Patrick Peterson’s Reviews > Mark Twain: Complete Works > Status Update
Patrick Peterson
is starting
2026-08-10 Just finished "Roughing it". Very funny. Twain is a master of telling wacky stories. Some based on real stuff, some probably totally made up. What a creative imagination. I loved so many parts of the book:
- Stagecoach/Pony Express realities: benefits & drawbacks
- 1860s journalism
- Mormon history/interactions
- Silver mining mania in NV
- SF life
- Hawaii history, volcanoes & culture
and more
— Aug 10, 2026 02:50PM
- Stagecoach/Pony Express realities: benefits & drawbacks
- 1860s journalism
- Mormon history/interactions
- Silver mining mania in NV
- SF life
- Hawaii history, volcanoes & culture
and more
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Patrick’s Previous Updates
Patrick Peterson
is starting
2026-08-01 Getting into "Roughing It" and enjoying it very much. Twain has such colorful and lively ways of describing things: scenery, characters, morals, customs, modes of travel, etc. It is about two brothers travelling by "land coach" from Missouri to Sacramento, CA in the 1850s (before the civil war and the trans-continental RR. The movie version with James Garner narrating was quite good too. More later.
— Aug 01, 2026 05:37PM
Patrick Peterson
is starting
2026-08-01 I finished "The American Claimant" a week or so ago. It started out fairly strange, got much better - was really good at cutting down unearned aristocratic titles - but then finished up pretty strange and unclear. I'm looking forward to reading what others have said about this.
— Aug 01, 2026 05:34PM