From Richard Zacks; bestselling author of Island of Vice and The Pirate Hunter; a rich and lively account of how Mark Twain’s late-life adventures abroad helped him recover from financial disaster and family tragedy—and revived his world-class sense of humorMark Twain; the highest-paid writer in America in 1894; was also one of the nation’s worst investors. “There are two times in a man’s life when he should not speculate;†he wrote. “When he can’t afford it and when he can.†The publishing company Twain owned was failing; his investment in a typesetting device was bleeding red ink. After losing hundreds of thousands of dollars back when a beer cost a nickel; he found himself neck-deep in debt. His heiress wife; Livy; took the setback hard. “I have a perfect horror and heart-sickness over it;†she wrote. “I cannot get away from the feeling that business failure means disgrace.â€But Twain vowed to Livy he would pay back every penny. And so; just when the fifty-nine-year-old; bushy-browed icon imagined that he would be settling into literary lionhood; telling jokes at gilded dinners; he forced himself to mount the “platform†again; embarking on a round-the-world stand-up comedy tour. No author had ever done that. He cherry-picked his best stories—such as stealing his first watermelon and buying a bucking bronco—and spun them into a ninety-minute performance.Twain trekked across the American West and onward by ship to the faraway lands of Australia; New Zealand; Tasmania; India; Ceylon; and South Africa. He rode an elephant twice and visited the Taj Mahal. He saw Zulus dancing and helped sort diamonds at the Kimberley mines. (He failed to slip away with a sparkly souvenir.) He played shuffleboard on cruise ships and battled captains for the right to smoke in peace. He complained that his wife and daughter made him shave and change his shirt every day.The great American writer fought off numerous illnesses and travel nuisances to circle the globe and earn a huge payday and a tidal wave of applause. Word of his success; however; traveled slowly enough that one American newspaper reported that he had died penniless in London. That’s when he famously quipped: “The report of my death was an exaggeration.â€Throughout his quest; Twain was aided by cutthroat Standard Oil tycoon H.H. Rogers; with whom he had struck a deep friendship; and he was hindered by his own lawyer (and future secretary of state) Bainbridge Colby; whom he deemed “head idiot of this century.â€In Chasing the Last Laugh; author Richard Zacks; drawing extensively on unpublished material in notebooks and letters from Berkeley’s ongoing Mark Twain Project; chronicles a poignant chapter in the author’s life—one that began in foolishness and bad choices but culminated in humor; hard-won wisdom; and ultimate triumph.
#161521 in Books Thomas Cahill 2004-07-27 2004-07-27Ingredients: Example IngredientsOriginal language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.00 x .70 x 5.20l; .81 #File Name: 0385495544352 pagesSailing the Wine Dark Sea Why the Greeks Matter
Review
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. The Greeks: one of Cahill's "hinges of history" seriesBy M.E.AndersonThis is one of the volumes in Cahill's "hinges of history" series; about periods in Western history upon which our culture hinges. I read it along with the Iliad and the Odyssey; the plays of Euripedes; and a survey course about the Hittites and Myceneans. I think professional writers and teachers of Greek history might consider it a bit quick or facile; but as an accompaniment to the kind of non-professional immersion I have been doing; it is most useful. He brings in the relationship of the Myceneans and later Greeks to the influences surrounding the area; which were many and powerful. The Greeks and Athenian democracy did not occur in a vacuum.In the last chapter he makes some observations about our intellectual inheritance in modern forms which are certainly provocative and worth considering. I highly recommend this book and the rest in the series.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Not worth readingBy MissieI really don't care that this was a National Best seller. I found the level of writing in the book really oriented to a 5th grader. Additionally; the book felt very formulaic. I did not enjoy the casual language in a book that was supposed to be instructive on the significance of the Greek culture. I found the author's approach definitely aimed toward tween and teenaged boys--lots of references to orgies and (my personal favorite) the use of the word "schlong." There have to be better written and more entertaining books on why Greek culture matters. Not worth the time to read or the money spent to purchase.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A must read for every educated personBy Donald R. EmeryAwesome and very readable for the initiated and scholar as well as the average joe or Judy. Now I'll read his other books in this series.
