Editorial Wild Oats

by Mark Twain

A wildly hilarious tale of an adventure as a fill-in editor.

Genres: Humor, Classics, Amazon, American

33 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1970

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

[〰️Beth〰️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I laughed my way through this collection of shorts all I could think was “ What would Twain write about today’s media?” Just a few samples from this compilation circa 1905.

The heaven-born mission of journalism is to disseminate truth: to eradicate error; to educate, refine, and elevate the tone of public morals and manners, and make all men more gentle, more virtuous, more charitable, and in all ways better, and holier, and happier…

I tell you I have been in the editorial business going on fourteen years, and it is the first time I ever heard of a man's having to know anything in order to edit a newspaper.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twain is so funny. You forget if you haven't read him in years. This little book includes stories about working at various newspapers and humorous misunderstandings and events.

[Onyango Makagutu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three of these stories—"My First Literary Venture," "Journalism in Tennessee," and "How I Edited an Agricultural Paper"—are a hoot. The other three are OK. Get the edition that's illustrated with woodcuts. The annotations in the annotated edition don't add much, and the woodcuts are missing.

[Mathher Abbassi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The early beginning of Mark Twain, anecdotally and humorously.

[J.V. Stanley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is certainly worth the read. His exaggerations are spot on along with the trials an editor goes through. Depicting the relationship between reader/writer/editor in a most amusing fashion, it is sure to teach you a thing or two on how to handle any writing situation with grace.