When Mark Twain died, he left a curious item in his will. He stated that he had written a 5,000 page autobiography. Indeed it was well known that he was working on it for the last 10 years of his life.
His will stated that it could not be published for a century. The century is up!
In November, The University of California, Berkeley, where the manuscript has been stored in a vault, will release the first volume.
The eventual triology will run to half a million words.
Why did he stipulate the wait? We will find out!
"He had doubts about God, and in the autobiography, he questions the imperial mission of the US in Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines. He's also critical of [Theodore] Roosevelt, and takes the view that patriotism was the last refuge of the scoundrel. Twain also disliked sending Christian missionaries to Africa. He said they had enough business to be getting on with at home: with lynching going on in the South, he thought they should try to convert the heathens down there."
In other sections of the autobiography, Twain makes cruel observations about his supposed friends, acquaintances and one of his landladies.
4 comments:
Micro, Thanks for the heads-up. It sounds fantastic.
I hate admit it, but I think I have a bit of Twain in me. His ideas coincide nicely with my personal vision and that of our nation.
Waiting for more...
Twain was a modern man and the epitome of the American spirit...
So much of what I read of his ideas seem to be a precursor to what I feel is just plain common sense.
Yes, I guess I've waited a lifetime to read his biography...but these last few months are gonna be a motherfucker.
If you have the time or the inclination, The History Of My Life by Georges Sand is another great autobiographical statement which tracks the evolution of a great mind in the naiscent modern world.
It's only 1000 pages, but then she leaves off in her early 40's....
It's only 1000 pages
Ugh! Summertime is NOT reading time for me so I'll keep that for the ugly, dark winter months.
Post a Comment