Rating: 
Summary: One of the classic travelogues of all-time
Review: A complete burlesque of the traditional travelogue, especially the ones prevalent at the time of its release, The Innocents Abroad is a true classic of the genre. Mark Twain, even at this early stage in his career, had a keen eye for truth, and was unflinchingly honest and forward with his opinions and observations. Written before the anally-politically correct current era, Twain was free here to set forth what he truly thought about the given situations - even if it burned some ears. His irrevent descriptions of some of the most famous (not to mention holy) landmarks in Europe and the Middle East are by turns caustically biting and cynically hilarous; on the other hand, and far less ackwnoledged, are his enthusiastic waxings over the true beauty of certain artifacts and scenes. Twain here, unlike so many other travel writers both past and present, truly gave his own honest impressions of the things he saw - even if he disdained some of the most revered things on earth. Twain, characteristically, was also humble in his way, freely admitting his ignorance of such subjects as art - while, at the same time, showing off his immense knowledge of history, The Bible, languages, and many other subjects. Twain was a true American original, and he is sorely missed. One might call the book a bit overlong: some passages go on longer than they should, and some of the attempted humor falls flat. Furthermore, some of the drier sections are less interesting and more tiresome to wade through; still, Twain's ever-present sense of humor and continually sharp wit are always there, and serve to make this book perpetually more interesting than the stadard dry, boring travelogue. A must-read for fans of travel writing, and of course for fans of Twain.
Rating: 
Summary: Funny but Parochial
Review: I am generally a fan of Mark Twain but was disappointed in this book for a few reasons. He traveled on this famour voyage to Europe and the Middle East when he was still a young man, and the humor is sometimes on the juvenile side. He is often making fun of people's eating habits and clothing, and his comfort or lack of comfort at many points along the road form the subject of much of his material. He makes a lot of comments about the nature of the beast that he is riding at the time be it horse, camel or donkey; but while he anthropomorisizes the animals, he seems to not have been able to communicate with the humans he meets. Few conversations with native people or guides are evident and he does not seem to have been able to understand the cultures he visits in any depth. The strength of this book is his impressionistic visual descriptions of places before they were transformed by technology after the late 19th century.
Rating:
Summary: Twain Abroad
Review: In 1867, Mark Twain joins the ship "Quaker City" on its cruise from New York to the Mediterranean and Black Seas. It's not simply a sea-going matter however, as the passengers are able to disembark and explore by land, rejoining the ship at ports later in her itinerary. Twain (and others) take advantage of such opportunities, and the reader is treated to Twain's impressions of countries ranging from France to Russia and the Holy Land to Egypt.I thought that "Innocents Abroad" was an interesting period piece of travel writing - all the more intriguing I suppose if you have visited the places Twain describes. But if, like me, you haven't been to most of those places, Twain's descriptions are still worth reading and are entertaining. I think that the reader needs to be aware that this is very much writing "of its time". Twain spares little in his descriptions of those people he did not like, frequently referring to Arabs as "savages", and how's this for making friends and influencing people: "The community is eminently Portuguese - that is to say, it is slow, poor, shiftless, sleepy, and lazy." I wondered how large the Lisbon branch of the Mark Twain Appreciation Society is after reading that. I found Twain's humour very hit-and-miss. At his best, he uses a sardonic, sarcastic but nonetheless controlled method of describing places, people and customs: for example, the proliferation of "genuine" religious relics, the descriptions of the dismal and depressing Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem (it's even worse now), and the sheer boredom of tramping through endless art galleries. On the other hand, he has a tendency to be long-winded - for example, the digression about oyster shells in Smyrna was far overdone. Nonetheless, there's plenty in this book to enjoy. G Rodgers
Rating: 
Summary: Humorous, entertaining 19th century travel.........
Review: In Innocents Abroad, Twain joins a passenger excursion to Europe and the mideast. Along the way, he and his fellow excursionists visit the Azores, Gibraltar, Paris, Venice, Istanbul, Damascus, Cairo and a host of places in between. Twain's acerbic wit is on full display as he offers up what are occasionally laugh-out-loud critiques of the places and people he encounters. Even his fellow passengers receive a ribbing, for which they often deserve, as they "chip" their way through the mideast removing souvenir pieces of religiously historic architecture. Innocents Abroad is not for the easily offended. This is a pre-PC view of the world which, properly judged for it's age, is highly entertaining. The second book of this volume is Roughing It. Here, Twain takes us on a sojourn to the American west in the company of his older brother. Roughing It is possibly the best contemporaneous account of life in America's 19th century western expanse and beyond. From stagecoach travel to silver mining, exploration and discovery to regional ecomonics, lifestyle, and lawlessness, Twain provides the reader a humorous look at the many facets of Manifest Destiny. As always, Library of America is a splendid publisher with an quality product priced attractively. I recommend this volume wholeheartedly. NOTE: This review is for the Library of America volume containing both Innocents Abroad and Roughing It by Mark Twain.
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Summary: Classic Mark Twain - Characters we still recognize today
Review: This book describes a group tour of "Europe and the Holy Land" Samuel Clemens experienced and reported about 100 years ago. He describes, in a way that only Mark Twain can, the people he meets and the places they go from the point of view from the American West. One memorable example of his American perspective is a comparison of Italian mountains, lakes and rivers with his beloved Rockies, Tahoe, and Mississippi. He also paints humorous portraits of the tour guides and his fellow travelers. The first time I read this book I was on an organized bus tour in Europe and quickly realized how many of Twain's human observations on how tourists are treated still apply, which makes the humor very accessible.
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Summary: Douglas Adams? No, Mark Twain!
Review: This book is amazing! Join the Quaker City Cruise voyagers and their meandering through Europe and the Holy Land. Mark Twain shows the haughty characteristics of American travellers that still thrive today.
Enticing imagery takes you to the turbulent Europe of 1867. Mark Twain satirizes everything under the sun from travel guides and long dead lovers to Michelangelo and the Old Masters to the Rennaissance and Venice to Israel and the Catholic Church. His bitter sarcasm and witticisms left me laughing out loud. Next to Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, this is the funniest book I have ever read. I can't think of any downsides to this amazing work by the greatest humorist that ever blessed the English language. Exceptional!
READ IT!
Rating:
Summary: down on everybody
Review: This book is funny. Sometimes, this is funny/cruel, as in his attempt to pay the Egyptian kid to climb pyramids until it kills him. Pretty much every nationality in Europe is attacked. Maybe this jumps out at you when he gets to the Holy Land, but it's there all along. I found Twain's discussion of Lake Como to be the most troubling. Here, in comparing it to Lake Tahoe, he gets diverted into what can only be called a racist tirade against the Washoe Indians of Nevada. Melville (in The Confidence Man) has a long chapter on Indian-hating, but he writes as an observer, not a practitioner. Twain is more partisan. There is an anti-Catholic tinge as well; but then, anti-Catholic political parties (such as the 'Know Nothings') were also a feature of pre-civil war America. I do believe that this is one of the finest books on tourism one can read. Twain is a keen observer of Old World culture, which he opposes to our American adaptation. Admiration can lead to whitewashing if some of Twain's social pathologies are left unexamined. The book is as anti-Indian as anti-Arab, as anti-Mormon as anti-Catholic. It remains a very funny book; but I wouldn't give it to a teenager to read without a precautionary warning.
Rating:
Summary: As good as travel writing can get
Review: This book, along with Twain's 'Roughing It,' is often considered to be some of the best travel narrative ever put to paper. Certainly it deserves its acclaim. Twain, the irreverent All-American writer, took a trip halfway around the world in a steamer and visited many of the great sites of Europe and the Middle East. This is his account of his experiences, and the experiences of the group of 'Pilgrims' which accompanied him on this 'pleasure excursion.'
One of the best things about Twain is his refusal to romanticize, even in the cases of the greatest places in the world. He does not hesitate to verbally abuse Paris, Florence, Damascus, even Jerusalem. He tells it how it is, refusing to admire the work of the great painters (Raphael, Michael Angelo, and co.) and asserting that everyone who ever wrote of the beauty of the Sea of Galilee was a downright liar. He has some good things to say, too (he seems to have approved of Athens), but mostly he spends his time dispelling the romantic images of the great places of the world. The result is hilarious, and certainly makes one realize that, despite the perfect images that Paris, Pisa, and Rome sometimes have in our minds, they are a far cry from paradise.
Twain's wit, as always, is very sharp, and this book is an excellent example of it. His antics (and descriptions of them) are very funny, and his way of putting things a joy to read. Along the way, he pokes fun of the American "Pilgrims," who deface the sacred relics they visit and call every guide they have 'Ferguson.' This is certainly a classic in American Literature. Anyone interested in travel writing will profit greatly from this book, as will anyone who enjoys Twain's humor or just a good laugh.
Rating:
Summary: As good as travel writing can get
Review: This book, along with Twain's `Roughing It,' is often considered to be some of the best travel narrative ever put to paper. Certainly it deserves its acclaim. Twain, the irreverent All-American writer, took a trip halfway around the world in a steamer and visited many of the great sites of Europe and the Middle East. This is his account of his experiences, and the experiences of the group of `Pilgrims' which accompanied him on this `pleasure excursion.'
One of the best things about Twain is his refusal to romanticize, even in the cases of the greatest places in the world. He does not hesitate to verbally abuse Paris, Florence, Damascus, even Jerusalem. He tells it how it is, refusing to admire the work of the great painters (Raphael, Michael Angelo, and co.) and asserting that everyone who ever wrote of the beauty of the Sea of Galilee was a downright liar. He has some good things to say, too (he seems to have approved of Athens), but mostly he spends his time dispelling the romantic images of the great places of the world. The result is hilarious, and certainly makes one realize that, despite the perfect images that Paris, Pisa, and Rome sometimes have in our minds, they are a far cry from paradise.
Twain's wit, as always, is very sharp, and this book is an excellent example of it. His antics (and descriptions of them) are very funny, and his way of putting things a joy to read. Along the way, he pokes fun of the American "Pilgrims," who deface the sacred relics they visit and call every guide they have `Ferguson.' This is certainly a classic in American Literature. Anyone interested in travel writing will profit greatly from this book, as will anyone who enjoys Twain's humor or just a good laugh.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent account of the Mediterranean & Holy Land in 1867.
Review: This is a fascinating, extraordinary account, written by Mark Twain in relation to his travels throughout the Mediterranean, the Holy Land & other points of interest around 1867. Many readers will be familiar with Mark Twain from their school-days , perhaps having read the author's stories of 'Tom Sawyer' & 'Huckleberry Finn'. Although factual, this book is itself just as enjoyable a read as the author's other classics. I obtained my rather ancient copy of this book primarily to investigate the author's account of his travels through the Holy Land during the 19th Century, and his observations of the Holy Land, it's terrain, population, culture and character at that time. Noting that the author had also spent some time in Gibraltar at any early stage in his journey, I thought that I might also be able to gather some perception of the accuracy of his accounts, having personally lived in Gibraltar for a period of time & being familiar with Gibraltar's history. I was not to be disappointed and was quite impressed with the writer's description of Gibraltar and his interpretation of it's turbulent history. I was also impressed with the writer's account of so many locations within the Holy Land and the considerable amount of time that he devoted to it in his book. So many of the Judaeo-Christian sites that I am very familiar with are admirably described by the author and are instantly recognisable even after so many years. However, unlike today, where many of these areas are quite heavily populated and where the land has flourished in recent times, the author's account paints an utterly different picture during the 19th Century. A picture which flies heavily in the face of the 'new historians' and the 'revisionists', many of whom allege that the Land even then was quite heavily populated by 'Palestinian Arabs' and was as verdant as the present day. Instead Mark Twain describes the Holy Land as being barely populated and just a collection of small villages in a dry, barren land, an outpost of the Ottoman Empire. [...] I highly recommend this book to everyone. Please note that some copies under the title 'Innocents Abroad' do not include the coverage of the Holy Land trip. Please ensure that you obtain the correct copy. Thank you.
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