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Title: The Bible According to Mark Twain: Irreverent Writings on Eden, Heaven, and the Flood by America's Master Satirist by Mark Twain, Howard G. Baetzhold, Joseph B. McCullough ISBN: 0-684-82439-6 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: December, 1996 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (6 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Indispensable religious satire
Comment: Mark Twain promptly proves with this volume that he is, indeed, as the title states, "America's Master Satirist." Having grown up in a fundamentalist Presbyterian community, Twain knew his Bible well; and, like any thinking person, his beliefs and attitudes relating to it changed as he grew older, wiser, and more experienced. Although Twain - due to many factors, such as the death of several children and his wife and his failed investments - grew famously bitter towards the end of his life, his vision remained remarkably clear-headed, though clearly suffued with pessimism - indeed, his zest for the truth and absolute intolerance for mankind's accepted irrational beliefs became even more razor-sharp during this period. Although there are writings in this volume from all phases of Mark Twain's career, the majority of them do come from that latter period - a period in which, indeed, the exploration of these themes was the main facet of his writing. Included are such well-known items as the Diaries of Adam and Eve (as well as several other Old Testament characters), Captain Stormfield's Visit To Heaven (published here in full for the first time ever), and, of course, his masterpiece, Letters From The Earth. In these, and the other, oftentimes more obscure pieces, Twain burlesques and satarizes freely, calling mankind on both his steadfast taking to irrational and illogical beliefs, as well as on his sheer stupidity and gullibility. If one is looking for a satire along the lines of Tom Sawyer or Huck Finn, then this is DEFINITELY not the place to look; however, if you have a fondness, as I do, for the darker, more probing side of Twain, then this is a volume that you must most definitely pick up.
Rating: 5
Summary: Surprisingly non-controversial
Comment: I am a very religious person, and I was somewhat skeptical about reading this book when I received it as a gift. My husband and I read each other the diaries of Adam and Eve, and by the end we were both so moved we cried. True, it is excellent satire, but it is hardly offensive. Mark Twain manages to weave in sincerity and bits of truth with his masterful parodies.
Rating: 5
Summary: Right-Wing Religionist Praises Mark Twain
Comment: NEWSFLASH: I am a very religious conservative (aka "right-wing nut") who believes in the Bible and other books of scripture as the word of God, yet (unlike another reviewer would predict) I love Mark Twain's religious satire. I think that he has a keen eye for truth -- he sorts out the garbage of man-made religious fluff from the stuff that really matters. In many ways, his religious writings actually support my own beliefs in his tongue-in-cheek way. I don't think this book has any use if you intend to "bash" right-wing religionists with it. Anyone who would be shaken by Twain's writings probably doesn't really believe what they profess anyway...
I have read most of the writings in this book, although not in this edited compilation, so I cannot give my rating based on that. The five stars I have given in my review are for Mark Twain's works themselves.
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Title: The Wit and Wisdom of Mark Twain : A Book of Quotations by Mark Twain ISBN: 0486406644 Publisher: Dover Pubns Pub. Date: 18 August, 1999 List Price(USD): $1.00 |
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Title: Letters from the Earth by Bernard A. De Voto ISBN: 0060921056 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 20 November, 1991 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title: The Diaries of Adam & Eve by Mark Twain, Mandy Patinkin, Betty Buckley, Walter Cronkite ISBN: 0965881164 Publisher: Fiar Oaks Pr Pub. Date: December, 1999 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain by Mark Twain ISBN: 0553211951 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 March, 1984 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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Title: The War Prayer by Mark Twain ISBN: 0060911131 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 25 February, 1984 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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