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charlieteuthis's review against another edition
4.0
I wish I'd had some weed gummies while listening to this
sunn_bleach's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.5
Another Twain book down; he's accidentally become one of my more well-read authors over the years. I got this book while on my own little trip (five months) through the Sierra Nevada, and boy does it evoke the dust and dirt of that lifestyle. Twain is the most ironic writer I know, and sometimes it's hard to tell when he's being a goober and when he's serious. The tall tales and sardonicism toward mining culture and its microscopic attention span are all apparent, as is his genuine love toward the Hawaiian islands and love-hate relationship with Tahoe and Mono Lake.
But where he confuses me is his outright hatred of the Goshutes and occasional classism. It's hard to puzzle out, and I won't bother defending it, but it's also surprising when one remembers Huck Finn's famous moral choice "alright, I'll go to hell". It's still a fun romp through the west and all its paradoxical, oxymoronic idiosyncrasies - just with moments that strikingly remind me when and how it was written.
But where he confuses me is his outright hatred of the Goshutes and occasional classism. It's hard to puzzle out, and I won't bother defending it, but it's also surprising when one remembers Huck Finn's famous moral choice "alright, I'll go to hell". It's still a fun romp through the west and all its paradoxical, oxymoronic idiosyncrasies - just with moments that strikingly remind me when and how it was written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Racism and Racial slurs
mpclemens's review against another edition
3.0
Very obviously an early work, and a patchwork of Twain's experiences as he opted to mostly miss the Civil War by traveling into the then-territorial west of North America. This is very much a patchwork, and a long one at that: personal recollections are interwoven with tall tales, and occasionally peppered with some political incorrectness that's uncomfortable to read in these supposedly more enlightened days. The Mormon church and native Hawaiians bear the brunt of this, and Twain was not yet a refined enough writer (or person?) to let it move into parody: it just feels mean.
Still, Twain's embellishing touch is evident, and you can see the celebrated writer through the awkward passages. His travels by stagecoach are particularly enjoyable, and since I live in the area, I was personally pleased to read his impressions and recollections life in of Lake Tahoe and a young San Francisco, including experiencing a destructive earthquake. Like his silver-mining adventures, there are many worthy, entertaining parts to this book, but you must chip through some lesser material to get to it. The edition I read from Project Gutenberg appears to be a full one, including a number of appendices.
Still, Twain's embellishing touch is evident, and you can see the celebrated writer through the awkward passages. His travels by stagecoach are particularly enjoyable, and since I live in the area, I was personally pleased to read his impressions and recollections life in of Lake Tahoe and a young San Francisco, including experiencing a destructive earthquake. Like his silver-mining adventures, there are many worthy, entertaining parts to this book, but you must chip through some lesser material to get to it. The edition I read from Project Gutenberg appears to be a full one, including a number of appendices.
garleighc's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.5
As with many 1800s travelogues, you're going to see some racism. Doesn't excuse it even though his attitudes toward toward Indigenous, Black, and Asian people were more prevalent at the time. If you're okay reading around those, there's some great descriptions of the west coast and Hawaii, as well as around mining towns in Nevada and California. Really enjoyed the parts about Utah and Lake Mono.
gjmaupin's review against another edition
4.0
It's another Twain travelogue. Can't be surprising that I love these - the glorious combination of another era's non-fiction + complete bullshit. It isn't "Life on the Mississippi," but I'd have added another half-star if I could.