The men and women who shaped our world—in their own words.
The Wisdom Library invites you on a journey through the lives and works of the world’s greatest thinkers and leaders. Compiled by scholars, this series presents excerpts from the most important and revealing writings of the most remarkable minds of all time.
THE WISDOM OF MARK TWAIN
“Let me make the superstitions of a nation and I care not who makes its laws or its songs either.”
Mark Twain was a figure larger than life, and he remains to this day the most universally revered American writer of all time. In such classics as Life on the Mississippi, Tom Sawyer, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn he crafted stories of heroism, adventure, tragedy, and comedy that reflected the changing America of the time. He was also one of our greatest wits, a satirist and humanist who used humor and twists of the tongue to reveal his controversial opinions and trademark irreverent spirit. Ernest Hemingway called Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, “the best book we’ve ever had. There was nothing before. There’s been nothing as good since.” And author Russell Banks wrote that Twain “makes possible an American literature which would otherwise not have been possible.” Here in these pages is the inimitable and invaluable insight of Mark Twain gathered from his many books, short stories, essays, sketches, and speeches, as well as from travel writing and autobiographical pieces—a treasure trove of wisdom from one of American literature’s most beloved figures.
“Love your enemy; it will scare the hell out of them.”
