The Curious Republic of Gondour and Other Whimsical Sketches »

Riverboat pilot, journalist, failed businessman (several times over): Samuel Clemens -- the man behind the figure of Mark Twain -- led many lives. But it was in his novels and short stories that he created a voice and an outlook on life that will be forever identified with the American character.

Short collection of humorous stories and essays, including: THE CURIOUS REPUBLIC OF GONDOUR, A MEMORY, INTRODUCTORY TO "MEMORANDA". ABOUT SMELT, A COUPLE OF SAD EXPERIENCES, DAN MURPHY, THE "TOURNAMENT" IN A.D. 1870, CURIOUS RELIC FOR SALE, A REMINISCENCE OF THE BACK SETTLEMENTS, A ROYAL COMPLIMENT,
THE APPROACHING EPIDEMIC, THE TONE-IMPARTING COMMITTEE, OUR PRECIOUS LUNATIC, THE EUROPEAN WAR, THE WILD MAN INTERVIEWED, and LAST WORDS OF GREAT MEN.