Mark Twain - The Early Years | Biographical Documentary

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  • čas přidán 6. 06. 2024
  • One of the best loved writers of all time, Mark Twain, had a tough childhood in rural Missouri and had to leave school at the age of 12 after his father died. He worked as a printer and then a Mississippi steamboat pilot before heading out west to try his luck as a silver miner in Nevada, where he found his true vocation as a writer.
    His colourful descriptions of a new and evolving nation and the rollicking tales of his travels around the globe are full of his irrepressible humour, but late in life his optimism deserted him when he faced financial ruin and lost his wife and two of his daughters. His writing turned darker, and he developed a strange fascination with teenage girls.
    In this biography of one of America’s most beguiling characters, we explore whether Mark Twain, the eternal optimist, became a bitter and twisted old man as some have suggested, or retained the cheery, light-hearted persona that produced the books that have entertained and enchanted millions for over 150 years.
    Part One focusses on the first 32 years of life, with Part Two to be released soon.
    Finding Out More
    I found Ron Powers biography, Mark Twain - a Life to be detailed and comprehensive without being too academic. There are other biographies that provide different viewpoints on his life and Mark Twain’s autobiography, which is very entertaining, if not entirely reliable! I have listed some of the best of these on my Amazon Store Page. www.amazon.com/shop/professor...
    Academic References
    Amare, N., & Manning, A. (2017). The Mormon Entombed in Mark Twain’s Heart: Ina Coolbrith and Samuel Clemens. Mark Twain Journal, 55(1/2), 159-192.
    Csicsila, J. (2018). The England Trip of 1872: Mark Twain's First Season in Hell. The Mark Twain Annual, 16(1), 1-10.
    Gribben, A. (1972). Mark Twain, phrenology and the" temperaments": A study of pseudoscientific influence. American Quarterly, 24(1), 45-68.
    Harris, S. K. (1985). Mark Twain's Bad Women. Studies in American Fiction, 13(2), 157-168.
    Jones, A. E. (1956). Mark Twain and sexuality. PMLA, 71(4-Part-1), 595-616.
    Richers, J. E., & Cicchetti, D. (1993). Mark Twain meets DSM-III-R: Conduct disorder, development, and the concept of harmful dysfunction. Development and Psychopathology, 5(1-2), 5-29.
    Selby, P. O. (1980). Osteopathy and Mark Twain. Mark Twain Journal, 20(3), 24-25.
    Copyright Disclaimer
    The primary purpose of this video is educational. I have tried to use material in the public domain or with Creative Commons Non-attribution licences wherever possible. Where attribution is required, I have listed this below. I believe that any copyright material used falls under the remit of Fair Use, but if any content owners would like to dispute this, I will not hesitate to immediately remove that content. It is not my intention to infringe on content ownership in any way. If you happen to find your art or images in the video, please let me know and I will be glad to credit you.
    Images
    Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
    Wellcome Collection
    Library of Congress
    Mark Twain House and Museum, Hartford, Ct.
    Internet Archive
    Music
    Louis Moreau Gottschalk - Le Bananier Public domain
    Louis Moreau Gottschalk - Tournament Galop - Rampart Winds of the United States Air Force Academy Band Public domain
    Frédéric Chopin - Nocturne op 32 no 1 - Constantin Stephan CC4.0
    Arabian Epic music - World Music official - CC3.0
    Luau, Hawaiian Ukulele Music - Mikecolemusic - CC4.0
    Cowboy Sting Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensecreativecommons.org/licenses/...
    The Cow Boy Rag - Bobby Heath, Charley O'Donnell The Cowboy Rag
    Claude Paul Taffanel - Wind Quintet in G minor -Andante -The Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet CC2.0
    Johann Sebastian Bach - Partita For Solo Flute, a minor (BWV 1013). Scott Goff, flute
    Debussy Rêverie - Arr for Soprano saxophone and piano - David Hernando Vitores
    Riding into the Sun Telecasted CC0
    Bone Dry Telecasted CC0
    Mark Gustavson A Fool’s Journey CC3.0
    Ludwig van Beethoven - Octet The Soni Ventorum Wind Quintet CC2.0
    Growth/Decay Density and Time CC0
    City Walk John Pattucci CC0 CZcams
    Video produced by Graeme Yorston and Tom Yorston.

Komentáře • 184

  • @TuckerSP2011
    @TuckerSP2011 Před 20 dny +50

    Oh what a wonderful subject! One of the best writers that I have ever read. You're doing him great justice Professor!

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 20 dny +6

      Thank you.

    • @djschu8012
      @djschu8012 Před 19 dny +12

      Agree. I consider him the Charles Dickens of the other side of the Atlantic.

    • @CliftonBowers-pc2xu
      @CliftonBowers-pc2xu Před 13 dny +3

      ​@@djschu8012much are simular also are distantly related..Sharon is who would know a granddaughter to Suzie I belive ..😊

    • @mrwaterschoot5617
      @mrwaterschoot5617 Před 11 dny +1

      mark twain has been gone for a while. but he lives on as he is like Elvis recount that hal hholbrook did mark twain paisley as there are.
      impersonators. one mark Twain
      any time i see a white washed Pickett fene i think of the little rasvel 1950 show. with the kids raising mone white fences for money like mark twain wrote in some of his stories.
      as a child in elementary school it was manditory to read a mark twain novel.
      if samuel clemens were alive i believe in his story telling and i wold vote for him as president of america in 2024 . .
      he was old enough to know heter than our presidental fake news clowns . samuel is a good name like sam adams beer.
      billy currington rote a verse.
      god is great
      beer is good and
      people are crazy
      i will add samuel clemens is crazy good
      and young enough to care.
      i
      he and i might be of kindred spirits .
      if we were related i could call him uncle sam
      and we would way american flags.on a forth of july parade
      he was born in the usa and since i am a dutch born naturaled american. i can never be president. and i think that is a job that i would never want. ii heard it thru the grape vine that a president ages over 10 years in a 4 year term in office in office.
      the trumpster celebrated 78 year on rarth but add 10 years he is convict felon and over the is over capital hill. and a lost cause of fake news and out right lies.
      and as for mr biden he is smoking old at 81 he has a bad case of dementia on the brain as he keeps falling down.
      if i were a biden supporter i might .use miy mind as an empathic second grader and cmodify a jack and jill story to
      smoking ols joe biden and dr jill went capital hill to fetch
      presidenti powe.
      joe fell down and broke his crown and dr jill came tumbling after . ans the vie pres harris brought the watter from the washington dc swamp land..
      mark twain also was quoted if you can explain something to a 2nd grader you have a good xunderstandibg of the concept or something like that.
      i guess story telling like a parody yooject on youe tube by don caron. you have to present the truth in a song or humourous way. i liked his series or the trump mess . like biden the want to build a border wall in texas to srop migrant farm woerkers from coming noth from mezico .
      i guess we still have an american mexican hat dance. tho oly thing a border wall makes a mess with our global relation toward the sratue of liberty values. bring us use workers for a land of opportunities and other challenges.
      .

  • @ginnylorenz5265
    @ginnylorenz5265 Před 20 dny +28

    Very interesting and entertaining. I like your calm voice, too. Thank you. I'm eager for part 2!!

  • @elliepascoe5954
    @elliepascoe5954 Před 20 dny +16

    Love this beautiful doc about Mark Twain!I grew up with Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn❤🇳🇱

  • @loriedmundson782
    @loriedmundson782 Před 19 dny +19

    Twain's daughter Suzy wrote a biography titled, "My Papa, Mark Twain." A must read for Twain lovers.
    Enjoyed part 1, and waiting with strained patience for part 2. Love you channel.

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 19 dny +3

      Coming soon!

    • @susankeith326
      @susankeith326 Před 15 dny +1

      He has been my heroes since 2nd grade when my teacher read Huckleberry Finn alous throughout the entire school year. This was 40 miles or so from Hannibal, where I grew up. My dad was a towboat engineer. My now deceased best friend married a descendent of the Clemens family.Thankt so much for the film.

  • @TheLolapuff
    @TheLolapuff Před 21 dnem +53

    “When I get the urge to exercise, I lay down until it passes.” Twain

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 20 dny +9

      So many witticisms!

    • @mrwaterschoot5617
      @mrwaterschoot5617 Před 11 dny +2

      a.nother thought if you do what you love?,
      you never work a day in your life. samuel closets
      . loved sinning yarns and

  • @2Uahoj
    @2Uahoj Před 19 dny +15

    Great video. Favorite Twain quote (on his return from Germany):
    Journalist: "Mr. Twain, do the Germans have a sense of humor?"
    Twain: "Yes they do, but it's no laughing matter." 🙂

  • @Leslie12.66
    @Leslie12.66 Před 20 dny +16

    It is great learning more about this famous writer. He did so much which he folded into his writing. Thank you!

  • @doreekaplan2589
    @doreekaplan2589 Před 19 dny +7

    Beautiful drawings

  • @bretfisher7286
    @bretfisher7286 Před 20 dny +10

    My earliest memories of enjoyment in reading were made reading Mark Twain. Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. I can still vividly recall my fascination with his exquisite prose. He began my love affair with language.

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 19 dny +2

      I struggled a bit with nineteenth century writing when I was younger, but love the elegance of it now.

    • @bretfisher7286
      @bretfisher7286 Před 19 dny +2

      @professorgraemeyorston It's definitely an adjustment. Rather verbose, often. Really a different thing going on.. but on the whole, anyone publishing at that time had a lot more to offer from grammar and usage than half of our authors today. Good God, some of the nonsense that's out there now.. .

    • @bretfisher7286
      @bretfisher7286 Před 19 dny

      @@professorgraemeyorston Looking forward to the second half, Sir!

    • @chriswest8389
      @chriswest8389 Před 15 dny +2

      My most magical movie viewing experience was at a kiddies matinae - Readers digest Huckelberry Fin. I remember being transfixed and transported to a time” so long ago”Harvey Korman as the King of France or was that The Dauphin, should have been nominated for an academy award.

  • @sarasmith99
    @sarasmith99 Před 18 dny +5

    You realize that Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn are on the list of recently banned books?

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 17 dny +4

      I know that there has been a lot of debate about whether they are "racist" or not, but I hadn't realised that they have been officially banned.

  • @luv2sail66
    @luv2sail66 Před 14 dny +3

    Very interesting. Thank you for posting this.

  • @michaelfritts6249
    @michaelfritts6249 Před 19 dny +5

    When I was in Junior High and my Dad realized that grounding me for "whatever" was a pointless and never-ending exercise, he started assigning books instead.. 1-3 depending on the offense with a timeline. I could go to the beach if I wanted but had to determine a balance.. I often went to the beach with a book.
    He would give me a "quiz" on each book afterward, Cliffs notes would not suffice, as he had read the books himself.
    Anyway, he suggested early on that I read Huck Finn every 5 to 10 years..
    "You will get something new out of it every time.."
    Last time I read it was about 6 years ago.. I guess I may be "due".. 🤔

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 19 dny +2

      And have you got something new out of it each time?

    • @michaelfritts6249
      @michaelfritts6249 Před 19 dny

      ​@@professorgraemeyorston Yes! I saw Tom Sawyer in 1973 when I was 8.. it was Spring, and I went to school barefoot, cutoffs and t-shirt.. they called my Mom and by 10am I had shoes, socks, Sears Toughskins and a longsleeve flannel shirt to put over my t-shirt.
      Huck was one of the first books my Dad had me read. I was 12. Summer before 7th grade. He thought Tolkien was “bubblegum”.. he never read Tolkien.
      The first time, as a “dumb kid”, I felt it was now ok to use the “N” word.. it was literature! No.. it was a common colloquialism back then.. so my next book was Catcher in the Rye.
      Years have passed, lessons learned. My Dad read alot of James Michener, James Clavell and Leon Uris. Coincidentally, so did I.
      My Grandpa (Mom's Dad) was an early Wobbly organizer along with my Great Grandpa (passed when I was 5, age 100) in Onalaska, Washington.
      Grandpa wrote his “memoirs” and I helped him learn how to use a word processor when he was in his 90's.
      As the youngest of 4 kids, I assumed these had been given to my uncle or possibly one of my older siblings.. or my Aunt Donna who was more like a sister or cousin. My Grandparents fostered alot of children. Donna was a Makah (Native American). She passed from cancer 14 years ago.
      Anyway, my Mom recently found my Grandpa's “histories” and gave them to me.
      I knew that my GG Grandpa had volunteered in the 80th Indiana Regiment, but one of the stories my Grandpa wrote about was his Grandpa witnessing a slave being beaten for dropping a bucket of fish. Having shortly beforehand arriving with at least 3 brothers (kinda vague on that) from Ireland after their father sent them money for passage, those 4 joined the the Union army.. my GG Grandpa lost an eye at the battle of Perryville.
      Sorry… kinda rambling..
      Each encounter with new “characters” Huck and Jim met along the way can be read as simple entertainment or (Twain would be amused, annoyed or satisfied) tales of moral and ethical dilemma's or just simple truths of human nature.
      I worked as a “page” at a local library when I was 15. I checked out his Autobiography. I chose not to return it but told the Librarian that I had lost it. I asked them if I should just pay for it or have the cost deducted from my paycheck. They did neither.. maybe because I could re-index the cardfiles and organize the microfiche in half the time as the other pages.
      I still have his autobiography.. 👍😏😎😁
      Be Well!!! 😃

  • @nonprofitgirl
    @nonprofitgirl Před 20 dny +5

    This is so well done! Thank you! Love from California 🌺

  • @user-ve3qo6fd1s
    @user-ve3qo6fd1s Před 4 dny +2

    This just popped up on my CZcams feed. Very enjoyable so I subscribed.

  • @LB-id6wf
    @LB-id6wf Před 8 dny +2

    Brilliant! We need to get you to the 100 000! Well done and lovely to see you today!

  • @jilkat25
    @jilkat25 Před 20 dny +6

    Where is Part 2? Please post a link. Excellent presentation! Love the typed quotes! Roughing It is one of my all time favorite books!
    When are you going to tackle Charles Dickens?

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 20 dny +5

      Part 2 is coming soon! - I have done one on Scrooge which covers some of Dickens' life.

  • @tomroberts9794
    @tomroberts9794 Před 9 hodinami

    Thank you for your work on Twain.

  • @eileenbauer4601
    @eileenbauer4601 Před 18 dny +4

    Very much enjoyed this presentation, lots of things about Twain I didn’t know before. From the mid 1980’s- early 1990’s my husband and I (Americans) lived in Switzerland. Just about all of our American ex-pat friends and we read Twain’s “The Innocents Abroad”.. Amazing how applicable and funny this book was even though it was written so long ago! We all used to laugh at some of the parts and how we had similar experiences. Twain was funny in a rather snide way, but at the same time making serious points. Fond memories……….

  • @voyaristika5673
    @voyaristika5673 Před 8 dny +1

    Looking forward to part ll. 👍

  • @robertberger8642
    @robertberger8642 Před 20 dny +3

    Very interesting! I look forward to listening to the rest of your accounting of Mr. Clemens’ life.

  • @tombotelevision2616
    @tombotelevision2616 Před 15 dny +2

    Knew the broad strokes of the Master's life.... enjoyed your insights in this video. Thank you.

  • @user-tn9cf5ns3b
    @user-tn9cf5ns3b Před 12 dny +2

    I loved this narrative.

  • @troydaum4728
    @troydaum4728 Před 18 dny +1

    Love your channel and your superb breakdowns!

  • @user-zo7mr3op8i
    @user-zo7mr3op8i Před 20 dny +5

    Enjoyed that, Prof.
    My favourite MT story was of the printer who abbreviated "Jesus Christ" to "J. Christ".
    When told by the angry clergyman who commissioned the pamphlet that "The Lord's name must never be abbreviated!" the printer obliged and set "Jesus H. Christ."
    Twain found that amusing and so did I.

  • @starbright1256
    @starbright1256 Před 20 dny +2

    ❤ thank you for information on great people. I learned many things i never knew. Im a subscriber to your great content. ❤

  • @TM-yn4iu
    @TM-yn4iu Před 20 dny +3

    Excellent, appreciated - waiting for next....but know the story. Sometimes a narrative about what we already know is entertaining.

  • @MBRMrblueroads
    @MBRMrblueroads Před 20 dny +3

    Looking forward to part two 👍👍

  • @anahitpetrosyan1749
    @anahitpetrosyan1749 Před 20 dny +2

    Thank you very much, I subscribed the channel.

  • @nippynf4l831
    @nippynf4l831 Před 21 dnem +3

    Wonderful subject!

  • @jamesthecat
    @jamesthecat Před 15 dny +1

    That was wonderful, thank you!

  • @pofoto1950
    @pofoto1950 Před 17 dny +1

    Excellent biography & I loved the old photos and especially the Mardi Gras parade video!

  • @D.H.-mg2cz
    @D.H.-mg2cz Před 20 dny +5

    As much as I'm enjoying your excellent content, I'm a bit scared when to expect part two, as I'm still waiting for the "Andy Warhol - the later years" video 🙈

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 20 dny +4

      It should be out in a fortnight - the Andy Warhol Part 2 has been out for ages!

    • @D.H.-mg2cz
      @D.H.-mg2cz Před 20 dny +1

      Gosh, I missed that... sorry, my bad!

  • @timfinneran5047
    @timfinneran5047 Před 18 dny +3

    Interesting - such an interesting character

  • @lilykatmoon4508
    @lilykatmoon4508 Před 8 dny +1

    I cannot wait for part two! I didn’t really know much about him at all prior to this video other than some of the stuff he wrote and his true name. He sounds like a bit of a hot mess, but a like able guy for all that. I bet he’d have a million followers if he were a CZcamsr, lol! Fascinating video!

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 8 dny

      Thank you, yes he would have been great on CZcams! Part Two will hopefully be out tomorrow!

  • @pamelacorbett8774
    @pamelacorbett8774 Před 18 dny +1

    Loved it!

  • @whiskeymonk4085
    @whiskeymonk4085 Před 21 dnem +6

    Any student of Thomas Paine is a friend of mine.

  • @ClaireJohnson-te4jd
    @ClaireJohnson-te4jd Před 15 dny +1

    You have an exceptional channel!

  • @riomartinez79.
    @riomartinez79. Před 15 dny +1

    Thank you, professor ❤this is a good way to learn American history. There is no need to pay for an expensive university. Watching and listening to your channel is PRICELESS ❤

  • @CSchaeken
    @CSchaeken Před 20 dny +1

    Thank you Dr Yorston, I didn’t know a lot about this author, he had a very interesting life and I am looking forward to his later years.👍❤️

  • @nonprofitgirl
    @nonprofitgirl Před 21 dnem +2

    Amazing..

  • @krysti2
    @krysti2 Před 5 dny

    Very well done ✅❤🎉😊

  • @MercyOnASinnerLikeMe
    @MercyOnASinnerLikeMe Před 11 dny

    Brian: "Did I miss anything while I was gone?"
    Chris: "Captain Crunch was here! Didn't you pass him on the stairs!?"

  • @jaclynrodrigues7289
    @jaclynrodrigues7289 Před 10 dny +1

    Mark Twain wrote letters to earth, I think, if I am wrong please advise I've wanted to read this book again for a while
    Thank you professor and you tube community ❤
    Thank you so much for this wonderful content and information ❤

  • @patmcstuff671
    @patmcstuff671 Před 3 dny +1

    I grew up in Illinois up the river about 7 miles from Hannibal, the river around here is beautiful and worth a visit, if u come please see the Mark Twain Cave

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 2 dny

      I am planning a big US trip with lots of literary sites, so I'll add it to the list!

  • @vijay-1
    @vijay-1 Před 16 dny +1

    Well narrated

  • @granthurlburt4062
    @granthurlburt4062 Před 15 dny +1

    Excellent. You have a marvelous reading voice. Great cadence. I recently listened to Vol. 1 of Twain's autobiography and am listening to recorded versions of the The Innocents Abroad and Life on the Mississisippi. The death of his wife and particularly one daughter really broke him up. Except for the damage it did him, it is almost amusing how he kept investing the money he had in inventions and projects that don't work. He had two great talents (at least) writing and lecturing- and yet turned to trying to invest in businesses for which he had no talent or ability. He was also taken advantage of by people who were publishing his work. Truly a great man. Too many don't understand the extent to which his description of Jim and Huck's attitude in Huckleberry Finn was an unequivocal condemnation of slavery and the notion that blacks were in any way inferior.

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 7 dny

      Thank you, it is sad how people miss his condemnation of slavery and focus on the n word and want to ban him.

  • @sylvio2094
    @sylvio2094 Před 20 dny +2

    Excellent research and presentation as always but where have the smurfs gone?

  • @LLS710
    @LLS710 Před 19 dny +2

    Funny how his experiences traveling through Egypt so closely mirror mine. Being related to Uncle Sam, I have to wonder if part of my take on Misr (Egypt) has a genetic component. Funny, intelligent, down to earth, and being very observant is a common trait amongst a lot of the men in our family line. My brother a year older than me looks eerily like Mr. Samuel, down to that scowl he had when he was a young man. My brother writes part time, has publish & I've been writing since I was 11 years old but my words are for me & not the world (except for maybe these words? LOL).

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 17 dny +1

      Interesting - most personality traits have a genetic component so why not a sense of humour!

  • @ccooper8785
    @ccooper8785 Před 19 dny +1

    "I would not join any club that would have me as a member" hang on, that was by Groucho Marx....
    Very much looking forward to part 2.

  • @analauraaznar1552
    @analauraaznar1552 Před 20 dny +2

    Wait for part two ! :)

  • @giselematthews7949
    @giselematthews7949 Před 20 dny +1

    You got new bookshelves!

  • @marcschirmeister9821
    @marcschirmeister9821 Před 7 dny +1

    It’s worth noting that in Lucius Beebe’s 1954 history of The Territorial Enterprise “Comstock Commotion, there is a brief interview with Joe Farnsworth, who worked as a printer at The Enterprise in the 1890s, and had known a lot of the old timers on the paper. He had asked them about Sam Clemens, and related to Beebe-
    “From them I gathered the impression that Clemens was regarded as the prime s.o.b. of Virginia City when he was here. He was personally unclean; his mind and conversations were foul and he was forever trying to insinuate double meanings into his copy which had to be scrupulously read on the desk before it could go to the printer. He was notoriously a drink cadger and mean as cats meat when it came to setting them up on the bar. One old fellow who knew him well used a phrase I remember: ‘Mark Twain had no ear muffs on when somebody else was buying. He could hear a live one order a round three doors from where he was standing, but was deaf as a post when his turn came to shout.’
    "The mean practical jokes that were arranged at Mark Twain’s expense were not good-natured gags. They were evidence that his associates thoroughly disliked him. A great deal of hogwash has been written in admiration of the man as a writer, but I never heard any admiration expressed for him personally by the men who knew him personally. The news that rumors of his death had been exaggerated was unpleasant news everywhere in Virginia City.”
    Make of this what you will.

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 7 dny

      Very interesting - perhaps not the saint he was later made out to be!

    • @marcschirmeister9821
      @marcschirmeister9821 Před 7 dny

      @@professorgraemeyorston And perhaps his co-workers resented his success. To paraphrase Mister Dooley, who was a philosophical saloon keeper in Chicago’s Fourth Ward, “No man’s a hero to his fellow stable-mates."

  • @MylesNewman-cc1tx
    @MylesNewman-cc1tx Před 17 dny +1

    Twain was best buds with Tesla and got a thrill when lightning bolts danced around him. He claimed it also kept him regular.

  • @denisetulloch727
    @denisetulloch727 Před 19 dny +2

    Really intresting presentation. Where can I find part 2?

  • @JCPJCPJCP
    @JCPJCPJCP Před 20 dny +5

    I suspect it's very American to think of oneself as "THE American."

  • @tonyswatchchannel755
    @tonyswatchchannel755 Před 20 dny +3

    This is excellent work. Thank you! Please carry on.
    Anthony Barbera _Author

  • @doreekaplan2589
    @doreekaplan2589 Před 8 dny +1

    He entertained teenage girls in lieu of so many lost family members including grandkids. He had no sons.

  • @pauldow1648
    @pauldow1648 Před dnem

    ❤😊

  • @2msvalkyrie529
    @2msvalkyrie529 Před 18 dny +1

    Completely irrelevant but at some point in future would you share your
    thoughts on Melville 's " Bartleby The Scrivener ".? Which remains one of the most
    thought provoking short stories of the last ( and even this ! ) century..!

  • @irminabrinkmann780
    @irminabrinkmann780 Před 3 dny

    ❤👍

  • @lisaquigley-moon9583
    @lisaquigley-moon9583 Před 7 dny +1

    I read his books in school as a kid. They were great. Its sad they are not part of the reading curriculum now. The language was period & didn't make me want to use the language. They need to stop trying to hide history & great writings from these supposedly little fragile minds.

  • @user-bl8bd3no3i
    @user-bl8bd3no3i Před 11 dny +1

    Excellent and Lots of Good Comments
    Win > Win 🎉😂

  • @PiperLadow
    @PiperLadow Před 11 dny

    This is Prime time . I'm. Not blind

  • @simpinainteasy680
    @simpinainteasy680 Před 7 dny +1

    He had this crazy idea that a typewriter would somehow one day work on some sort of new fangled screen...blew all his money on that go no where dead end.

  • @peredavi
    @peredavi Před 4 dny +1

    Always love Professor Yorston’s wonderful calm and sober short history and biography lessons. Mark Twain is one of my favorite American characters. I lived near Virginia City ,Nevada, Reno for a time and enjoyed rereading some of Twain’s works. Now retired in Wyoming, I do enjoy reading about the more optimistic times in America, post civil war to my birth era 1960. I can only imagine what Twain would say of the buffoons in Washington DC at this time of Big Government,wokeness and bufoonery!

    • @darlenelarochelle4011
      @darlenelarochelle4011 Před 3 dny

      You had me until *wokeness* . I looked up "woke". It is not a bad thing. Looking ahead, try to do better, is not a bad thing.

    • @peredavi
      @peredavi Před 3 dny

      @@darlenelarochelle4011
      look into Gad Saad, professor evolutionary psychology. Wrote a book called ' The Parasitic mind" . The fact that students and professors at universities have to tread a narrow path and cannot speak their mind if they have a conservative view, else they will not gain tenure or they will be 'cancelled". This is not a good thing. Young people have been indoctrinated not taught to think.

  • @chriswest8389
    @chriswest8389 Před 15 dny +1

    He appears in chapter one of my yet to be written first novel.”Names Clemons. Samual” “Kids, we’re not in Kansas anymore”

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 7 dny +1

      Sounds interesting.

    • @chriswest8389
      @chriswest8389 Před 2 dny

      @@professorgraemeyorston …Kansas? I thought you said you were from Connecticut…..” Could you give us a moment “ said Mz Avery”. “ I recon. You be adviced not to dadle though. Put some space between you and those yahoos.
      I’m headin to St. Louis then West for the territories.” Feel free to join me if you like.
      “ Could we have a family moment here said Mz. Avery? “ certainly mam. “
      He tipped his cap and headed down the trail.
      Now Out of earshot Mz Avery said: “ Do you know who that was?”Laquise nodded her head.Dunk ,Julie and Dionne shook theirs. “ Mark Twain!”.
      Dionne fiddled with his mowhawk, Dunk stared into space. Julie was the first to speakOh yeah. That episode of Star treckvthe next generation I think it was called. That old white guy who’s sitting on someone’s front porch Whitling..” “ Whitling? “ said Dunk. “ whitling” replied Julie. She continued.” Dressed from head to toe in white except for a black tie or something with a big S hock of grey/ white hair and stash” @ yeah” said Dionne somewhat recoverd now”Cept for no glasses.and if you swint, a dead ringer for colonial Sanders”

    • @chriswest8389
      @chriswest8389 Před 2 dny

      @@professorgraemeyorston Coukdnt help myself. A work in progress.

  • @CM-st1dl
    @CM-st1dl Před 18 dny +1

    *On the Decay of the Art of Lying* is a lesser-known essay of a mid-river Twain.
    Audio versions easily found online and are free.
    Compare with
    *The Decay of Lying* by Oscar Wilde (written 11 years after Twain)
    -also easily found online for free.
    These are both majestic pieces of literature.
    I may _or may not_ be telling the truth about this however.
    You be the judge.

  • @sarasmith99
    @sarasmith99 Před 18 dny +2

    I think that "The Big Muddy" refers to the Missouri River and not the Mississippi.

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 17 dny

      Apologies - I was looking for nicknames for the Mississippi and that's what Google came up with - I should have double checked!

  • @deanadams3099
    @deanadams3099 Před 18 dny +1

    “Mark Twain” I’d forgotten that was a riverboat phrase.

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 17 dny

      There are other theories about where his name came from - but that's the version he told.

    • @MsFaylea
      @MsFaylea Před 17 dny

      Aa ammo​@@professorgraemeyorston

  • @MrRatherino
    @MrRatherino Před 20 dny +1

    "James" a H.Finn rewrite from the voice of his dear companion Jim reviewed on CNN yesterday to my astonishment and grief..anyone here read it?

  • @arliebattigbattig9726
    @arliebattigbattig9726 Před 17 dny +1

    Im Canadian but I am also I descendant of Samuel Clemmons brother, in fact one of my brothers was named Clement

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 7 dny

      Ow wow, Orion was an interesting character himself.

    • @arliebattigbattig9726
      @arliebattigbattig9726 Před 7 dny

      @@professorgraemeyorston one of my favorite Twain quotes is Don't let school spoil your education, l loved the rebel part of Samuel Clemons

  • @realjohn4064
    @realjohn4064 Před 20 dny +2

    The two giant books about Hitler behind him are an odd choice for this video.

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 20 dny +11

      Writers, artists and mad dictators - I find them all fascinating.

    • @michaelfritts6249
      @michaelfritts6249 Před 19 dny +3

      Understanding "people".. even really horrible people, assists in acknowledging that we are not "good" or "bad" or "historically (except to those who know and/or love us) inconsequential" (usually no books) until we make choices based upon our life's experiences. Our reactions and actions are our own.

  • @mrwaterschoot5617
    @mrwaterschoot5617 Před 12 dny

    i like to think mark twain setted down at his marj twain house i.n hartford vourant. one story that came uin with halleys comet and left swgen the comet came vaxk . he grew up from wearing vlue jeans or coverall. . his final years he wore a white suir will ..
    he loved his smoke sticks called xigarzzs

  • @GTMemes
    @GTMemes Před 5 dny +1

    ' 🤔...I don't know why they call it common sense?
    When common sense ain't to common '
    _ Mark Twain /Samuel Clemens

  • @omfug7148
    @omfug7148 Před 13 dny +1

    Professor can I give you a suggestion for a subject? I have been obsessed with Sylvia Plath since I was 17 but it isn't her mental health issues that I am interested in, that is a subject that has been written about for over 50 years and has been well covered, rather it is her husband British Poet Ted Hughes who I don't understand, 2 women committed suicide after he dumped them, after Plath he never bothered with fidelity again even cheating on his 2nd wife of 30 years, I think that we would call him a sex addict these days, I have read every book written about him and still can't get a grip on what made him tick, I will say that even the books that claim to be unbiased written about him do not paint him in a good light yet his children & many friends were devoted to him. Please give it some consideration.

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 12 dny +2

      I think Sylvia and Ted would both make good subjects - the difficulty is that the biographies are very partisan, so it is hard to know who or what to believe.

    • @omfug7148
      @omfug7148 Před 11 dny

      @@professorgraemeyorston You might take a look at the last big bio written about Hughes by Jonathan Bate who claims that his bio is unbiased and is more concerned with Ted the poet, also the older biography, Her Husband written by Diane Middlebrook when Hughes was still alive, again, Middlebrook tried to be fair to Ted, even so, I found a great degree of honesty on what a complicated man he was. I honestly think that Plath's mental health issues are pretty straight forward--depression and similar disorders ran in her family, but apparently Hughes also had some of that in his family history. At any rate, 2 of the poetic giants of the 20thc, & fascinating subjects for a neuroscientist IMO.

  • @kennethjones500
    @kennethjones500 Před 21 hodinou

    His greatest book written after 1867 trip to the holy land the innocents abroad research this book

  • @kathybrascher1910
    @kathybrascher1910 Před 17 dny +1

    He was a smart guy.

  • @petergaffney4915
    @petergaffney4915 Před 4 dny

    I moved into a new apartment in 1965 at 13. The previous owners left behind a complete set of Samuel Clemens' works. I read every word and reread parts. This will sound strange to his fans: Clemens never left his Know-Nothing cultural background. His constant stream of Adam and Eve stories showed his disdain for fundamentalist Protestants. Yet never having any real contact with Catholics he penned A Connecticut Yankee with a gut-level hatred for all those knights, bishops and priests machined gunned at the end.

  • @ruthgunneson-poling1571
    @ruthgunneson-poling1571 Před 18 hodinami

    Not sure why you said he lost his wife and daughters the way you did. He was reckless with money. He'd invested in hair brained inventions. He scoffed at Alexander Graham Bell's offer to be an investor in his invention. Claiming it'd be annoying to have a phone in your home. He was a narcissist who wouldn't allow his daughters to leave the home unless he approved of their clothing. They were schooled at home because he wouldn't let them go to school. He made money only to lose it all. Hence the world tours. He was devastated when his daughter Suzy died. His other daughter married to get away from his toxicity.

  • @phrozen17
    @phrozen17 Před 10 dny

    15:23 that shit was so racist lol

  • @donwilson4934
    @donwilson4934 Před dnem

    Wasn’t he a diddler too?

  • @thegatesofdawn...1386
    @thegatesofdawn...1386 Před 4 dny +1

    I'm not fond of his mother's attitude.

  • @167curly
    @167curly Před 17 dny +1

    You need to remove that Hitler book from your home library. It sends a negative message.

    • @professorgraemeyorston
      @professorgraemeyorston  Před 17 dny +4

      I'm a psychiatrist and historian - of course I'm going to have books on evil people on my shelf.

  • @CliftonBowers-pc2xu
    @CliftonBowers-pc2xu Před 13 dny +1

    Thank you ...recognize a tin type I've held my great grandma was Sam's step mother ...😮😊

  • @timriley4543
    @timriley4543 Před 8 dny +1

    Probably my favorite philosopher...next to Wittgenstein 😏