Mark Twain was known as a great American short-story writer as well as novelist and humorist. This collection of eighteen of his best short stories, from the well known to the lesser known, displays his mastery of Western humor and frontier realism. The stories also show how Twain earned his place in American letters as a master writer in the authentic native idiom. He was exuberant and irreverent, but underlying the humor was a vigorous desire for social justice and equality.
Beginning the collection is Twain’s comic version of an old folk tale, “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog,” first published in 1865 in the New York Saturday Press. It became the title story of The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Sketches, the work that established him as a leading American humorist.
Stories include:
1. “Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog”
2. “The Story of the Bad Little Boy Who Didn’t Come to Grief”
3. “Cannibalism in the Cars”
4. “Journalism in Tennessee”
5. “The Story of the Good Little Boy Who Did Not Prosper”
6. “How I Edited an Agricultural Paper Once”
7. “Political Economy”
8. “A True Story, Repeated Word for Word as I Heard It”
9. “The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut”
10. “Punch, Brothers, Punch!”
11. “Jim Baker’s Blue-Jay Yarn”
12. “The Stolen White Elephant”
13. “The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm”
14. “The Private History of a Campaign That Failed”
15. “Extracts from Adam’s Diary”
16. “The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg”
17. “The $30,000 Bequest”
18. “Eve’s Diary”
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"Took me awhile to get through this because when Twain is dark he is very dark, and I could only handle it in small doses throughout the last few crazy months. Excellent though. Kind of stuff that you want to read over and over, and I admit I cried a bit at several stories."
— Margaret (4 out of 5 stars)
Mark Twain was a master of “pungent tall talk and picaresque adventure.”
— The Concise Oxford Companion to American Literature" If you are a fan of Mark Twain, you will love this audio book. The reader does a great job at reading this book and the sound quality is great. "
— Monk, 7/19/2017" Amazing - I think Twain's genius comes through most clearly in collected short-stories form. "
— Ryan, 12/21/2013" There's no one as great as Twain. I do prefer, however, the longer and more classic Twain books like Roughing It, Huckleberry Finn, etc. "
— Brent, 12/11/2013" One can learn a lot about life from any Mark Twain reading. "
— Bright, 9/6/2012" Besides the "Adam and Eve" thing, this didn't really hook me. Ah well. "
— Margaret, 3/13/2012" Not really Twain's greatest hits, but still a great collection of works that deserve greater exposure. There's just not enough Twain to go around. "
— Edward, 3/12/2012" I love Mark Twain's more common work such as Tom Sawyer or Huckleberry Finn, so thought I would give this collection a try, and it did not disappoint. Humorous, insightful, and disturbing stories carefully woven together to make a beautiful book. "
— Ira, 1/28/2012" While some of the stories are interesting today, many of them are outdated. I'm sure they were popular in Twain's time, but few of them have stood the test of time. "
— John, 12/16/2011" Twain is very funny and a wise author. Writing this summary 2 years after makes descriptions difficult. "
— Terry, 9/18/2011" Great collection of Twain shorts, complete with illustrations and notes. Well edited volume of good pieces. "
— Sean, 4/26/2011" I loved this book! Good ole' Sam cracks me up. My favorite was by far the diaries of adam and eve. It was thoroughly clever and sarcastic with a hint of edgyness. The humor of Mr. Twain has stood the tests of time and he will always remain a favorite of mine. "
— Zach, 12/12/2010Mark Twain (1835–1910) was born Samuel L. Clemens in the town of Florida, Missouri. He is one of the most popular and influential authors our nation has ever produced, and his keen wit and incisive satire earned him praise from both critics and peers. He has been called not only the greatest humorist of his age but also the father of American literature.
Robin Field is the AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator of numerous audiobooks, as well as an award-winning actor, singer, writer, and lyricist whose career has spanned six decades. He has starred on and off Broadway, headlined at Carnegie Hall, authored numerous musical reviews, and hosted or performed on a number of television and radio programs over the years.