Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World

A charmingly disinterested account of world travel from the perspective of an American. The author revels in his own prejudice with a deliciously cynical charm. His observations have kept their edge and are still cutting today. None are spared his blistering eye and both high and low find their ways pilloried for fun alone. There is not a jot of malice in the whole book. The author has taken the weight of human nature and knows the frailties of mankind very well. I calming, easy read.

Hawaii, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia and India are all wonderfully described, as well as the platypus! The parts about "recruiting" (slave-catching) are especially powerful! Twain is clearly anti-slavery, anti-politician, and pro woman's suffrage! And his points about education toward the end seem right on for today as well as when he wrote! I wasn't crazy about the chapters on South Africa, but this is one heck of a book!

“I never could tell a lie that anybody would doubt, nor a truth that anybody would believe.” — Mark Twain, “Following the Equator”

Truth or lies? There's probably some of each in Mark Twain's “Following the Equator” (1897), although I was more concerned with what was interesting and what was not. And most of Twain's account of his trip around the world is not that interesting, at least not to 21st century readers. There's a lot of stuffing — copied material from other sources, dull stories told by fellow travelers and memories from previous journeys not special enough for other books, for example.

Yet it is a long, long book, and Twain strikes gold here and there. Some of the better portions consist of his diary entries, show more such as this one: "Sailed in the Rosetta. This is a poor old ship, and ought to be insured and sunk." That sounds like the Mark Twain we love. I was fascinated by his long list of odd town names in Australia, such as Goondiwindi, Tungkillo and Woolloomooloo.

He goes into much detail in describing Thuggee and suttee practices in India. The former involved a religious cult of murderers and the latter widows who burned themselves with the bodies of their husbands. The British had mostly eliminated these practices by the time Twain visited.

Although Twain made the journey with his wife and daughter, he hardly mentions his family at all in his book, and never by name.

Much in the book will shock today's readers. He brags about killing 16 tigers in India. About South Africa, he writes, "The great bulk of the savages must go," and suggests humane ways of "diminishing the black population." Elsewhere he writes, "The world was made for man — the white man." One wonders why Adventures of Huckleberry is controversial, while Following the Equator isn't. Perhaps it's because few people still read the latter. And for good reason. show less

I can hardly imagine anything better than traveling the globe with Mark Twain. His wit and keen powers of observation were abundantly apparent. Sadly, so was his prejudice; although, one must remember that this was written in an entirely different time, and that, thankfully most people have become more evolved and educated since then. One also has to remember that, as Twain reminds us himself in the book, he was brought up during slavery, to accept slavery and denigration of those of different ethnicity as normal.

One story, that involved him naming an Indian servant Satan had me exasperated at his presumption at making such a joke at someone else's expense and at the same time had me rolling on the floor laughing when Satan brought show more Twain God's calling card. That's just the crux of the story, it was a few pages in length, and the funniest passage I think I've ever read. However, the lack of respect for his servant as a human being and for the religion of others in the story, did, as I say, quite leave me feeling exasperated. show less

In the early 1900s, Mark Twain took a journey around the equator, visiting various countries and lecturing there. This is somewhat of his journal, but is mostly composed of his thoughts after the journey .

It is interesting to read of the countries, and I found the opinions of Twain to be remarkably modern. For any who have called him a racist, I think they should read this book before they decide. His remarks are biting and sharp on the subject. Where he may be misunderstood is his habit of over-exaggerating an opinion to make a the opposite point. I found most of his writings about the islands in the Pacific, Australia and India to be interesting, and in fact learned much about India I had not known before. I found myself frequently show more looking things up thinking he was making up stories, but sure enough, it was true! The part on South Africa dragged for me, I did a lot of skimming there.

This book is not as bitter and dark as some of his other writings. In fact, it seemed as if he was having the time of his life. show less

Not quite as enjoyable as Twain's [b:The Innocents Abroad|2443|The Innocents Abroad|Mark Twain|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320520180s/2443.jpg|6459342]. The latter is more pitched toward travelogue, whereas this is a blend of travel, history, politics, and amusing digressions. This is not to say that it's not a good book, but that it ranges about in a way that readers of Oliver Sacks's [b:Oaxaca Journal|66721|Oaxaca Journal (National Geographic Directions)|Oliver Sacks|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1320458669s/66721.jpg|386230] may recognize.

Readers who complain of Twain's racism seem to me to be missing the point. Give that this is a man whose childhood was before the US Civil War, he is remarkably respectful and appreciative show more of the people he meets. What some readers seem to miss is that he exaggerates for effect; that the effect sought is to render the racist/colonial/imperialist perspectives of the majority people absurd through exaggeration; and that he mocks everyone. I'm not suggesting that some of his comments aren't problematic by today's standards, but they are less so than much of what I read in US newspapers. show less

A great slog of a bathroom book. Casual 19th century racism of a genial sort.
But great travel insights from another time.