The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain

by Mark Twain and editor Mark Twain; Charles Neider

Book Overview

For deft plotting, riotous inventiveness, unforgettable characters, and language that brilliantly captures the lively rhythms of American speech, no American writer comes close to Mark Twain. This... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 038501502X
• ISBN13: 9780385015028
• Release Date: March 1985
• Publisher: Doubleday Books
• Length: 676 Pages
• Weight: 1.74 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Easy to see why Twain is one of America's Classics

It is hard to believe that one writer could create such a diverse group of stories on all kinds of subject matter; each one written with Mark Twain's unique sense of humor and extraordinary gift of imagination.These stories also stand the test of time as they are every bit as entertaining now as they were over 100 years ago.Some of the ones that I enjoyed the most;The Canvasser' Tale; the story of a man's collection of echoesThe Diary of Adam and Eve; a humorous look at what Adam and Eve's first thoughts of each other and the world around them.The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm.The Californian's Tale with a twist at the end.This collection is writing at its very best; a treasure of American story telling.

godlike

The funniest, sweetest, truest book ever written. "Political Economy" and "Science vs. Luck" are very short and howling funny. "The Diaries of Adam and Eve" will make you laugh and cry. "The Mysterious Stranger," "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven," and "Was it Heaven, or Hell" are masterpieces of religion, ethics, and humor. "What Stumped the Bluejays" is a believable account of a sense of humor in birds.

Buy it

Read "Political Economy", any story with the McWilliamses, "Tom Quartz", and read "Political Economy" again. And there is the story about the cheese, the body, and the freight car on the train...

a wonderful and diverse collection

This is an important book in American literature. This collection truly shows off the massive range that Mark Twain had. From the author of books as divergant as Huck Finn and Joan of Arc, to the humorous travel writings and all the way past the bitter, hateful scribblings of his later life. These are some of the highlights, as I see it: "The Story of the Bad Little Boy", an early version of Twain's comprehenisive pessism and it proves that there is really no such thing. There's optimism and there's realism. "A Day at Niagra", an obvious parody of his own early newpaper feature writing. Perhaps it was an abandoned assignment on a trip to the falls and Twain had such a bad time he wrote this vicious, sarcastic piece. There are numerous other wonderful stories along the way, hilarious, mean-spirited, touching, beautiful, gently humorous and smile factoring. After the dreadful 1890s of Twain's life (lost a wife, a daughter, a fortune and another kid got sick), sometimes a few of the stories are near-misses. Still always amusing, but something is missing. Then, at recurring times over the last decade of his life, Mark Twain got angry. He popped the blister that became "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyberg", a brutal profile of mankind's inate greed and selfishness and how there will always be someone out there to laugh and enjoy your misery. "The $30,000 Bequest" is a heart-breaking tale about delusion and wasted lives, and how even the thought of money corrupts absolutely. "Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven" is a mercilessly blasphemous account of Heaven being no different, really, from the earth, the same classist behavior, the same tragic dreams of a better life never to be had. It shoots a hole the size of, well, Heaven in this shaky mythology. Finally, we visit with "The Mysterious Stranger", a categorically violent attack on the idea of God. It demystifies so many absurdities organized religion tells you to take for granted, don't be surprised if you lose your faith after reading this short novel. It is one of the ultimate masterworks of satirical tragedy ever produced by a writer and is desperately in need of some ingenious filmmaker to produce an R-rated animated movie. Hell, anyone out there who may chance across this add, I'm willing to write the screenplay or assist in production in some way. I have some experience and can do this one TOP NOTCH. Enough advertising--all in all, a beautiful, necessary book.

The Best of Mark Twain

This inexpensive book of over 600 pages offers an incredible value for anyone who enjoy Mark Twain's quintessential humor. It is one of those books that you cannot put down once you get started on it. A great way to while away a hot summer afternoon