Mark Twain Audiobook By Ron Chernow cover art

Mark Twain

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Mark Twain

By: Ron Chernow
Narrated by: Jason Culp
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The #1 New York Times Bestseller!

One of Barack Obama's Summer Reading List Picks

“Comprehensive, enthralling . . . Mark Twain flows like the Mississippi River, its prose propelled by Mark Twain’s own exuberance.” —The Boston Globe

“Chernow writes with such ease and clarity . . . For all its length and detail, [Mark Twain] is deeply absorbing throughout.” — The Washington Post

Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow illuminates the full, fascinating, and complex life of the writer long celebrated as the father of American literature, Mark Twain

Before he was Mark Twain, he was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. Born in 1835, the man who would become America’s first, and most influential, literary celebrity spent his childhood dreaming of piloting steamboats on the Mississippi. But when the Civil War interrupted his career on the river, the young Twain went west to the Nevada Territory and accepted a job at a local newspaper, writing dispatches that attracted attention for their brashness and humor. It wasn’t long before the former steamboat pilot from Missouri was recognized across the country for his literary brilliance, writing under a pen name that he would immortalize.

In this richly nuanced portrait of Mark Twain, acclaimed biographer Ron Chernow brings his considerable powers to bear on a man who shamelessly sought fame and fortune, and crafted his persona with meticulous care. After establishing himself as a journalist, satirist, and lecturer, he eventually settled in Hartford with his wife and three daughters, where he went on to write The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He threw himself into the hurly-burly of American culture, and emerged as the nation’s most notable political pundit. At the same time, his madcap business ventures eventually bankrupted him; to economize, Twain and his family spent nine eventful years in exile in Europe. He suffered the death of his wife and two daughters, and the last stage of his life was marked by heartache, political crusades, and eccentric behavior that sometimes obscured darker forces at play.

Drawing on Twain’s bountiful archives, including thousands of letters and hundreds of unpublished manuscripts, Chernow masterfully captures the man whose career reflected the country’s westward expansion, industrialization, and foreign wars, and who was the most important white author of his generation to grapple so fully with the legacy of slavery. Today, more than one hundred years after his death, Twain’s writing continues to be read, debated, and quoted. In this brilliant work of scholarship, a moving tribute to the writer’s talent and humanity, Chernow reveals the magnificent and often maddening life of one of the most original characters in American history.©2025 Ron Chernow (P)2025 Penguin Audio 19th Century Art & Literature Authors Biographies & Memoirs Historical Modern Funny Heartfelt Witty Marriage Mississippi
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Critic reviews

“Chernow writes with such ease and clarity . . . For all its length and detail, [Mark Twain] is deeply absorbing throughout.”—Michael Dirda, The Washington Post

“A rollicking and comprehensive portrait of Samuel Clemens, otherwise known as Mark Twain, the humorist and orator who turned a frontiersman’s wit into an American legacy.”—Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair

“Chernow’s biography avoids the trap of idolizing Twain and gives an honest assessment of the author’s life, including his flaws and contradictions . . . Chernow’s willingness to give readers the unvarnished truth about Twain makes the biography stand out, as does his ability to simultaneously explore the historical and literary context of Twain’s writing . . . The recurring theme of Chernow’s biography is Twain’s love affair with the written word, and it ably demonstrates the impact that relationship had on a nation.”—Associated Press
Comprehensive Research • Fascinating Biography • Exceptional Voice Acting • Complex Personality • Detailed Portrait

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I love Chernow’s books, including this one, but thought this one got a little longer than it needed to be. Twain had a complicated and, I think, sad life and was a complex man who treated many of those around him poorly. This biography made me like him a little less than I did before reading the book. It’s worth a read for the simple fact that it shows how much a man’s public image can differ from the private life he’s leading.
The reader quoted Twain using a voice that sounded like what I suspected he would, and I did enjoy that.

Pretty long

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This one is a real treat for anyone who loves biographies. There is so much more to mark twain than tom sawyer and huckleberry Finn. He was a genuinely good man, though certainly flawed, and lived an extraordinary and interesting life. Even with a 9th grade education and no formal training, he possessed an almost inherent ability to write and speak as gifted as any literary scholar of the time. Ron Chernow deserves all the accolades available for this book and will hopefully be recognized.

A Masterpiece of Biographical Literature

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Ron Chernow has produced an epic masterpiece of biography. The audio performance is exemplary. What a treasure.

A Towering Figure

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Went into too much detail about his kids issues. Over and over the same diatribe.
Very interesting about his life and how he stood atop the literary world for a long time

How self centered Twain was a terrible businessman

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Excellent work by Mr. Chernow in researching the topic and his descriptive approach to the subject.

Excellent

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The writing, as we might expect, was superb. The amount of detail included might be more than some readers might expect, but Twain’s life was very complex. Those who want a thorough examination of that life, especially his family interactions, won’t be disappointed. Obviously the amount of research that went into this book was immense. Quite an accomplishment.
The narration was truly awesome. Every quote was like an audio recording might have been. Few narrators can even approach this level of performance. Bravo!

An Extraordinary Biography of a Unique American

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I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this one! The narrator is exceptional. The story is often sad but also filled with Twain’s wit and sharp observations. I didn’t know too much about his family life before diving in. So much illness!! But what a fascinating life.

Superb biography

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this bio is well written and suberbly performed. I highly reccomend it to any Twain fan, you will learn things you never knew about the author.

a tragic life

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The depth of research by the author was stunning. Character flaws and personality quirks flowed throughout. Nothing was whitewashed. A huge listening commitment. Loved it!

Mark Twain

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Overall I liked everything about the book. Because of its length some people might feel it went too deep into his personal life with his wife and daughters. For me it gave a well-rounded view of the man's professional & personal life. I really enjoyed it, all 44 hours of it...

Well researched & written biography.

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