Autobiography of Mark Twain

In many ways Mark Twain was ahead of his time. If he had lived a little later, I think it's possible his autobiographical dictations would have been produced in cinematic form, one last speaking tour canned and sealed for viewers a hundred years in the future. Many of his dictations read this way, or like an interview with no interviewer. The effect is often very intimate, like the reader is somehow in the man's presence, waving away cigar smoke while listening enraptured to the day's stories and musings, and occasionally groaning as one does when an elder insists on returning to some subject that's not necessarily a favorite of yours.

Twain adheres to his rules of sticking with a subject only as long as it's interesting and not preempted by something more interesting, and the result is a mostly delightful tour of all things he finds interesting or important to him, from copyright law to current events, his old mining days, traveling the world, what makes good literature, his friendship with US Grant, investing woes, hustling pool, palm reading, fond memories with his daughters, and lots more that I'll think of later. All through his keen wit shines through, and often it's truly funny. But he doesn't consider himself a humorist.

The stipulation that this work remain suppressed one hundred years after his death allows him to speak freely, and Twain takes advantage of this more in this volume the first. He shares his views on religion, and in particular Christianity, that while not unknown, are expressed in supremely frank and honest terms, pulling no punches whatsoever. In this way Twain may be ahead of our time.

Like the first volume, this one comes with copious notes, occasionally providing interesting insight, other times getting in the way of Twain’s storytelling.

Mark Twain approached his autobiography with an innovative combination of rules:

1. He would dictate rather than write it.
2. He would not confine himself to any chronology but allow himself to talk about whatever came to mind at the moment and move on as soon as it lost his interest.
3. Publication would be delayed for one hundred years after his death.

The result is unlike any biography I have read, and is more like listening to an old relative telling stories. But being Mark Twain, these stories are those of a worldly genius whose takes on life, politics, religion, history, current events, etc. are smart, singular, and often humorous. He says his intent with delayed publication is to allow him to be completely honest, but he doesn't allow complete honesty to get in the way of storytelling.

I found the parts about his relationship with General Grant to be especially interesting, as well as his interaction with President Cleveland, or rather his wife and Baby Ruth. His eulogies of his wife and oldest daughter were touching and beautiful.

In all, I would say he has struck it and found a better way to draw one's self-portrait. He said he could fill more volumes than any library could hold with this method, and I would agree. There are two more volumes in this edition. It's curious, as probably any one volume would give a fairly good picture of him as a whole on its own. Additional random access memories serve to increase the resolution.