Humorous Stories and Sketches

by Mark Twain

Book Overview

Mark Twain's inimitable blend of humor, satire, and masterly storytelling earned him a secure place in the front rank of American writers. This collection of eight stories and sketches, among them the celebrated classic "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," shows the great humorist at the top of his form. Also included here are "Journalism in Tennessee," in which a novice newspaperman is shown the "correct way" to report a news story; "About Barbers," a delightful account of every barbershop customer's worst fear; "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses," Twain's hilarious savaging of that author's style; and four more: "A Literary Nightmare," "The Stolen White Elephant," "The Private History of a Campaign that Failed," and "How to Tell a Story." Delightfully entertaining, these charming pieces will find an appreciative audience among students, general readers, and lovers of classic American humor.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0486292797
• ISBN13: 9780486292793
• Release Date: September 1996
• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Length: 80 Pages
• Weight: 0.19 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 5.1" x 8.2"
• Age Range: 11 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 6 and higher

Customer Reviews

Made me laugh out loud!

"Humorous Stories and Sketches," be Mark Twain, brings together 8 comic gems by this giant of American literature. At around 80 pages this Dover edition may be small in size, but it's big in laughs and wit.The 8 pieces are "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," "Journalism in Tennessee," "About Barbers," "A Literary Nightmare," "The Stolen White Elephant," "The Private History of a Campaign that Failed," "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses," and "How to Tell a Story." Twain satirizes gamblers, journalists, police detectives, international diplomacy, the military, and other things.Particularly effective is the Civil War narrative "The Private History"; it's funny and bitingly satirical, but also surprisingly poignant as Twain reflects on the brutality of war. For laugh-out-loud funny, however, the elephant story is my favorite. A perfect book both for literature courses or just for individual pleasure reading.