Book reviews: Roughing It and Life on the Mississippi, by Mark Twain

The real Wild West (March 1, 2018)

Reading Twain provides a solemn reminder both how rich our language is, and how blandly modern writers employ it. Twain’s constructions have the ability to catch you completely by surprise, as he can transform what starts as a seemingly normal sentence into an utterly unexpected gem. The history, the descriptions, Twain’s observations, and the magic of being transported back in time, make this a book everyone should read. If you get a copy with the original illustrations, so much the better.