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The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Stories Audiobook
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(3.00) - 2,213 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
Originally published in 1865, “The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” began Mark Twain’s remarkable career and immediately demonstrated his masterful storytelling and brilliant sense of humor.
This delightful tale introduces Jim Smiley, a man who loved to gamble, whether on horse races, dogfights, catfights, or even how long it took bugs to cross the Mexican border. When a gullible stranger came to town, Smiley boasted that his pet frog, Dan’l Webster, could outjump any frog in the county. Smiley, figuring it would be easy money, eagerly made a bet with the stranger, who had a secret plan to stop Dan’l in his tracks.
This wickedly funny collection also includes several of Twain’s other great short stories, including “A True Story,” “Jim Baker’s Blue-jay Yarn,” “The Private History of a Campaign That Failed,” “Extracts from Adam's Diary,” “Eve's Diary,” “The 1,000,000 Bank-Note,” and “How to Tell a Story.”
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"Worth reading for the quaint descriptions of California life as it was just beginning, this is a great book for settling down to relax with some tea, and still a classic at that."
— michael (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Wonderful fare for the recreational listener.”
— Booklist -
“Narrator Norman Dietz…is as comfortable with delivering the rustic speech of Jim Smiley, the notorious bettor who gets hoodwinked in the title story, as he is with portraying an exasperated Adam as he copes with Eve in the Garden of Eden in “The Diaries of Adam and Eve.” There’s a deadpan quality to Dietz’s comedic delivery that adds to the humor. The smooth, deep tone of his voice is pleasing to the ear…Some listeners may find the pacing a bit too slow, but it seems fitting for a collection written during a simpler, less hurried time.”
— AudioFile
The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County and Other Stories Listener Reviews
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" Entertaining as well as much to think about in these stories. "
— Lorna, 2/14/2014 -
" Mark Twain is the man. I want to be just like him. I think I'd look good with that moustache. "
— Hilariapdx, 2/4/2014 -
" Not my cup of tea. "
— Kevin, 2/4/2014 -
" Love me some Mark Twain. "
— Derek, 2/3/2014 -
" I enjoyed most of the stories, though Twain's dry whit sometimes required perseverance. My favorite shorts were "The $1,000,000 Bank Note" and "Jim Baker's Bluejay Yarn." It was interesting to learn that the story "Was it Heaven or Hell" was based on the author's personal experience. "
— Jones, 1/26/2014 -
" What a painful read! I just cannot get into Mark Twain. "
— MsJohnson, 1/23/2014 -
" Gahhhhh, I hate HATE Mark Twain's writing. Had to read this for school. BLEH. "
— Alex, 1/18/2014 -
" A funny short story that is as pointless and most of the stories I am told throughout the day. I recomend it to everyone as it does not take long to read and was just so very fun. "
— Ali, 12/27/2013 -
" All I really want is to go back in time and become Mark Twain's best friend. "
— Mary, 10/15/2013 -
" So far I only have read Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog but let me just say this, I am s lost on the clean humor. I think I need to read a few more of these to be able to get the overall message because the humor in this story was so completely lost on me. Oh well live and learn. "
— Reeses, 7/10/2013 -
" Can't really go wrong with Mr. Twain. "
— Lafcadio, 6/17/2013 -
" The best part for me is not the frog, but the part about the dog Andrew Jackson. "
— Josh, 3/17/2013 -
" Listening was very enjoyable! A good number of laughs are available in these short stories. "
— Kent, 3/7/2013 -
" I read this short story in 7th or 8th grade. I remember it being very readable and quite funny. Twain is a wonderful storyteller! "
— Eddie, 12/9/2012 -
" Awesome! A good 'ole tale. Very funny; quick read. "
— Leia, 1/23/2012 -
" Much of Mark Twain's writings are not humorous to me. I think I have a problem with the run-on sentences. I lose track of what I'm reading. This is a good tale, though. It seems to me that it accurately portrays what life in this mining camp town must have been like in the late 1800's. "
— Carol, 9/22/2011 -
" A clever collection of short stories sprinkled with bits of deep genuine humor and on the whole filled with good characterization and dialogue. "
— Joshua, 10/27/2010 -
" Fun collection of Twain's short stories, well read by Norman Dietz :) Well worth a listen, keeping in mind that he uses some racial terms considered right rude today. "
— Hope, 12/27/2008 -
" Mildly interesting story; pretty funny re-translation from the French. "
— Patrick, 4/25/2007 -
" A silly run-on sentence. Creative though. "
— Jen, 9/12/2006 -
" I can't imagine what I was thinking in high school when I thought this story was amusing. "
— Jeff, 6/30/2006 -
" Twain is a great writer, but I HATE tall tales and stuff like this. :) That's probably why I was a Brit/Irish Lit. person. "
— Lisa, 3/27/2005 -
" One of my favorite short stories of all time. "
— Michael, 3/5/2005 -
" Meh, most of the stories were dull. I know this is not a good representation of his writing. "
— Julie, 11/4/2003 -
" Although it's still a great story, it's my least favorite Twain. I'm definitely more partial to Huck Finn and A Conn Yankee in King Arthur's Court. "
— Tara, 4/12/2003 -
" Read on audiobook. A better reader my have helped, but it's hard to tell. Not Twains best. "
— Ed, 8/7/2002 -
" Surprisingly funny - very dry whit..love the sotry about George Washington's childhood. "
— Rebecca, 12/11/2000
About Mark Twain
Mark 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.
About Norman Dietz
Norman Dietz is a writer, voice-over artist, and audiobook narrator. He has won numerous Earphones Awards and was named one of the fifty “Best Voices of the Century” by AudioFile magazine. He and his late wife, Sandra, transformed an abandoned ice-cream parlor into a playhouse, which served “the world’s best hot fudge sundaes” before and after performances. The founder of Theatre in the Works, he lives in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.