The Mission of MarkTwainBlog and the History Blog Project
"Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it"
Through the words of some of history's wisest characters we find insight into our own world. Connecting to the past helps us see how, in so many ways, the human condition remains the same. It is the foundation upon which we can face the modern world and move forward.
If Mark Twain were alive today, he would have so much to blog about. Fortunately for us, he already has.
Tom Schueneman is a writer and web publisher based in San Francisco, California. Tom publishes currently publishes two other blogs in the History Blog Project, ThomasPaineBlog.org and AlbertEinsteinBlog.org.
Through the words and wisdom of the past, we can better understand today's world, and consider how the human experience evolves, but at the same time remains the same.
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Jennifer Kovach at 800-853-7545
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What Is Man?
And Other Irreverent Essays
Mark Twain
Edited by S. T. Joshi
Mark Twain is sometimes envisioned as a kind of nineteenth-century American offshoot of Voltaire. Like his French counterpart, he expressed a deeply felt indignation at religious hypocrisy and obscurantism, and peppered his satirical writings, especially in his later years, with stinging wit and iconoclastic fervor.
This unique collection assembles writings in which Twain views the multifarious claims of religion—metaphysical, moral, and political—with a skeptical eye.
As editor S. T. Joshi points out in the introduction, Twain took aim at religion not just out of irreverent glee but because of serious concerns about central religious tenets that weighed on his mind for much of his life. Though he maintained till his death that he believed in God, he expressed deep skepticism regarding such religious beliefs as “special Providence” (God’s interference in the affairs of individual human beings), the concept of hell, the religious basis of morality, and the divine inspiration of the Bible.
The centerpiece of the book is the long philosophical dialogue, What Is Man? (1906), which presents a rigidly deterministic view of human behavior, claiming that every action is the product of “outside influences.” Twain also asserts that altruism does not exist: we help others primarily as a means of making ourselves comfortable. Other writings in the book condemn religious exclusivity, the hypocritical Christian thirst for money, and the disgraceful treatment of animals by a supposedly moral human race.
Containing many writings by Twain not generally available except in expensive academic publications, this excellent and affordable paperback edition has been annotated to elucidate historical, literary, religious, and other references. Also included is a lengthy introduction providing a historical overview of Twain’s shifting attitudes toward religion.
S. T. Joshi (Moravia, NY) is a freelance writer, scholar, and editor whose previous books include Documents of American Prejudice; In Her Place: A Documentary History of Prejudice against Women; God’s Defenders: What They Believe and Why They Are Wrong; Atheism: A Reader;
H. L. Mencken on Religion; and The Agnostic Reader.
230 pages • ISBN 978-1-59102-685-3 • Paperback: $16.95 (6” x 9”) Publication: August 4, 2009
Hi Tom,
I just wanted to let you know about my new CD that may be of interest to your readers.
Entitled "Halley's Comet: Around the Piano with Mark Twain & John Davis," this new recording was released by Newport Classic on April 21st, 100 years to the day since Twain's death on April 21st, 1910. In addition to Twain's death , this CD also honors the 175th anniversary of the author's birth and the 125th anniversary of the publication of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, all being celebrated in 2010. Featured on the CD are my performances of pieces with connections to Twain by Louis Moreau Gottschalk, Blind Tom, Blind Boone, Felix Kraemer, Ossip Gabrilowitsch, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Franz Schubert, each preceded by an often hilarious, sometimes appalling, but always fascinating music-related quote from or about Twain read by me.
If this is something you may want to feature on your blog, please let me know. I'd be happy to send you a copy. In the meantime, you can read more about me and the CD at http://www.johndavispianist.com.
Sincerely,
John Davis