Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 2

Autobiography of Mark Twain: The Complete and Authorized Edition #2

by Mark Twain, Grover Gardner (Reading)

Mark Twain's complete, uncensoredAutobiographywas an instant bestseller when the first volume was published in 2010, on the centennial of the author's death. Published to rave reviews, theAutobiographywas hailed as the capstone of Twain's career. The eagerly-awaited second volume delves deeper into Twain's life, uncovering the many roles he played in his private and public worlds. Filled with his characteristic blend of humor and ire, the narrative ranges effortlessly across the contemporary scene. He shares his views on writing and speaking, his preoccupation with money, and his contempt for the politics and politicians of his day.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Autobiography, Memoir, Humor, Biography Memoir

MP3 CD

First published October 5, 2013

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.

Reviews

[Theo Logos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume two of the Complete and Authoritative Edition of Mark Twain's massive autobiography, and like the first, it is worth the commitment. Though various editions of Twain’s Autobiography have been published throughout the years, this three volume edition is the first to actually be published according to the instructions its author left. (And that includes the stipulation that it not be published until 100 years after his death.)

Mark Twain designed a unique technique for his autobiography. He abandoned chronological order, and simply told stories from his life and work as they popped into his head, in no particular order. He dictated much of it, often with his biographer present as audience. As such, this autobiography is very much like sitting down with an old Mark Twain and listening to his rambling tellings of his life stories.

I listened to all these volumes on audiobooks. I would highly recommend doing this to others. It first has the advantage of highlighting the story teller feel of the book - you truly begin to feel like Mark Twain is telling his stories to you personally — it creates an intimate mood. Secondly, not all the material here is of the same quality - some of his stories are repetitive, or simply don't have the same punch as others. When this occurs, you can tune out as you listen, catching some details but letting your attention wander until the next story begins which may be a humdinger.

This autobiography is as unique as its celebrated author. It contains humor, cantankerousness, wisdom, balderdash, and not a little bitterness. Much of the material in this edition has never before been published. No fan of Mark Twain should miss this experience.

[B. P. Rinehart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially read this book over a year ago, but was not in the right place to really review it. It is odd that, though I own volume 1, I borrowed a library copy and read it first.

Mark Twain's experimentally-unorthodox autobiography is an interesting exercise where he recounts events from his past in stream-of-conciseness form. Between volumes 1 & 2, a decade has past and certain things that he recounted in volume 1, he recalls here, but mis-remembers things. His autobiography also contains inserts from his daughter Suzy Clemons' biography of him. This book also sees Twain recall the death of this daughter in great pain to him. The other big event is the visit to Twain's New England home of Rudyard Kipling, who was a big fan. Because of the nature of this book, there is no way to do a methodical analysis. Twain recalls his time in Europe and his boyhood in Missouri one after another, with no transition. It is interesting to see the process of this. He includes editorials from newspapers and other articles.

This book is recommended for fans of Twain, but you better be a real type-of-fan.

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Where to even begin - how dare I review a Titan of literature? With this second volume, I am reminded of how important Twain is: he innovated the written word at a key time in world history, let alone American development. His wit shines through even brighter in this one, less careful, more bite. And some of it is absolutely timeless "The political & commercial morals of the US aren't merely food for laughter, they're a banquet" 30 Jan 1907

This is one to keep and flip backwards and forwards. I am invigorated by writers who produce fantastic stories, fantastic nonfiction narratives, then leave us a personal guidebook through all of it: see Isherwood, et. al.

[Laurie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listening to Mark Twain's autobiography is like having a sassy dead friend who likes to dish the dirt with a wicked sense of humor.

[Marty Mangold · Rating 5 out of 5]

A seamless continuation of volume 1 - the audio version is wonderful, the print version helpful for finding particular quotes or examining footnotes. It's nice to have time with the man.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two down, one to go. I started this project before I knew about the Ron Chernow which was published last week and has already showed up in my library holds.
It is a bit of a chore, but I read 7 pages a day (how do you eat an elephant?). It's slow but fascinating at the same time.
The monetary numbers boggle my 21st century mind since I'd be happy with that kind of money in 2025. What it must have been in the late 19th century.
The pain of the deaths of family, especially 3 of his 4 children and his wife.
During the course of this book, I read Enough Is Enuf: Our Failed Attempts to Make English Eezier to Spell about attempts to make spelling in English easier. Twain was a proponent of this which shows when the book prints items as he wrote them. (His daughter Susy started a biography of her father which shows that she had issues with spelling, too.)
The people that Twain met that I already knew about (e.g. Helen Keller). So much to take in.

[Marti · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Twain came up with the idea for an autobiography, it solely for the purpose of augmenting earlier works so that his family could continue to live off the royalties (at the time a book was only under copyright for 42 years from the date published). By adding 50% new material to an older book like Tom Sawyer, it could legally be considered a "new" work.

The rambling style of these memoirs is what makes it appealing to me because you feel like a dinner guest at the Twain house. They fall on different subjects (both historical and contemporary events) and details from his own life in no particular order. It's hard to imagine that these were dictated off-the-cuff and not revised later because the arguments presented seem very well thought out. There are several long and hilarious screeds against religion, U.S. politics ("America will become a Monarchy") and human nature in general that would have made a believer out of me if I were not already converted. I'm guessing these were the subjects intended to be kept from the public for 100 years.

Twain's only surviving daughter Clara, who lived until 1962, had the most to lose if this stuff got out because it probably would have done harm to his literary reputation at a time when wholesome Hollywood movies were being made and his image was that of a kindly raconteur and children's author. Although the footnotes tell us he was mistaken about a few things, he is scathing about people like his publisher and business partner Charles Webster and Bret Harte, who it turns out DID send money to his family in New Jersey from England, even though he abandoned them (preferring to live as a "kept" man). Today, Harte would probably be diagnosed with "Narcissistic Personality Disorder."

And if that is not enough, there are train and ship disasters and other tabloid fare like the murder trial of Harry Thaw, who shot architect Stanford White on the roof of Madison Square Garden (a new low in "Yellow Journalism"). It even seems that the 19th century had it's own Kim Kardashian in Olive Logan; a woman who did nothing and whose only talent was getting her name in gossip columns. Logan's total obscurity today gives hope to those who believe we live in the dumbest century to date. Maybe nothing has changed.

[Bob Schnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I could read the rantings of Samuel Clemens all day. "Autobiography of Mark Twain Vol. 2" starts where Vol. 1 left off. This was a little confusing to me since I thought I was reading Vol. 1 again. It just seemed that way at first since he re-visits some of the topics from Vol. 1. Once I was convinced I had the right book, I settled in for the ride.

To recap, Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) dictated his autobiography in the last years of his life with the understanding that it would not be published until 100 years after his death. He wanted to speak freely and not worry about any repercussions. He does speak freely on many topics from family business to religion to politics and mankind's faults and frailties. We get to hear about the big news stories of the day that have mostly been forgotten, just as he predicted. In fact, he predicts many things that have come to pass or are in the process of happening. Most striking is his accurate portrayal of our regard of rich and famous people as our unique aristocracy that will lead America to an effective monarchy/oligarchy. If he only he could see our current mass communication networks, social media, reality TV and news cycles. I would love to hear his views on Facebook and Donald Trump.

I did read this as an e-book and I wished at times I had the paper version as he keeps referencing things from previous pages/chapters. Then again, I was glad to not carry the hardcover version on my daily commute. Either way, I am eagerly looking forward to Vol. 3.

[Lance Carney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Volume 1 extremely fast; I struggled to get through Volume 2. It was no doubt my fault, and Samuel L. cannot be blamed.

[Illiterate · Rating 1 out of 5]

Individual anecdotes are repeated from the previous volume and even within this volume.

[Hank Pharis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Again primarily a collection of ancedotes for hard core fans of Mr. Twain. Especially interesting and sad and sometimes still confusing were his explanations of his belief system. As he says he did not want to publicly say these things during his career so he held them back for 100 years.

Some examples:

"Man is not to blame for what he is. He didn’t make himself. He has no control over himself. All the control is vested in his temperament—which he did not create—and in the circumstances which hedge him round, from the cradle to the grave, and which he did not devise and cannot change by any act of his will, for the reason that he has no will. He is as purely a piece of automatic mechanism as is a watch, and can no more dictate or influence his actions than can the watch. He is a subject for pity, not blame—and not contempt. ...
God ingeniously contrived man in such a way that he could not escape obedience to the laws of his passions, his appetites, and his various unpleasant and undesirable qualities. God has so contrived him that all his goings out and comings in are beset by traps which he cannot possibly avoid, and which compel him to commit what are called sins—and then God punishes him for doing these very things which from the beginning of time He had always intended that he should do. Man is a machine, and God made it—without invitation from any one. Whoever makes a machine, here below, is responsible for that machine’s performance. No one would think of such a thing as trying to put the responsibility upon the machine itself.
I say, that God, and God alone, is responsible for every act and word of a human being’s life between cradle and grave. We know it perfectly well. In our secret hearts we haven’t the slightest doubt of it. In our secret hearts we have no hesitation in proclaiming as an unthinking fool anybody who thinks he believes that he is by any possibility capable of committing a sin against God—or who thinks he thinks he is under obligations to God and owes Him thanks, reverence, and worship."

Israel Drazin summaries Twain's view of man (http://booksnthoughts.com/the-very-st... "Twain contended that people do not have free will, cannot control their thoughts, and are not born with a sense of right and wrong. People learn what they learn from outside, and are compelled by their nature to do what they have absorbed no matter what its source, like a machine: “From his cradle to his grave a man never does a single thing which has any FIRST AND FOREMOST object but one – to secure peace of mind, spiritual comfort, for HIMSELF…. He will always do the thing which will bring him the most mental comfort” only those things he was taught.
People, according to Twain, are incapable of developing their own ideas. Their feelings about morality are ideas that they are taught and trained. No one ever utters a thought of his own, but “The utterer of a thought always utters a second-hand one…. It is in his human environment which influences his mind and his feelings, furnishes him his ideals, and sets him on his road and keeps him on it.” Put differently: “man is never anything but what his outside influences have made him. They train him downwards or they train him upwards – but they train him; they are at work upon him all the time,” outside influences mold people and once absorbed make him do what he has been trained to do. ... According to Twain, man has no dignities, grandeurs, or sublimities. He is no better than a rat. He is a machine. He acts on habit and instinct, like a cow who heads toward food. He “walks in his sleep, so to speak…. With memory to help, man preserves his observations and reasonings, reflects upon them, adds to them, re-combines them, and so proceeds, stage by stage” but this is exactly what an ant does.
Even a man who rushes into a fire to save a woman does not do so because of free will because people do not have free will. His “temperament, his training, and the daily influences which had molded him made him what he was, compelled him to rescue the old woman and thus save himself – save himself from spiritual pain, from unendurable wretchedness…. He did not make the choice; it was made for him by forces which he could not control” (italics in original).

But Twain had a hard time living consistently with what he said he believed. For example, he viewed adultery as virtually inevitable given human nature. And yet when a man was sleeping with
one of his servants he gave him to options: Go to jail or get married! The man did not want to marry her but since Twain had a policeman and a clergyman there when he gave the options
he finally agreed to marry her.

[Chrissie]

******************

*The Diaries of Adam and Eve 4 stars
*The Adventures of Tom Sawyer 4 stars
*Joan of Arc 3 stars
*The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn 3 stars
*The Innocents Abroad 3 stars
*Life on the Mississippi TBR

*Mark Twain by Ron Powers TBR
or
I think I will read these instead:
*Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1: The Complete and Authoritative Edition
*Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 2: The Complete and Authoritative Edition
*Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 3: The Complete and Authoritative Edition

[Brian Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read the first volume, and loved it, obviously you're going to read this one. Twain gets around to describing his early career in this volume, and settles a lot of scores with swindlers and scandalmongers here. Clearly, these are the parts meant to be published 100 years later (Twain repeats the fact that he'll be dead when we're reading this far more times in this volume). There are also some sadder sections: Twain describes the death of his wife and his beloved daughter Suzy, whose writings are generously sampled here and replied to by Twain. As with the first volume, one almost feels like Twain is talking to and responding to Suzy from beyond the grave.

Twain also digresses on an extended critique of Bret Harte, the nonsense of palm readers and mesmerism, brutally deconstructs the Bible and organized religion (essentially pointing out all the inconsistencies of logic in the Bible that many people have noticed), several passages about his fight for an extension of copyright laws which were scandalously short-lived, as well as harrowing details of a recent shipwreck with the loss of many lives. In fact, if Twain had lived just a few years longer, it makes me wonder what he would have thought of the Titanic.

He's always hilarious, at time poignant, nearly always satirical, and compulsively readable. Again, this book was DICTATED not written, so it reads like a daily journal spoken out loud and transcribed. It's not quite a therapy session, but it is a memoir that is spoken out loud and wends in the direction Twain feels like speaking about on the day. Required reading for Twain enthusiasts, and as before I would highly recommend pairing it with the Audible reading by Grover Gardner, who just has the perfect inflections to make you laugh out loud in the right points. He has that timbre in his voice as if he was a compulsive cigar smoker like Twain. Legendary stuff worth the 100 year wait.

[Jay French · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I usually greatly enjoy Mark Twain’s writings, this was a chore. This is really a compilation of the multiple autobiographies he started at various times throughout his life. I listened to volume 1, and found some chronology applied to the writings. Here, the stories jumped back and forth in time, making it hard to picture exactly when Twain was talking about. It was quite confusing throughout the book. And you can tell this is a mildly edited version of Twain’s work – he didn’t expect this all to see the light of day in anything like the format it is in. This includes long passages that have little place in an autobiography. For example, there is a large section, really unrelated to anything else, about testing different palm readers. Even more of the book is about Twain’s fight for longer copyright laws that he admits would only help about 25 writers of the time, himself predominately. In total, this isn’t a good picture of Twain.

But in the pieces, you can find the Twain that people loved. My favorite bit involves something he wrote in “Roughing It”. He repeats a rather lousy joke three times if I recall about Horace Greeley on a stagecoach. In this book, Twain talks about his idea that repeating a bad joke repeatedly would get people to laugh, and he related how twice he did this in front of a live audience – same awful joke as in the book. I appreciated when I read that in “Roughing It” and figured out his intent. This was an excellent retelling of Twain re-using his material over the years.

There were also plenty of times throughout where I laughed at the audacity of Twain’s writing. He could go along boring the reader on purpose for paragraphs at a time to get in a line that just killed.

The three volume Autobiography , where this is book 2, includes Twain’s writings that he didn’t want people to see for 100 years after his death. The first book didn’t have much of that, but Twain mentions it quite a few times in this volume. None of his restricted material matters much now, mostly complaining about business. Oh well, it’s always good to read humorous Twain, even if, like in this volume, you have to pick through his castoffs to get there. I liked this more on reflection than I did when I read it.

[Neil · Rating 5 out of 5]

And so THE publishing event of the century continues... When volume one came out in 2010, 100 years after Twain's death there was something of a media storm and the book topped the best-seller lists around the world, however the book seemed to bemuse more people than it delighted, I don't believe this volume has sold nearly as well, it ain't a conventional autobiography, then again Twain wasn't a conventional man. Put it simply if you didn't like volume one, if you found it too disjointed and rambling, if you found the text too small, if you found the book too big, if you found the notes dull and unhelpful, you won't enjoy this book either. IF HOWEVER you loved the earlier book, loved the fact it was pure Twain: disjointed and rambling, had no problem with the small font size or large book size, found the notes interesting and helpful, then you'll be utterly delighted to find this is more of the same, I think it goes without saying I fall into the latter camp, this book is just wonderful and I wait with eagerness and sadness for volume three (hopefully by the end of 2015) for that will be the last volume, the end of what is presumably the last major unpublished work of Mark Twain.
The book consists of 104 passages that Twain dictated between April 1906 and February 1907, around a quarter of which had never been published anywhere before, of the rest the vast majority had only been published partially, sometimes no more than a paragraph. At it's simplest level the book is "Mark Twain's thoughts for the day" he talks about whatever he feels like sometimes conventionally autobiographically, more often not. He attacks various figures including his publisher Charles L. Webster and fellow author Bret Harte, admittedly often unfairly, you don't want to get on the wrong side of Twain, he sure knew how to insult! He talks about the news of the day, copyright, friends and enemies, religion, cats... anything. In 1959 Charles Neider managed to turn some of this material into a conventional autobiography (and as such it's a valuable book) but this is what Twain intended a thoroughly unconventional autobiography.

[Ken]

Things I found interesting are that this book is dictated. Twain says he didn't 'write' this book. It reads like a journal, that's for sure. Twain was a speaker, as much as a writer, in his time. It was out of necessity, though, as publishers wrote contracts that gave them the money for his writing, more than probably was warranted. I suppose publishers provide the costly stuff of books: paper, ink machines to print, advertising, however it was interesting to learn that of Twain's most recognized work, he didn't make much money on one of them. The other he made more, but nominally. He made a lot of his money when he became a publisher, himself. It was interesting hearing how he published General Grant's memoirs, making sure his heirs got a great portion of the money made from the book. Grand died soon after finishing his book.
Twain's desire was that his autobiography be published well after his death, but mostly because he wanted to write with total honesty about people and wanted them to not be besmirched in their lifetime. Several times, he states the book is to be published after the people he mentions in the book are dead.
It was interesting to hear him talk (Audiobook) of testifying to Congress about extending the copyrights from 42 years to the authors life plus fifty years. He notes that of approx. 10,000 authors in the country, at the time, only about 25 would have works that would outlive (keep selling) their copyrights, however, those works would be the history of the country.
Twain spends more time than I cared to hear, talking about palm readers and phrenologists, refuting their findings. I skipped some of that.
A very endearing story is the one he tells of his daughter, when young, was with him on a steamboat trip and he was on an outer deck listening to the depth readings -- from which you'll probably know, Samuel Clemens took his pen name. His daughter frantically found him and said, Daddy, don't you hear them calling for you?
This volume, the second, is long, but worth the time to read, or in my case, hear.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Over the past three months I've listened to both volumes of the Autobiography of Mark Twain. They are nothing short of phenomenal. Twain decreed his autobiography would not be published for one hundred years after his death. This gave him the freedom to talk about anything he chose, about anyone he chose. Those affected including children and grand children would be dead before publication of the autobioography.
This is not a birth to death autobiography. Twain dictated whatever came into his mind each day, and by doing so you become totally acquainted with the man in a way that would have been impossible in a conventional biography. He talks a great deal about his wife and children and you get to know them in a special way. He talks about relatives, well known historical figures, his life and times and of course politics and religion. All utterly fascinating.
The reader of both volumes, Grover Gardner, has won numerous awards for his reading, and while listening you cannot help but believe that you are listening to Mark Twain himself. I cannot praise the quality of these recordings enough.
At twenty CD's for volume one and twenty one for volume two it would appear to be a daunting task to complete both volumes. Not so. I am yearning for volume three now, hopefully to be published in the coming year. In the meantime I will be listening to these first two volumes again.

[Marks54 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the second volume of the authoritative edition of the autobiography of Mark Twain. I read the first volume two and a half years ago. This volume follows in the same path of the first volume and is full of various stories, humor, social satire, and commentary. There is much enjoyable here and the book is most interesting as a commentary on American and world affairs in the decade before WWI. This volume has the limitations of the first volume. It is a collection of episodes and comments -- more like a journal or diary than what I commonly think of as an autobiography. I certainly defer to Mr. Twain about his disinclinatioln to produce a traditional life story. I also grant that such a story would not be fully honest and unbiased. Still, a bit more organization and story would have been valuable and the need for editing and pruning is clear -- although the stories are good even when reissued and reiterated. Overall, the book was enjoyable and well worth the effort. His use of language is wonderful and his satirical and critical eye is unfailing. Not bad for a second volume.

[Jay Daze · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't make it through this. Started with the disadvantage of not having read volume one, but my experience with volume two doesn't make me want to pick it up. Twains decision to dictate his biography by what occured to him at the time makes for a pretty disjointed and meandering book.

Some parts, his thoughts on suicide, his 'enthusiasm' for talking to college girls was great, discourses on politics of the time or the sausage making view of publishing seemed to go on and on and on. Even the stuff I wasn't interested in was written well, Twain is (unsurprisingly) a great writer, but for myself the lack of structure killed my will to continue with the book.

If you are a Twain completist with a knowledge of his life this book will probably work for you. I listened to this on digital library loan - renewed it twice and still never got through it. I'll go back to Twain's complete books but would only try a heavily edited, ordered and introduced version of this work.

[Timons Esaias · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am highly recommending this second volume of the Autobiography. Before I get to a few specifics, permit me to quote from my review of Volume I:

I had read almost all of Twain's published works, except for the highly-abridged, highly-censored versions of the autobiography that have come out in the last century. I knew they'd been butchered, so I steered clear. But now we have the three volumes of the scholarly edition that was published -- just as Twain had wished -- a century after his death. That is 2,160 pages of brand-new Mark Twain, something of a gift from the gods. True, a good number of those pages are scholarly notes, and there are further pages of scholarly apparatus, but I have learned quite a great deal from those notes (they are often quite lively), so, again, no complaint here.

I have always been a sucker for "critical editions" in which a scholar, or more commonly a group of scholars, pore over all the available manuscripts and try to make sense of intentions, errors, and frauds. I look up from this laptop at the row of Melville critical editions, the annotated Grant, the annotated Chandler, the annotated Verne, the annotated Lewis Carroll, and, well, clearly I would embrace such a product. But this stands out among such efforts, I have to say. As I read their explanations of method, I found myself agreeing with every decision. I admire their clear prejudice toward letting Twain have his way; and they've gone to considerable trouble to collect the many examples of his statements of intent and to treat those statements as clear instructions.

Twain was a printer, typesetter, and editor; he'd earned his opinions. I was pleased to learn that one of his guiding principles was that the text be internally consistent. Words spelled the same way, always. Punctuation consistently applied. Capitalization consistent throughout. And so forth.

I was greatly amused by this bit of guidance the current editors made note of:

It is well known that Clemens wanted his punctuation respected, and not altered by anyone else. "Yesterday Mr. Hall wrote that the printer's proof-reader was improving my punctuation for me," he wrote to Howells, "& I telegraphed orders to have him shot without giving him time to pray."

This volume is fairly enormous, and contains many, many subjects. He discusses his brother Orion several times, both his successes and his many failures and perversities. We get lengthy discussions of Twain's business dealings through the years, the running theme of them is his being cheated, and his trusting of scoundrels. He did right, bless him forever, by President Grant on the issue of his memoirs, but suffered for publishing Sheridan's. We learn how he may have embarrassed himself in front of the Kaiser, though it seems to have been only temporary. We get his impressions and friendship with Helen Keller (and Sullivan). We get his impressions of, and disaffection with, Bret Harte. And on and on.

It's only a brief discussion, but his impression of Stanford White (the Thaw trial was going on during the dictation) was chilling. Indeed, let me quote it:

I have come into casual contact with Stanford White, now and then, in the course of the past fifteen or twenty years. He had a very hearty and breezy way with him, accommodating, and free-handed with his money -- toward men; but he was never charged with having in his composition a single rag of pity for an unfriended woman. Notwithstanding his high and jovial spirits and his cordial ways, there was a subtle something about him that was repellent. I was not the only one that felt this; in times past others have mentioned this feeling to me. That splendid human being, Tom Reed, was one of these. When we were yachting in the West Indies with Henry Rogers several years ago, and were in the great lobby of the hotel in Nassau one day, the majestic figure of Stanford White appeared among the crowd, and he marched past with his gray-haired wife on his arm. Tom Reed said,
"He ranks as a good fellow, but I feel the dank air of the charnel-house when he goes by."

I'll admit that there are too many pages of Twain's views on religion, usually in the sections he intended to be published only a century after his death, but in my case he's preaching to the choir.

It's important to read the notes in pace with the text, and that makes the book a slog, time-wise. I advise reading only five or ten pages a day. But this is hundreds of pages of Twain you haven't read before. It's a treasure.

[Randy Auxier · Rating 4 out of 5]

(This review appeared in the Carbondale Nightlife, September 18-24, 2014, p. 18.)

Mark Twain, Autobiography of Mark Twain, vols.1 & 2, eds Harriet Elinor Smith, et al (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2010, 2013), 736 and 733 pp. Hardcover, $45.00 each.

Mark Twain set down his pen for good in 1905, but his autobiography was composed mainly afterwards. From the fall of 1906 through the end of 1907 he dictated almost daily to an able stenographer and in the presence of his official biographer the mass of literary material that now goes under the name of Autobiography of Mark Twain. After 1907, the sessions trailed off, but continued through early 1910. He toyed with his original idea for the book from 1869 onward and refined his notions about the art of autobiography over that very long span of years. The material is now brought together, unexpurgated and edited according to the highest critical standards, in three volumes. The first volume appeared in 2010, marking the centenary of Twain’s departure from the earth (no longer greatly exaggerated).

His most significant idea was that none of his autobiography should be published until he had been dead a full century, but he was pleased with the typed results of his sessions and couldn’t resist the urge to select and edit himself the portions suitable for a public airing during his lifetime. Then his string of literary executors followed his example, as it became clear that his reputation was secure and that the sensibilities of the public had expanded to accommodate some of Twain’s more extreme views about religion and politics. Thus, there is very little in the critical edition that has not appeared before (indeed long before) now. No shocking revelations are here.

The second volume appeared in 2013 and the third will follow later this year, or so we are told. The editing challenge is immense, but where there’s a market, there’s a motive. Twain believed that telling the truth in an autobiography was impossible unless publication is delayed for several generations, but he complains that even this strategy will fail if the teller of the tale is human at all. Explaining his theories about autobiography probably absorbs a hundred pages of the first volume, in fits and starts. He has to tell us why he meanders so, dictating whatever pops into his head instead of trying to follow some chronological plan or other preconceived order of presentation. So one can become pretty impatient as a researcher trying to find a particular episode from a given period in Twain’s life. Some of the same episodes come up repeatedly, spread out over the whole length of these books, as Twain interrupts himself for many pages at a time. At least he eventually returns to whatever subject he opens.

The method of autobiography Twain advocates makes it impossible to follow the overall narrative. Indeed, it isn’t a narrative it’s a character study, psychological, historical, and philosophical, carried out by the character himself. Just from the standpoint of reading, as opposed to doing research, the critical edition suffers more than previous versions of the text by including all the surviving autobiographical manuscripts, meaning that some stories get told several times in different decades – for example, Twain’s various meetings with Ulysses S. Grant. Even the repetition is interesting, since it reveals a remarkable consistency in how Twain settles into a way of describing an episode and holds onto it in more or less the same words over several decades.

The autobiography is thus a hodgepodge. Twain reads entire letters and newspaper clippings into the record, he inserts previously unpublished stories and other manuscripts into the master document, then adds his retrospective commentary. The most frequently recurring external document he used is the biography of himself written by his daughter Suzie when she was about 13. He will offer a passage from that adorable study, comment on it at length, and then return to another passage to repeat this exercise in rumination. (Suzie’s biography was later published in full under the title Papa.) Using this source is the most felicitous decision Twain made in the long course of his dictations, because Suzie’s biography is quite entertaining, in places profound, and always insightful. These extended remembrances of the happiest time in Twain’s life are touching, poignant, and as he well knew, utterly lacking in objectivity. But for that reason, these stories humanize Twain as Sam Clemens for the ages. It couldn’t have been easy to decide to bring that time to the public since the biography is a portrait of intimate family life and its author died tragically young in 1896. Clemens never got over the loss, but evidently Twain carried on. Still, this is where we see the man behind the curtain. If there is literary or historical calculation in the way these episodes are presented, as there certainly is in the dominant tone of the autobiography, it is too subtle for me to grasp.

There are extended passages in the autobiography that are no longer of great interest to us now, being dated and distinguished only by the fact that Twain noticed them and put them into his own remarkable words. His obsession with copyright laws is a recurring example, leading one to wonder what he might say now about that struggle. But for the most part, Twain was able to predict what we would care to know in 100 years. This makes for great reading and the apparent disorganization and rambling masks an underlying principle of aesthetic order that is as pleasing as it is informative. The effect is similar to being told a bedtime story every night for a year that forms one long story-telling campaign. And the storyteller, after all, is known to be a pretty good one.

Perhaps not everything Mark Twain wrote bears the stamp of greatness, but the autobiography really is a permanent literary achievement, basking in the same glow as Don Quixote and Shakespeare’s best plays, as William Dean Howells once observed. Very little in the history of literature in any language rises to this level of importance. Mark Twain teaches us how to see ourselves by looking at himself and trying to work out the difference between him and the rest of the human race. There is a huge difference but it’s in degree not in kind, not deriving from the impossible gift Mark Twain brought into the world, but rather from the result of that gift. Clemens was, in almost every respect, just like the rest of us, except for his diligence in a single direction. He took his gift to places few humans have visited and found himself unlike the rest of us, alone and incapable of self-understanding –for want of meaningful comparison. Twain explored his own life almost obsessively, and then explored his explorations, in the end finding it impossible to put it all in any ”true” order. So he trusted his mind and his muse to meander exactly where they needed to be on any given day, to complete the uncompletable story. Everyone should read Mark Twain’s autobiography for about the same reason that everyone should read Cervantes and Shakespeare, but in this case it’s really a lot more fun.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This *might* be more of a 3.5 than 4, but I'm going to round it up. The parts that were good were very good. Some of his humour is timeless and had a chuckle or even a laugh out loud moment. But some of it dragged on quite a bit. The palmistry was really quite dull and could have been summarised quite a bit.

He's such an interesting character. There are moments where I wonder, what would his politics be today? He was so very pro-state and therefore small national government, which is traditionally republican. But, emphasis on the "traditional." It seems nowadays, it's more about having a strong president. He has a whole chapter on how the US would eventually become a monarchy once again. He blamed it on human nature. He seemed very much opposed to pensions given to soldiers who never fought, and said that was the way to monarchy. What was the phrase he used? "Corn and oil" - people will vote in wealthy and corrupt and put up with it because they get free corn and oil, metaphorically. So would he be opposed to the welfare state? I don't think so, or rather I'm not sure - he had his own scheme of donating by subscription (essentially monthly direct debits!) - and he did believe in giving generously and looking after the poor. But he clearly despises politicians who have used their wealth or money in general to get into power and maintain power.

Maybe he'd just be an anarchist!

But I also loved his thoughts on providence, his cynicism on how a single preacher giving a single prayer for a group of people saved them (if that's all it takes, why didn't he give that prayer to so many others who suffered and died?). And his ideas around how there are no "accidental" moments but really just things that are the results of previous moments. It's not necessarily like a fate thing, and even though he links it all the way back to Adam, it's just a kind of reference to the fact that whatever happened to us, whatever decisions we've made, have led us up to this point in life now - but he doesn't necessarily say it's all down to God. Quite progressive thinking of the time, and tends to smash the stereotypes we have of 19th century folk.

Also, it may be the opposite of what he wanted, but I'm totally intrigued by Bret Harte and want to read some of his work!

[J. C. White - Author · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having read volume one, I was impatient for the arrival of the second volume. So glad I invested in the series. Yes, I said "invest."

In Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 2, readers continue their journey through the labyrinthine mind of America’s legendary raconteur. Twain remains unapologetically candid, his voice echoing with the familiar blend of irreverent humor and piercing insight that defined his legacy. In this second volume, Twain's narratives further illuminate the complexities of his later years, marked by personal grief, biting satire, and enduring curiosity.

Twain's reflections wander fluidly between public commentary and intimate confession, demonstrating his mastery of storytelling as he explores the shifting landscapes of his life and times. He tackles the turbulence of the Gilded Age, critiquing with unrelenting candor the corruption, hypocrisy, and societal absurdities that surrounded him. Yet beneath his cynicism pulses a vulnerable heart—Twain confronts the losses of loved ones with poignant transparency, offering glimpses of profound humanity behind the façade of comedic bravado.

This volume’s richness lies in its blending of public and private worlds, as Twain’s penetrating observations cut through the pretenses of politicians, publishers, and preachers alike. Each anecdote reveals a man fiercely independent in thought, unafraid to challenge conventions or question morality.

Skillfully curated, preserving Twain’s intentions and spontaneous style, this edition solidifies the author's standing as a timeless voice, one whose reflections resonate with contemporary relevance. Twain’s unique narrative grace and unsparing wit transform autobiography into something far richer, a vivid portrait of an American genius wrestling with the essence of his existence.

Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 2 is indispensable for anyone captivated by Twain's sharp intellect and literary brilliance. It serves as a testament to his enduring ability to engage, provoke, and profoundly move readers, cementing his legacy as an unparalleled chronicler of the American experience.

[Matt Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

In many ways Mark Twain was ahead of his time. If he had lived a little later, I think it's possible his autobiographical dictations would have been produced in cinematic form, one last speaking tour canned and sealed for viewers a hundred years in the future. Many of his dictations read this way, or like an interview with no interviewer. The effect is often very intimate, like the reader is somehow in the man's presence, waving away cigar smoke while listening enraptured to the day's stories and musings, and occasionally groaning as one does when an elder insists on returning to some subject that's not necessarily a favorite of yours.

Twain adheres to his rules of sticking with a subject only as long as it's interesting and not preempted by something more interesting, and the result is a mostly delightful tour of all things he finds interesting or important to him, from copyright law to current events, his old mining days, traveling the world, what makes good literature, his friendship with US Grant, investing woes, hustling pool, palm reading, fond memories with his daughters, and lots more that I'll think of later. All through his keen wit shines through, and often it's truly funny. But he doesn't consider himself a humorist.

The stipulation that this work remain suppressed one hundred years after his death allows him to speak freely, and Twain takes advantage of this more in this volume the first. He shares his views on religion, and in particular Christianity, that while not unknown, are expressed in supremely frank and honest terms, pulling no punches whatsoever. In this way Twain may be ahead of our time.

Like the first volume, this one comes with copious notes, occasionally providing interesting insight, other times getting in the way of Twain’s storytelling.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I weighed this book on the bathroom scale – 3.8 pounds. It’s the same size as the family Bible. I knew it was going to be a project, like reading The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. Or the family Bible, for that matter.

As a confirmed Twainiac, I already knew it would be worth the time and effort. As it turns out, it took up less time than I anticipated with the skimming. Twain warned the reader ahead of time that this would not be an autobiography in the conventional sense. He would plow along dictating his thoughts into a Dictaphone to polish in print. Whatever popped into his head of interest wound up in that order in the record of America’s greatest satirist.

Unfortunately, as those who have read his travel journals, not all that flowed out of his head through a pen warmed up in hell was worth recording. Much of this volume (as well as the previous volume) was repetitious or thrown-in fluff. His severest critic and editor, Olivia Langdon Clemens, was not around to scratch out unworthy text, particularly his disreputable remarks on the Immaculate Conception which he mistakes for the Virgin Birth. And nobody had the stature to challenge him on anything else he had to say. Mark Twain was the Beatles of his time. Not even George Martin could tell the Liverpool lads that the White Album should be cut in half. Bloody H, can’t we at least jettison this bloody “Revolution 9” codswallop?

Twain knew a thing or two about panning for gold. Pick this up and look for a vein of gold on your own.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second volume of Twain's dictated autobiography is an enjoyable, meandering, journey with a great, amusing, irascible old man just riffing on whatever is on his mind.

In other words, it's not an autobiography in any identifiable sense of the word.

The nature of how Twain "wrote" this autobiography is both a blessing an a curse. He only talks about what interests him and stops when it ceases to hold his attention. This results in Twain spending a great deal of time speaking about otherwise fairly trivial contemporary news items (various trials, mini-scandals, accidents, and personalities of the day that particularly irk him--King Leopold II of Belgium is a frequent target due to his actions in the Congo).

Twain also expounds, at EXHAUSTING length, on the publishing industry and his views of the unjustness of expiring copyright. Twain recounts multiple attempts to convince the Congress (and anybody who will listen) that copyright should be extended indefinitely (primarily for the benefit of his children). It's easy to see the rationale and reason for the passion, but because there's so much space dedicated to the topic, it begins to wear on the reader.

But because this is Mark Twain, there are multiple laugh out loud character sketches and asides and one is generally willing to forgive the somewhat "pointless" nature of this work in exchange for it.

But an autobiography it ain't.

[Jdb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a “3-m-er”: Magnificent, a Masterpiece, a Must read for every fan of Mark Twain. Stipulating that publication of his autobiography must wait for a 100 years following his death, Mark Twain offers up a free wheeling spin through his life in a non chronological manner.

There are poignant snapshots of his wife, daughters (especially Susie), and others that are sometimes heart wrenching. There are also some savage criticisms of others whom Twain disliked (Bret Harte, some of his publishers, a Senator Clark of Montana), all of whom would be long dead when his remarks were published. This gave Twain a freedom not normally seen in autobiographical writings.

But mostly, there are dozens and dozens of keen observations on human nature (including himself) which often contain Twain’s remarkable sense of humor as well as his genius in putting words together.

I can’t wait to reread this wonderful book.

[Todd Cheng · Rating 5 out of 5]

Twain’s friendly use of English, satire, and life experience to analyze his moment emanates across a 100 years well. His second volume is as pleasant as the first. A 70 year old man lamenting on politics, life experience, and trending fads.

In politics it was interesting to hear in his voice the issues of his view on military stipends. Before in addition to the monthly salary final service was paid with $100.

He imparts his lessons from many failures in business. It is interesting to hear them in the context to the late 1880s.

It is interesting to hear his experiences with palm readers and psychics.

I will re-read just for the sake of being conjured in a few of his passages.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume two is much the same as volume one. He switches from topic to topic, whatever strikes his fancy. And as he states that his intention is for this to be published long after his death, he lets loose on the government, politicians, and publishers who ripped him off. But he also discusses his family, has some excerpts from his daughter Susy's autobiography, and topics such as fundraising and cats. I especially enjoyed hearing about his affection for one of his favorite cats, Sour Mash, a tortoiseshell, who had kittens in all her various colors. And also how he would rent cats when on vacation, and the leave money for their care when he returned them. A very enjoyable listen.

[Steve Schoenbeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as Volume I. There are some gems, but too few to offset all of the venting of spleen that Twain does, settling old scores, etc., and the many tedious passages. Twain makes much of his preferred method of writing autobiography, which is to let the news of the day and chance meetings and reflections prompt thoughts about his past, which he then includes in random order. This may have been a more enjoyable way for him to write about his life, but this reader would have preferred a more straightforward approach.