining example.
A lot of the stories are told from Twain's point of view, whether they are true are not I cannot possibly tell, but it's amusing to think of him at the centre of all these adventures.
Of the 23 stories on offer some only last a few pages while epic yarns such as Captain Stormfield's Visit To Heaven can fill-out 51 jam-packed pages. My favorites stories would have to A Private History of a Campaign That Failed (in which Twain and his Rebel pals spend the Civil War hanging around, swimming in ponds and hiding from the Yankees, until they accidently kill an unarmed enemy) and Political Economy (where Twain finds it appropriate to attach a thousand lightning conductors to the top of his house only for it to attract the mother of all lightning storms).
It's a perfect book for any Mark Twain fan, anyone who loves good literature or anyone studying English.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Effective Collection
22 April 2007
Format:Paperback
This collection of short stories will is just what it says it is. While it does not give you any additional information on Mark Twain, it does provide you with some of his best short stories and allows you to envision this brilliant writer with some of his finest works. This volume is very humorous, so buy it if you enjoy Mark Twain or just want a good laugh or two.
Mostly great stories, mostly dull narration
17 Feb 2012
Format:Audio CD
It takes a special kind of narrator to make an audiobook by Mark Twain almost boring, but Robin Field nearly manages it. To be fair, some of his voice characterizations when doing dialogue are quite good, but his straight narration is pretty dull. Still, Twain's writing is generally good enough that once you get accommodated to the lackluster reading after a couple of stories or so, you're able to just enjoy it on the strength of its own merits.
Included here are some of the standard stories that are in practically every Twain collection, like "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" and "Extracts from Adam's Diary" and "Eve's Diary", and some moderately well-known gems like "Punch, Brothers, Punch!" and "The Story of the Bad Little Boy Who Didn't Come to Grief"---but also a few that I had never encountered before, including the excellent "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg", a longer work that takes on some pretty serious themes, among others that untried virtue is not real virtue and ill-gotten gains are not gains at all.
So I give the collection of stories four and a half stars, but the narration only two and a half, for three and a half overall. I recommend either not getting the audio edition, or looking for another collection with a different reader.
Included here are some of the standard stories that are in practically every Twain collection, like "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" and "Extracts from Adam's Diary" and "Eve's Diary", and some moderately well-known gems like "Punch, Brothers, Punch!" and "The Story of the Bad Little Boy Who Didn't Come to Grief"---but also a few that I had never encountered before, including the excellent "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg", a longer work that takes on some pretty serious themes, among others that untried virtue is not real virtue and ill-gotten gains are not gains at all.
So I give the collection of stories four and a half stars, but the narration only two and a half, for three and a half overall. I recommend either not getting the audio edition, or looking for another collection with a different reader.
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