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Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World Audiobook
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(3.04) - 547 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Bound on a lecture trip around the world, Mark Twain turns his keen satiric eye to foreign lands in Following the Equator. This vivid chronicle of a sea voyage on the Pacific Ocean displays Twain’s eye for the unusual, his wide-ranging curiosity, and his delight in embellishing the facts. The personalities of the ship’s crew and passengers, the poetry of Australian place names, the success of women’s suffrage in New Zealand, an account of the Sepoy Mutiny, and reflections on the Boer War as an expression of imperialistic morality, among other topics, are the focus of his wry humor and redoubtable powers of observation. Following the Equator is an evocative and highly unique American portrait of nineteenth-century travel and customs.
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"Somewhat uneven. Not as good as Innocents Abroad or Roughing It, but first class in stretches. Overall, pretty good.I did not care for the first section aboard ship. Some of my favorite parts were the historical digressions, especially the Indian revolt. "
— Clint (4 out of 5 stars)
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“When Mark Twain took off by ship for a round-the-world lecture tour, he took along a sharp eye, a notebook, and his renowned wit. Michael Kevin reads Twain’s narrative of his experiences with a Southern-inflected drawl and an unhurried pace that sound just right. He also offers amusing individual character shadings for many of Twain’s fellow passengers, whom the great writer often quotes as well as skewers. The book is full of everything from onboard whist games to tiger hunting. Twain’s opinions are many, often mercilessly funny, and frequently ahead of their time—except when he is suddenly of his time. The result is a fully developed self-portrait, nineteenth-century mores and all.”
— AudioFile -
“An early indictment of imperialist racism that deserves rediscovery.”
— Guardian (London) -
“Mark Twain’s Following the Equator is one of the best of his books…Lively and interesting.”
— Catholic World, 1898
Following the Equator Listener Reviews
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" I learned that Mark Twain was ahead of his time in regards to some of his ideas about race and culture. He had an appreciative attitude towards the religions of others. "
— E.d., 2/7/2014 -
" The first Twain non-fiction I read. I enjoyed it, but thought it would be funnier. "
— Miriam, 1/29/2014 -
" Crazy, classic Twain. Ingenious. "
— Jeanette, 1/22/2014 -
" Twain's account of a lecture tour that took him pretty much everywhere is a fascinating glimpse of the world of yesteryear through surprisingly unjaded eyes. "
— Colleen, 1/5/2014 -
" this mixed a lot of tedium in with the gems of wit and wisdom. In recommending it, I'd say for the biggest of Twain fans. But read Innocents Abroad, A Tramp Abroad, Roughing It before you read this one. "
— David, 12/6/2013 -
" Of Twain's book length works, this is the most obviously anti-imperialist, but it is also funny. Enlightening and entertaining. "
— Andrea, 11/7/2013 -
" Twain's year long tour of the British Colonies, including Australia, India and South Africa. Funny, as expected, informative, with some interesting fictional episodes and an his observations on colonialism, racism and religions. "
— Ed, 10/28/2013 -
" I liked it. Want to read part 2 now. I thought it was interesting to read about boat travel at the turn of the century "
— Emily, 9/16/2013 -
" the man's just plain funny. fiction? nonfiction? who cares?! the man blends the truth with story-telling that raises the ante high above any level anyone else can match. timeless. "
— Maggie, 9/16/2013 -
" I read this book in 2011 and only wish I had found it sooner. This Mark Twain is a far cry from the Huckleberry Finn and provides so much more insight into the brillance that Mark Twain provides. A great read for anyone and a must read for any Mark Twain fan. "
— Skip, 3/19/2013 -
" Twain had such amazing abilities to see things as they really were...my first and favorite travelogue. "
— Meg, 3/12/2013 -
" Interesting and recommended. Many anecdotal sketches. This one failed to captivate me as much as others, but was enjoyable. "
— Sam, 1/27/2013 -
" My least favorite of all the Twain travel books I have read thus far. "
— Luke, 10/6/2012 -
" As fascinating as one would expect it to be. "
— Elizabeth, 4/22/2012 -
" Twain, as always, has a sharp eye for human behavior. "
— Donna, 4/13/2012 -
" I always love his journey books. I learn a lot about the world. "
— Vickie, 2/29/2012 -
" Mr. Clemens' travel journals are the greatest. "
— Steve, 11/16/2011 -
" The guy was a genius- read it. And what a sense of humor! "
— Dad, 11/6/2011 -
" Not this edition that I read. Entertaining travelogue by a great writer, but a trifle slow in bits. "
— Karen, 9/30/2011 -
" One of America's finest interpreters of life, with an all too rare understanding of how pain and humor are faces on the same coin. "
— Paul, 7/14/2011 -
" I've been reading this for a long time-off and on. At first I didn't get into it, but now that I've read a lot of Mark Twain's works I understand this book better and am starting to devour it. "
— Molly, 2/10/2011 -
" this mixed a lot of tedium in with the gems of wit and wisdom. In recommending it, I'd say for the biggest of Twain fans. But read Innocents Abroad, A Tramp Abroad, Roughing It before you read this one. "
— David, 11/17/2010 -
" This book is a gift from the mature Twain on his sail around the world, past Hawaii, to Fiji, Australia, India and beyond. It's worth reading just for Puddn'head Wilson's epigraphs beginning each chapter. "
— Al, 3/29/2010 -
" Lonely Planet has nothing on Mark Twain! Twain sets sail from Victoria, BC and stops by Hawai'i en route to Australia and New Zealand. I wish I had read this before going to Tasmania last summer. It's funny and wickedly subversive and still quite informative. "
— David, 11/7/2009 -
" Very interesting book...Mark Twain is so funny. I find it a slow read and pick it up between other books I'm reading. I'm about half way through. "
— Janeen, 7/31/2009 -
" One of America's finest interpreters of life, with an all too rare understanding of how pain and humor are faces on the same coin. "
— Paul, 1/25/2009 -
" Long but worth the trip. "
— Rhonda, 1/17/2009 -
" Of Twain's book length works, this is the most obviously anti-imperialist, but it is also funny. Enlightening and entertaining. "
— Andrea, 11/18/2008 -
" While this is an interesting look at life in Australia and New Zealand in the late 1800’s I just couldn’t get into it. Perhaps it was far more relevant for readers in its day. "
— Jesse, 11/1/2008 -
" Twain had such amazing abilities to see things as they really were...my first and favorite travelogue. "
— Meg, 8/27/2008
About Mark Twain
Mark Twain, pseudonym of Samuel L. Clemens (1835–1910), was born in Florida, Missouri, and grew up in Hannibal on the west bank of the Mississippi River. He attended school briefly and then at age thirteen became a full-time apprentice to a local printer. When his older brother Orion established the Hannibal Journal, Samuel became a compositor for that paper and then, for a time, an itinerant printer. With a commission to write comic travel letters, he traveled down the Mississippi. Smitten with the riverboat life, he signed on as an apprentice to a steamboat pilot. After 1859, he became a licensed pilot, but two years later the Civil War put an end to the steam-boat traffic.
In 1861, he and his brother traveled to the Nevada Territory where Samuel became a writer for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise, and there, on February 3, 1863, he signed a humorous account with the pseudonym Mark Twain. The name was a river man’s term for water “two fathoms deep” and thus just barely safe for navigation.
In 1870 Twain married and moved with his wife to Hartford, Connecticut. He became a highly successful lecturer in the United States and England, and he continued to write.