@Twaintoday Special Edition: Gene's Top 5 Twain Books

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. 1

I 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

Second 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.

Fifth: Mark Twain: Man in White: The Grand Adventure of His Final Years

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.

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.  

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.

 

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Death of a President - Dallas 1963

Death of a President, originally uploaded by Gene Bowker.

The small X on the pavement marks the spot where President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas, Texas in November 1963.

No matter what theory you subscribe to regarding his death, the fact was that a sitting US President was killed. Of course, Kennedy was not the first US President to be killed in office. Hopefully, he WILL be the last.

There is a lot of history in the East End of Dallas, Texas. I highly recommend a visit at least once in a lifetime.

Quality built in...

Cockshutt 40, originally uploaded by Gene Bowker.

Back when this Cockshutt 40 was built quality still meant something.

John Deere, Ford, and small players like Cockshutt made tractors for the American farmer which did what they were supposed to do, work.

I'm glad a few of these veterans are still around for us to admire.

Eleanor Roosevelt on Life's Journey

Autobiographies are only useful as the lives you read about and analyze may suggest to you something that you may find useful in your own journey through life.


Eleanor Roosevelt

 
 
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Old Iron

Old Iron.. built in the 1950's with cool streamlining.

The owner has these in great condition!

Can't wait to see the rest of his collection at the Aiken fair in October.



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make a good photograph - Ansel Adams

In my mind's eye, I visualize how a particular... sight and feeling will appear on a print. If it excites me, there is a good chance it will make a good photograph. It is an intuitive sense, an ability that comes from a lot of practice.

Ansel Adams


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Tractors over the years

tractor lineup, originally uploaded by Gene Bowker.

The old and the older line-up across from the new depot in Aiken, SC.

The tractors are Cockshutt's and the steam tractor still works.

The tractors are owned by a local collector who brings an even bigger collection to the Western Carolina State Fair which is held in Aiken each October

Solitude

Millwheel, originally uploaded by Gene Bowker.

I have never found a companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working is always alone, let him be where he will.

Henry David Thoreau

What do you see?

Photograph Looking Up at Wires of the Boulder Dam Power Units, originally uploaded by The U.S. National Archives taken by Ansel Adams for the Department of the Interior in 1941 

When I think of Ansel Adams I think of Yosemite first and foremost. Then I think of his other works at the National Parks such as Yellowstone, Carlsbad Caverns (I have a print of one of those shots in my cubical), and in the Southwestern Indian Country.

I have to admit that I was startled when I saw this picture was an Adams.

Looking at it and especially when it was taken in 1941 you start to appreciate the fact that projects like the Boulder Dam (Now Hoover Dam) were changing the face of the West. Adams realized this and took pictures of that change.

It challenges me as a photographer to take the time to look at how the world is changing today instead of always focusing on what remains of the past. Documenting change as it happens so that in the future we remember both what was and how it became what it is today.

Going your own way

NS3277 SD402 Hi nose, originally uploaded by Gene Bowker.

The Southern Railway which was merged with the Norfolk Western in 1981 to form the Norfolk Southern was famous for ordering locomotives with high short hoods and for running them with the long hood forward similar to a steam engine.

Most other railroads ordered their engines with a low short hood to allow for better visibility and designed them for running with the short hood forward (as in this photo).

Today seeing a high-hood is something special especially leading a freight train. It is only possible because one railroad didn't follow the heard but went it's own way.

Don't be afraid to go your own way in life even if it seems a lot different from the normal. Someday your uniqueness will be recognized.

9/11 is a day for remembering not hate.

Bluefield Shops, originally uploaded by Gene Bowker.

Tomorrow marks the 9th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC.

It serves as a memorial to those who lost their lives in the attacks and also to the public servants who lost their lives trying to save victims.

Much like Pearl Harbor or the JFK murder every American remembers where they were when they first heard the news about September 11th .

The flag in this photo reminds me of the months following 9/11 when everywhere you went there were flags flying from homes, flag stickers on cars and a genuine attitude of patriotism.

That spirit of American oneness is not the same spirit that drives the ideas of burning Korans or other acts of stupidity which do nothing but stoke the flames of hatred.

Instead of protesting 9/11 should be a day to celebrate the American spirit of resilance against attack and remember those who have died in the cause of freedom.