The Thumbnail Book Reviews
by John Q McDonald --- 11 May 1998
by Mark Twain
Just two years after the American Civil War, Mark Twain set sail on the ship Quaker City for a grand tour of Europe and the Holy Land. The trip was organized by a religious group, but I doubt they knew what they were getting into by inviting Twain along. It is an extraordinary voyage, including the International Exhibition in Paris, Venice, Rome, Pompeii, Athens, breakfast with the Czar of Russia, Istanbul, and a remarkably thorough journey through Syria and Palestine. Twain, himself, is an incorrigible wise-guy. His commentary on the various sites and cities borders on the subversive. Certainly so for his time. The book is full of wry criticism of the peoples he visits, but also of the people he is travelling with. Twain was deeply irritated by the beggars he encountered in many exotic places, but also by the propensity of his fellow "pilgrims" to chip away souvenirs from venerable monuments. Twain, though, is also a product of his time, demonstrating a cultural bias and superiority everywhere he goes. He compares many places with the American landscape and culture, mostly to the favor of America. But he also describes various peoples as "savages". Much of this bias is sarcastic and tinged with awe, but there is a tone of superiority in it anyway. Nevertheless, travel writing as a genre owes a great debt to this classic book. Considering Twain's adventures in the context of his time is a remarkable reading experience.
Also by Twain: [Mark Twain in Hawai'i]