Book description
The complex and fascinating life of Mark Twain, as told by a Pulitzer prizewinning biographer
Born in 1835, the man who would become America's first, and most influen tial, literary celebrity spent his childhood dreaming of piloting steamboats on the Mississippi. But when the Civil War interrupted his career on…
Why read it?
3 authors picked Mark Twain as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I enjoyed the indepth look at Missouri's own Mark Twain.
Like the other books in this list and in Chernow’s stable of work, this one was extensively researched.
I crave historical information at this level as long as it’s fed to me one delicious morsel at a time rather than shoved down my throat. There was no shoving here. The author and narrator combine to bring Twain alive to the point where I could see and feel him speak.
I know I wasn’t old enough to watch Twain perform his one-man shows around the world, but you couldn’t convince me of that immediately after reading this masterpiece. Twain exemplified Americana…
From W. Kenneth's list on biographies of brilliant people written by literary giants and narrated by all-time greats.
This ample (1,200 pages) and sumptuous biography has stayed with me. It’s a vivid story, of course, one can’t go wrong with Mark Twain, and I’ve read almost all of the earlier biographies.
This book offers a detailed and brilliant look at one of America’s most iconic authors. I had known about this book for some time before it came out, and I asked to review it. It was a delicious read because I love the subject, although the style of the author is one of extreme efficiency and professionalism.
Chernow is an established biographer, and he knows what…
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