Readers have been waiting to get their hands on Mark Twain's autobiography for over a century. Samuel Clemens may not have imagined that the book would be wirelessly downloaded to ebook readers in seconds, but he would probably appreciate the advances in technology; in his autobiography he reveals the problems that resulted when he installed a telephone line (including the telephone poll) in the yard of a house he leased. The hardcover of The Autobiography of Mark Twain is out of stock on Amazon.com, but you can download the Twain ebook for less than half of the regular book's price, which is an example of the price advantages of ebooks.
Samuel Clemens Childhood Influences became Mark Twain's Literary Influences
Samuel Clemens was born to make an impact. Before he was Mark Twain, the author, he was Sam Clemens, the child. He was born in a small village of 100 people in Florida, and Twain glories over the fact that he raised the population by 1%. Twain describes the people and places who influene his book; his uncle's farm set the scene for Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer's adventures, and a local cave where a girl died became the final resting place for Injun Joe. Every moment of his childhood seems to have been used to dab small details into corners of his books or to paint entire characters into American literary history.
"When I was younger," Twain writes, "I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not.". One of the Twain's ,memories that changed over time was the memories of the slaves he grew up with in Hannibal, Missouri. It took awhile for young Samuel Clemens to realize that not all of the slaves in his home were happy, and he gave the slaves freedoms in literature that they did not have in reality.
Huck Finn's friend Jim was based on Uncle Dan'l, a slave who Clemens loved because he told him ghost stories in the kitchen. Jim and Huck's journey in The Adventure of Huckleberry Finn takes on new meaning when the reader reads Twain's connection to and love for Uncle Dan'l. Sandy was a young slave who worked for Clemens' mother, and through Sandy, young Clemens realized that slavery was sad and miserable. Twain says that Sandy appeared with Tom Sawyer in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. "I tried to get him to whitewash a fence, but it did not work.".
Mark Twain's Time Capsule
Author Quinn Baldwin (Crossover) says, "It's not just an autobiography. Mark Twain wrote a time capsule." The Autobiography of Mark Twain documents in lengthy detail the decor of homes, interesting news items for people in 100 years, and the view from a park bench where he sits with Robert Louis Stevenson. Twain writes about how much money a writer could make in the 19th century, which allowed for a life of luxury at times. He writes honestly about his bad investments and choices, the people he knew and the people he wished he did not know. He shows more of the Mark Twain his readers already know: a man who is funny, who is insightful, and who can find fun anywhere.
This is more than an autobiography. There are long passages explaining the editorial process and significance of the book. There are pictures of Samuel Clemens dining with his family in his gorgeous home and with his friends. There are also photos of Mark Twain, listening to Booker T. Washington and posing with Helen Keller. The joy of the Autobiography of Mark Twain is not really in the explanations or the photographs, although they are all interesting. Mark Twain sounds like a long lost letter from an old friend, and I feel fortunate to be in the generation that finally got to read his personal stories.
Sources:
The Autobiography of Mark Twain was written by Mark Twain and edited by Harriet E. Smith, Benjamin Griffin, Victor Fischer, Michael B. Frank, Sharon K. Goetz, and Leslie Diane Myrick. The book was published on November 15, 2010 by the University of California Press. The ebook is sold by Amazon Digital Services. The ASIN is B00413QAFG. Prices and availability were confirmed on December 6, 2010.
The interview with Quinn Baldwin was done on December 1, 2010.
Alex Sharp - Alex Sharp is a teacher who has been keeping Suite101 readers up to date with the latest in audio- and e-book gadgetry since 2008.
