I'm not a huge fan of short stories so a little book of blurbs is really not my thing. Of course, the witticisms are funny and clever, but I would still prefer to read the writings they came from rather then a random listing of them. But it was a prompt for this specific type of book so I thought Twain would be as entertaining as I could find for a bathroom reader. ( )

I was surprised by Mark Twain's views on women. I have become accustomed to nineteenth-century authors verging on the misogynistic, but Twain, at least from this collection of quotes, would appear to be the exception to the rule. For instance (p. 6):

No civilization can be perfect until exact equality between man and woman is included.

This is a bit rich, of course, because Twain relied heavily on his wife, Olivia Langdon Clemens, although he seems to have worked hard to keep the family financially afloat. Twain writes (p. 6):

There is only one good sex. The female one.

Yet Twain was critical of humans (p. 5):

Such is the human race. Often it does seem such a pity that Noah didn't miss the boat.

There are many other quotes on religion, nationalism, the liberal ideal (as it relates to monarchy versus a republic), and socialisation. For example (p. 54):

We have no thoughts of our own, no opinions of our own: they are transmitted to us, trained into us.

Yet his pithy sayings are usually humorous (p. 54):

Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she had laid an asteroid.

I did not know that Twain had to declare bankruptcy in 1894. I had assumed that he was successful and that was that. But his ironic wit may well have been a result of his financial trials and tribulations: he went on an international lecture tour to make ends meet (p. 46):

To be busy is man's only happiness.

It makes me wonder how he maintained his sense of humour when things went awry. Maybe that his wife owned the rights to his work helped, hence his admiration for her. He was also experienced in the attitudes of the world (p. 50):

The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.

I have now read a few of these Dover Thrift Editions of The Wit and Wisdom of..., and although they are quite short, and are not truly "books", there is much to learn from an intense immersion in the highlights of the greats of the past, and Twain is no exception. ( )

I really enjoyed this short book of quotes by Mark Twain! It was a quick and humorous read in front of the fireplace this evening. A couple of my favorites from this collection include:

"Wrinkles should merely indicate where smiles have been."

"Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is the lightening that does the work." ( )

We purchased this book after a visit to the Mark Twain House and museum in Hartford on June 23,2006. I underlined some of my favorite quotes. His writings are marked by their wry humor and sarcasm. [mtk/06@MarkTwainHouse,Hartford,CT]