by Mark Twain
First published 1924
Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born in Florida, Missouri on November 30, 1835. He first adopted the pen name Mark Twain while working as a journalist in Nevada in 1863. Six years later, his first major work The Innocents Abroad launched one of America's most celebrated literary careers. This collection of autobiographical writings, curated by Twain scholar R. Kent Rasmussen, provides direct access to the author's own reflections on his life. Clemens writes candidly about his formative years and the experiences that shaped him as both man and writer. The selections reveal the personal history behind the public persona, showing how a Missouri boy became America's most recognizable literary voice. More than a century after his death, Twain's self-examination remains compelling and accessible.
Genres: biography, 20th-century, american, autobiography, biography-memoir, 19th-century, american-history
Vibes: accessible, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: personal-history, self-examination
Setting: Florida, Missouri, Nevada
Period: 1835, 1863, 1869
544 pages · Paperback · Penguin Publishing Group