Most of you know that I'm a fan of Mark Twain.
I write a column on the Examiner.com about Mark Twain
and I also love to tweet my favorite Twain quotes @Twaintoday on Twitter.I'm asked what some of my favorite works by Mark Twain are so I've compiled a list of my TOP 10 Twain Books available at this moment in time.
First on the list: Autobiography of Mark Twain, Vol. 1I just received a preview copy of the book to start reading. It is the "Bible" of Mark Twain at 750+ pages and chock full of great Mark Twain references for fans and lots of unknown quotes.
It will be nice that they are offering the book in a kindle version
too, it will be much easier to carry when you are not at home
too, it will be much easier to carry when you are not at homeSecond on the List: The Complete Mark Twain Collection (Over 300 works, with active table of contents)
This is the Kindle Version which contains over 300 works and is easy to navigate. The search functions are nice making it easy to look up a reference when I'm travelling. There is enough Twain on here to keep you occupied for days :)
Third: Life on the Mississippi
Life on the Mississippi
is a great book about Twain's career as a River Pilot on the Mississippi river during the golden age of steam.Twain's ability to psycho-analyze (before the term was invented) the variety of characters he meets is wonderful. I'm not sure how much of the book written years later was fact or fiction, but it is a great travel/history book.
Fourth: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is often regarded as only a sequel to Tom Sawyer since it continues on with some of the main characters from the first book.Huck Finn was one of Twain's favorite books and was one of the first books to try and tell a story in the speech of the participants without being mocking. The narrator's semi-literate speech and the deep treatment of the question of slavery in the Pre-civil war South give this book a place on any bookshelf.
Huck Finn has the notoriety of being banned from numerous libraries (starting with Concord, Mass) as being vulgar. However in the century since it's publication it has found it's way back into most of them.
Many Twain fans seem to believe that Mark Twain always wore his famous white suit that he is most famous in. However, as the Man in White
shares with us, it was a late-life invention of Twain's.
shares with us, it was a late-life invention of Twain's.The book details the last few years of his life and how Twain prepared to go from living legend to immortality.
The story of his autobiography is told along with the authorized biography by Paine.
You see his interaction with his remaining daughters Clara
and Jean after the death of his wife Livy.
and Jean after the death of his wife Livy. As well as how he dealt with his admiring fans and few true friends such as William Dean Howell's (Author of My Mark Twain
)
)There are plenty of more great Twain books out there that I didn't have time to touch on in this article. Be sure to catch part 2 for 5 more favorites soon.
