Twain in his own words

If you tell the truth you don't have to remember anything. ~Mark Twain

I love Mark Twain. I've had that quote on the sidebar since I opened up this blog, so I'm really looking forward to the release of his new unexpurgated autobiography. Think it's going to be great:

Whether anguishing over American military interventions abroad or delivering jabs at Wall Street tycoons, this Twain is strikingly contemporary. Though the autobiography also contains its share of homespun tales, some of its observations about American life are so acerbic — at one point Twain refers to American soldiers as “uniformed assassins” — that his heirs and editors, as well as the writer himself, feared they would damage his reputation if not withheld.

“From the first, second, third and fourth editions all sound and sane expressions of opinion must be left out,” Twain instructed them in 1906. “There may be a market for that kind of wares a century from now. There is no hurry. Wait and see.”

Of course, I have no budget for book buying these days, but the library will get it eventually and in any event, I'm glad I lived long enough to read it in it's unabridged glory. [graphic]

[More posts daily at the Detroit News.]