The Innocents Abroad

Mark Twain's travel across the Atlantic to the Mediterranean and mid-east. Absolutely fascinating! Truly a time capsule. Hilarious tour of the Acropolis in the middle of the night after sneaking into Greece. Twain's anti-racism and empathy for the oppressed is clear.

Book in good shape. Service fine. Text is so small as to be almost unreadable. May be a print on demand or reprint of an older text, but the print is not extremely small. Also not the covered shown here.

I was interested in Mark Twains view of Europe and the Near East. His comments about fellow passengers werefunny and very descriptive. Several areas where he was touched by the history were very beautifully explained - no humor involved. jHe also exhibited 19th century prejudices against race and religion. He was a traveler of his times. His descriptions od the several methods of travel were really funny. I would recommend this to anyone who has an interest in earlier American writing.

In a few words - the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Twain's book was written in 1857, and little has changed (in my opinion) in the nature of the people and the culture of the places he visited.
Highly entertaining - wondering if there is a hard copy with sketches of some of the scenes.

Treat this book like a special dessert! Make it last! This book is full of surprises. If you know anything about Mark Twain, you will appreciate his dry wit. This classic is completely politically INCORRECT and entirely DELICIOUS! I would advise the reader to keep a notepad and pen handy because you will witness the old world through the author's eyes and learn points of history that are no longer taught. There will be things revealed which will cause you to do further research. There will be times when you will have to put the book down to LAUGH OUT LOUD! And that's even when he is not trying to be particularly humorous.
I have a very old printing of this work in two volumes which I am preserving. I wanted a later printing because I will be in and out of this book, like visiting an old friend time and again.

There are moments that I enjoyed Twain's humor and insightful descriptions of his experiences and his shipmates, however, I had a difficulty reading his racist comments about people of color who he continuously referred to as savages. Twain and his companions behave as a children on many excursions, poking fun of their guides, venturing off the ship during curfew, and running about stealing and breaking things with no respect for the property of others. The behavior of some of his shipmates is even worse: breaking off pieces of antiquity as souvenirs, firing guns as if they are vigilantes and pushing their pack animals to death. I have to admit, Twain's journal is long and when you finally reach the end, you feel as if you too have been on board this excursion and are thrilled to finally be home. I learned a lot about what it was like to travel in 1867 and what those countries were like at that time. All in all, I enjoyed the book, however, Mark Twain and I would probably not make good traveling companions.

So perfect in it's sarcasm (sp), and also delightful reading in being non-PC. I enjoyed the travel aspects. I only wish I had made a map--or had a map drawn --before I read the book. I did keep a bible beside me while reading of the Syrian, Lebanon, and Palestine portions of the traveling.
I, on occasion, had a hard time remembering that this trip was made in 1867. So close after the U.S. Civil war, and what the political situations were in France, Russia, Turkey, and Egypt.

I really like reading Mark Twain's books! He writes with humor and history about his travels. He writes as if he is talking to you, the reader, and he shares his thoughts with you no matter how "off the wall" they may be. He's non-conventional and I like that!

A hugely entertaining look at Europe and the middle east through the eyes of an American on his first trip out of the country. Twain's observations are largely true even today and very humorous. It is no wonder that his writings are still in print today.

A hugely entertaining look at Europe and the middle east through the eyes of an American on his first trip out of the country. Twain's observations are largely true even today and very humorous. It is no wonder that his writings are still in print today.

It was very interesting to read about Samuel Clemen's (Mark Twain)journey to Europe and the Middle East in the mid 1800's. His joys, difficulties and excitement upon seeing different cultures and his reactions to them were fascinating. Well worth the read! A wonderful book!

Great book - could not have been better. The meeting between Mark Twain and the different countries, and cultures is hilarious. When reality meets childhood dreams and religious education, only Mark Twain can describe it in such an entertaining way .The English of his time is also rich with
vocabulary we are not used to reading , making the text all that more interesting.

Mark Twain is the original true American voice and his travelogues are simply grand. "The Innocents Abroad" takes the reader on the 19th century Grand Tour in hilarious and strangely contemporary style.

Many of the places visited by Twain are familiar to many of us. I was not looking for a travelogue but impressions of what was seen and the impressions that were formed. I like the way he presents his observation in a way that seems like he is talking to you and in an understandable way.

I  completely enjoyed  enjoyed this book!  It is Twain at his best and  sarcasticly funny! One  gets to see the world  as Clemmons saw it long ago. If you like to read Mark Twain you will love this book.

          Olin B

As with pretty much all of Twain's work, Innocents Abroad is still an amazingly relevant and thought provoking read. To make it extra interesting, try reading the section about his travels in The Holy Land while reading the Bible. Puts the tales in the Bible into context for a modern reader's conceptions of scale and grandeur compared to the perspective of the original writers when traveling by foot was the primary mode of transportation.

I like the vivid descriptions of his travels to Europe and the Middle East. He must have kept and extensive diary. I often felt that I was right there with him and his fellow travelers on that steam ship in the ocean and on horseback through the desert.

I originally read this in high school, because my Mom had a copy, and I have always been a fan of Mark Twain. Part of what is so funny to me, is that a few years ago, while out of the country, I caught myself being "almost" as ignorant as Mr Clemens' fellow travelers... saying thoughtless things and asking questions that once back at the hotel, I realized were totally moronic!

So, I absolutely recommend this book if you'll be traveling outside the US, and, of course, if you want some really good laughs and eyerolls (the kind that make you pause and stare at the ceiling, before chuckling and returning your eyes to the text!) provided by the nation's all-time wittiest author and essayist! And I was THRILLED to see this in the public domain and therefore FREE on Kindle, so I totally had to have it! I'm already half-way through it. I've also told all my friends to download it, as well.

Very worth your time! ?

Twain's humorous look at the world around him makes for entertaining reading. And occassionally, you actually find situations which evoke a belly laugn or two. However, this particular work seemed a bit drawn out at times.

After a plethora of reviews, it is difficult to find a new perspective on this old book. You will see from the other reviews that this travel journal is, at times, informative, clever, humorous, irreverent, bigoted, anti-Catholic and high-handed. And, it is LONG.
My suggestion is to keep your book or Kindle in one hand and your tablet in the other. I referenced all the places mentioned in the book. There often were images from the exact time of Twain's travels. It was also fun to compare these old cities to their modern day equivalent.
In homage to the acerbic style of Twain, I was left with the burning question...how did French women go from ugly to gorgeous in the span of 100 years? Ditto,Italian females.

I read this while traveling thru Turkey last May. Mostly read about the places I had been in the past as well as Turkey. Some of the comments about Turkey still apply today even though this was written long ago. Mark Twain is always entertaining.