Roughing It (Signet Classics)

Semi-autobiographical account of Twain as greenhorn tenderfoot dude among Indians, miners, cowboys, and the natives of the Sandwich Islands. His telling of a coming flood as if it ranked second only to Noah's sticks with me 43 years after reading it. Just ordered the Kindle version to revisit Twain's fantasyland of life viewed through nonstop ironic humor.

Just re-read Roughing It. First time was 30+ years ago. Incredibly clever, descriptive language with period descriptions of travel, the early West, pioneers, miners and Indians ... all related with exaggerated hilarity. Two of my favorite chapters deal with 1) the satirical description of the trials and tribulations Brigham Young faced as a polygamist husband; and 2) the accidental forest fire set by Twain and his companion that burns most of the countryside surrounding a large portion of Lake Tahoe. Read the book! Once you do, Roughing It will remain a memorable addition to your library.

The print on this "Large print edition" is way WAY TOO BIG.. Hard to read.
and this is not the complete book.. only half of the original book..
Sorry I did not understand the details - wish I had read the description more carefully..

If you enjoy eloquence and wit while you are learning, the one author who immediately comes to mind is Mark Twain. Since he and his family lived in Hartford, CT for a time, and I have a particular interest in authors from Connecticut, I had to reread Roughing It since I read it last while in high school. A most enjoyable read.

This version is terrible.

Essentially, someone printed out the book on "letter" size paper and then bound it. So the book is huge. and not high quality.

It you want it that size you might as well just download from gutenberg ([...]) and print it out.

I read this book because it was recommended to me while on a recent vacation along the California coast. Mark Twain's command of the English language is amazing, of course. And his special brand of humor glows at just the right times. I did think the book was several chapters too long and the final few chapters didn't seem to fit the overall story very well.

Typical tongue in cheek Twain with several multi-page excursions into too-much-detail side stories that can easily be skipped without detracting from the overall enjoyment of the book. The descriptions of life in Nevada during the precious metal mining era, and of Hawaii at that time in history are fascinating. Not his best work, but worth reading nonetheless.

This was the personal journal of Mark Twain for his trek across the Wild West to the West and to the Sandwich Islands...a seven year journey. The reason for only three stars is that it is written in the language of the 1860's at times difficult to follow. The stories about the characters of that day were fantastic, humorous, and individualistic.

At times humorous, but it's a rambling collection of Twain's thoughts. Sometimes a fairly straight forward account of his travels in Nevada and California, but then something totally off the wall: maybe be 2 chapters of him poking fun of contemporary novels (the soaps of his day) or an essay on Chinese immigrants! All in all, very uneven, but at a decent price.

I thoroughly enjoyed Twain's grasp of the day-to-day life of men seeking their fortunes through mining silver. He brought the characters and settlements to life for me. I especially enjoyed his travels to the Sandwich Islands as I have somewhat journeyed on the same paths and was pleasantly surprised to see we shared similar views of the experience!

Overall pretty good read, but it had some rough spots. I would say that about half of the book was interesting and fun to read, and the other half rambled along endlessly with flowery language with no reason to turn the page.

Classic Mark Twain humor with fascinating historical undertones including descriptions of Salt Lake City not long after it's founding by the Mormons and Hawaii while the memories of Capt. Cook and Kamehameha the Great were still fresh. A couple of boring sections that I skimmed though but a classic never the less and overall very good.

I enjoyed this long sometimes bogged down read- I like everything he's ever written. This book was interesting and captivating at times except for the Hawaii chapters where he just writes about the natives and their traditions/history. In all the rest of this book he's involved but in Hawaii he's just a mere spectator.

Roughing It is a highly entertaining autobiography of Mark Twain's adventures as a young man. Having absolutely no idea of what he wanted to do with his life, Twain accompanies his older brother on a journey to the silver mines of Nevada. The book is not only hilarious, but is probably contains the best exposition of life in the wild west that can be found

Best treated as a book of short stories poking fun as just about every state on the West Coast, including Hawaii. I found it tough to just power through the whole thing. It was more fun for me to read each corresponding chapter/section based on the state I was in.

I laughed out loud. Twain's reflections on his time in the Western U.S. are funny and insightful - both into himself and into the character of the West before it became really settled. The pages in which Twain spends some time with Brigham Young and shares his thoughts about "The Prophet" is worth the price of the book.

If you are new to MarkTwain, this is an excellent starting point. A great story teller. Much is actually true, but some, like his interview with Brigham Young on the subject of the number of wives a man should have, may be a bit exaggerated, but to good effect. His coverage of the Nevada silver rush is most excellent.

This isa very interesting "autobiography", Twain does a great job telling about his early life as a reporter. The only reason for not giving it a five star is that the Hawaii part is a little long and there is actually no end. I'm sorry he didn't write it a little later.

Some of the stories had me nearly crying I laughed so hard. An easy read, and with this addition, the included documentation for reference and copies of the original notes that were written are fantastic to be able to access. I am happy to have this book in my collection.

One of Twain's Masterpieces . The true story about how when Twain's Brother became Secretary to the new Territorial Governor of Nevada at the start of the Civil War--He escapes the War and goes on a REAL Wild west adventure trying Prospecting and developing his writing skills and reputation.

This is the REAL Wild West, and Twain puts you THERE. A very interesting and engrossing read.

I was fascinated by this book for its insights into life in the 19th-century American west. Although I found some of the mindsets of people of that era to be a bit disturbing, and I realize that some of Twain's observations are given tongue-in-cheek, I don't doubt the accuracy of his journalism and his prose is marvelous. I would have rated the e-book higher, but I found the frequent OCR goofs (misspellings, word omissions) to be distracting.

Very funny book by one of America's greatest authors. Already a classic, but retains it's ability to entertain today's readers. Above it's ability to make people laugh, it also provides the best description of stage travel in the 1800s that I've ever seen. Superb - highly recommended.

This book is a great source for getting the dusty flavor of the old west. I read this back in my Royal Typewriter college days. Perhaps this attempt at rereading reflects my thorough digital indoctrination. The blur of fact and fiction is entertaining but often the same note was held for too many stanzas. Maybe there is an abridged version out there. If so,it might be a better read.

An intriguing look into the early life of Mark Twain as he traveled through parts of the states, particually Nevada during the Silver rush. His brother had been appointed Secretary of Nevada Territory.
The descriptions of the characters he meets and crossing seemingly endless miles in a wagon containing mail can be both hilarious and enlightening. It is all done with typical Mark Twain humour and imagination and therefore entirely entertaining.

Roughing it is not a literary masterpiece. Rather, it is a diary of Mark Twain's experience out west. I give it five stars as it gives a first hand view of those times in those places. It is interesting to read about the west from someone who was there at the time, rather than from "scholar" who adds their own spin. I also recommend Life on the Mississippi, a similar diary.

After reading piles of books about politics, the Bush Administrations, the collapse of the US dollar, the collapse of the US.... I needed to regain my sanity. These books are not allowed in my bedroom. Instead I have Mark Twain's "Roughing It" beside my bed and am starting to recover.

After reading piles of books about politics, the Bush Administrations, the collapse of the US dollar, the collapse of the US.... I needed to regain my sanity. These books are not allowed in my bedroom. Instead I have Mark Twain's "Roughing It" beside my bed and am starting to recover.

Mark Twain...my favorite author and America's as well. A laugh on every page. How does the guy do it? Just read 'Life on the Mississippi' and thought that was the best, but Mark Twain never runs out of good stuff.

"Roughing It" is not just another Mark Twain novel. It is a travelogue of his exploits throughout Utah, Nevada, California, and Hawaii in the 1860s and 70s. It is replete with all the characters you would expect in a Mark Twain novel however these are very real characters. If you don't know much about the history of the Old West you have to try the stylized version. You'll love it.
As an aside, I had just seen the show "The Book of Mormon" recently and of course Mr. Twain gives his "history" of Joseph Smith and his fellow Mormons. They may not be as religious as you think. But in the end the laughs prevail.

Good description of Mark Twain's experiences travelling across the U.S. in a stage coach and then life in Virginia City Nevada during the great Comstock Lode silver rush. Twain's writing is not as polished as his later works but the subject matter is fascinating.

I remember reading this book 60+ years ago and thought it was hilarious. Thought I would re-read it and see what I think now. I have a more mature understanding of some of the satire now. I'd have given it 4 1/2 stars if that were available. I don't usually give 5 star ratings to anything less than outstanding This is not Twain's greatest work, but it is a fun read.

Like some other readers, I really loved the first half of the book. Laugh-out-loud funny, informative - great writing. Half way through, though, it runs out of steam and purpose but every once in a while there is still a nugget of gold that will keep you reading to the end. Enjoy - it's free!

I chose this for the section on Hawaii, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Always cheeky and inappropriate, he delivers laughs and truth, the best is that he never considers himself an expert in anything, but rather just an amused spectator.

In his "Roughing It," Mark Twain created a set of stories that not only makes us appreciate his adventures but shows the reader a marvelous use of his extensive vocabulary and literary skills to give us a timeless benchmark of descriptive skills. Simply excellent!

Perhaps the greatest writer America has ever produced, Samuel Langhorne Clemens (A/K/A Mark Twain) tells of his travels in this classic volume. Read it to get a witty view of the world through the eyes of Mark Twain.

I selected this book because I always enjoy Mark Twain books and because he is talking about his experiences in Nevada. He is traveling the same land about 150 years ago that I am traveling today. I can picture in my mind what he is seeing. But he does not just describe the area, he puts people and situation in the story, too. Most of his stories are funny but all have warmth. The stories helped me get a better picture of Nevada during the time of the Gold Rush, when Nevada was a place seldom visited be people.

This is a wonderful book and a very enjoyable read. Through the West and to Hawaii, traveling with Twain becomes like traveling with a new friend. Wry humor, sly understanding. By book's end, it's a bit sad to have to say goodbye.

I had read strong reviews for this book, and bought it hoping for a good read. Perhaps this is indicative of over 140 years of transition of reading styles and ideas, but I found it a tough go and eventually gave up. The insights were terrific, but the style lengthly, wandering, and while amusing, simply more work and time than I wanted to devote to a modestly interesting read.

Bought because I had read relatively little Twain over the last years and wanted to refresh my understanding of Twain's writings.Good but simple writer , more comfortable with fiction than factual,history.

An enjoyable 19th century travelogue. What it is like to ride in a stage coach over a very long journey, the Silver Boom, Lake Mono ... Hawaii seems like an afterthought but you can't go too badly with Mark Twain.

been a good free read on the store kindle unlimited. i was looking for more narrative non-fiction. Before this I read Pottinger, about the first governor of Hong Kong. I recommend that, too. Twain is fun, easy reading.

Love Mark Twain stories and books! Even the E-book distractions due to lack of good proofreading, repetitions of some parts, and apparently some parts condensed or left out; I really enjoyed this book. It was a very real word picture of the coming of age of a very adventursome young man in the early days of our country and what was and is truly important in life.

Twain at his best! Fascinating account of what the Nevada silver mines and San Francisco were like in the1860s with great anecdotes and stories worked in. Also the account of traveling by stagecoach from St. Joseph to Carson City in 1861 - remarkable.Anyone interested in the history of these areas will find his detailed and sometimes amusing descriptions absorbing.

Twain has an excellent section in here on the early Mormon Settlers, their religion and practices while claiming to have conversed with Brigham Young. This is a rich and colorful history of the wild west as only the master of American Literature and humor can tell it.

A set of excellent stories (humorous yarns would be more accurate). I'm sure these are solidly based upon historical events, however Twain's tongue in cheek delivery makes it impossible to separate these from the embellishments that add increased amusement to the events recounted. I'm sure the appeal of Mark Twain has in almost all respects stood the test of time save for some outdated racial ideas and language - but time will do that to every writer in the end.