Mark Twain's Autobiography. Volume 2

by Mark Twain

Autobiography of Mark Twain or Mark Twain’s Autobiography refers to a lengthy set of reminiscences, dictated, for the most part, in the last few years of American author Mark Twain's life and left in typescript and manuscript at his death. The Autobiography comprises a rambling collection of anecdotes and ruminations rather than a conventional autobiography.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography

189 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 5, 2015

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

[Donna Davis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Depending upon whether the reader has or has not read The Autobiography of Mark Twain--the official work of the Twain Project at University of California--or not, this volume might be one star, or it might be 5 stars. There is no doubt as to the quality of Twain's prose, but heaven save all of us from battling academics that can't decide whether to list his dictations and writings in the order written, or in the chronological order in which they occurred. The Twain Project spent tremendous resources and had many faithful scholars participating, and their word should have been final, yet apparently wasn't.

So if the reader has read Volume 1, which takes us well into 1906, this volume is a complete waste of money. Fortunately, the big box store that now owns our fair site sold it to me for a buck, and that was store credit, so I learned this hard lesson free rather than for the thirty bucks I might have sunk into it. This, to me, is its sole redeeming feature.

However, now that I am satisfied that I will not have missed too much of importance, I can proceed to Volume 3, for which the Twain Project at UC has permitted me to access the galley. Onward.

[Hriday Balachandran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Written over a hundred years ago, the material is so fresh, and the zingers are hilarious. Thoroughly enjoyed.

[Mackenzie Cronin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very nice

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twain's original autobiography, published in 1924 after his death (not the hundred year version published recently). Twain dictated this from his bed; it's a non-chronological mish-mash of funny anecdotes, historical events, philosophy, family reminiscences, etc., all done in Twain's inimitable style. Self-centered, of course, but gracious and readable. Most interesting to me was the recounting of Twain's foolproof method for how the unemployed can always find work. Amazing that this hasn't caught on. (No joke here; it really works.) Both Volumes I and II are excellent; particularly affecting was the part in Volume II where Twain quotes from, and embellishes, his daughter Susie's childhood "biography" of her father.
Definitely worth reading if you're a Twain fan (and if you can find it).

[Marti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read volume 1, I found this equally or more interesting. This is different than reading a normal autobiography because it is quite fragmented with a lot of repetition going along with the footnotes. We find that Mark Twain, or Samuel Clemens, decided that he preferred dressing all in white, despite the season of the year. That is the way that we picture him. He certainly did a lot of traveling, and lived a number of different places. There was tragedy in his family life, too

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have heard the complaint that the autobiography is repetitive and acknowledge it is the case. Caused, I assume, by the decision Twain made to do a sort of stream of consciousness style version.
Reading the same anecdote by Twain 5 or six times is still better than a fresh anecdote by most folks.
Love him and the book