The Legend of Mark Twain

I don't recall when I started reading the 1,000 page biography of Mark Twain, but I finally finished it.  It was brilliantly written by Ron Chernow who won the Pulitzer Prize for books on President Ulysses Grant and Alexander Hamilton.  Here are some of things that stood out to me:

1. Although he is best known for writing "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," he was very well known for his speeches and lectures around the world. A number of times in his life he went on long speaking tours and packed auditoriums with ease.

2. His wisdom and sense of humor is remembered frequently and in a lot of places including my new book, "More Time For You," which will be out soon.  His lectures left his audience mesmerized and entertained thoroughly.

3. Today and for quite a long time we have had a lot of celebrities. Mark Twain was a celebrity around the world.  He lived from 1835 to 1910. On his last visit to The United Kingdom he was treated as royalty. The Lord Mayor of Liverpool introduced him with these words, "There was no man in the world to-day...who had brought so much mirth and happiness to the citizens of this Empire and of the United States" as Mark Twain.

4. When I read the book on The Wright Brothers it surprised me that they would meet with kings and leaders of countries all around the world after they flew their plane in North Carolina. Mark Twain did the same, but he also lived in dozens of places in this country and around the world.  

He knew many, many authors, Winston Churchill before he was famous, had lunch with President Theodore Roosevelt and was friends with Helen Keller. He inscribed a photo to Anne Sullivan who taught Helen Keller, "With warm regard & with limitless admiration of the wonders she has performed as a miracle-worker." Anne Sullivan got her nickname, "miracle worker" from Mark Twain.

5. Thomas Edison and Mark Twain went back and forth putting on their business hat and using their creative talents. Twain really struggled as a business man and lost a fortune that he paid off over many years with a lot of hard work.

6. Despite his incredible success, he had to leave the below mansion that he built to save money because it cost too much to live in.  In Hartford, Connecticut, this 11,500 foot square home had 25 rooms and it can still be visited today.

7. Mark Twain's life was unfortunately filled with illness and death. He outlived his wife and three of his four daughters who all died before they were 30. He lived to the age of 74. When he died one headline said, "The world mourns Mark Twain." He has also been referred to as being, "The Lincoln of literature."

8. The book is an incredible tribute to Mark Twain and the maddening and magnificent life of one of the most original people in American history.  Although he was honored and revered across the world, what better person to honor around July 4, 2026, our 250th birthday, than a true American?