Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven

An enjoyable parody/commentary on several things including how people view Heaven, or celebrity culture with some thought-provoking lines and descriptions. Definitely recommend to people interested in Twain's work because this story illustrates nicely Twain's creativity and story-telling ability.

The old man (and the young one, too, I think) had learned a way to pluck the most preposterous things out of thin air and then throw them, off-handedly, into a crowd of people who are driven to laugh at the enormity of the old fart's flatulence. Had he lived a few years longer he could have written for Laurel & Hardy and gone to his grave a multi-millionaire. Maybe he did go to his rest in a coffin full of cash. I hope so.

Amusing. I prefer Twain's view of heaven to that of any organized religion now extant. Twain just makes so much more sense. His heaven sounds way more kindly, more likely and way more fun. [Free E-Book available at Gutenberg.org and/or Archive.org]

This is the shortened version of the story, finally published by Twain after years of tinkering, and I am rereading it for the umpteenth time. Of course, I prefer the longer version compiled from his notes by his first biographer and found in an out-of-print book called Report from Paradise, published by Harper & Brothers in 1952. Many versions are now available so grab one and read this story, short or long version!! It is my very favorite. LOVE IT!

Delicious satire as only Twain could write it!

Satire...perhaps sci-fi in a sense...funny in Twain's peculiar way. A quick read. Makes me think he has read some Swedenborg.

Not as well-known as some of his other works and I was exhausted when reading it, so I can't recall the ending, but I did enjoy it as I read it in bits and pieces.