Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World

Author - Mark Twain ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from Dover Publications was reviewed on 26-Oct-2008.

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1) Paperback Book Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Dover Publications. "Following the Equator" leaves me in the position of having read nearly everything published by Mark Twain. I´m only short "The American Claimant" and a speech or essay or two. I´ll deal with those shortly but, in the meantime, I´ll savor the last of the truly noteworthing writings of America´s greatest author. Towards the end of the journey "The Guilded Age" was a struggle and "The Prince and the Pauper" was good but not if the measuring stick was the works of Mark Twain. I wasn´t sure what to expect of "Following the Equator" because I had heard so little about it. In addition, I had found "The Innocents Abroad" and "A Tramp Abroad" to have been tedious at times. Of the four travel books, this one ranks above the two aforementioned books and below "Roughing It". (I do not count "Life on the Mississippi" as belonging in this class). I rate this book with only 4 Stars because there are works of Twain well beyond this level. Too bad he doesn´t have his own weights and measures rather than being compared to mere humans.

"Following the Equator" made me laugh out loud as well as ponder in silence; qualities that are my yardstick when measuring Twain. The laughs come early and fast but every lengthy voyage by sea involves some doldrums and they appear in here as well. Most of those ocur when Twain is in his lecturing mode. He gets excited about a lot of history, geography, zoology, and anthropology along the way. Unfortunately he is often more excited than we are. Adding to the effects of these literary speed bumps are periodic lengthy quotations to relate the history he wants us to know. Twain should have known that he could summerize better that most (if not all) of the first-hand accounts we suffered through. We emerge from these stagnate waters back into the rapids of that unique humor of his.

I read "Following the Equator" over a longer period that it took Twain to complete his voyage. That´s because I had the book at work to read during 1/2 hour lunch breaks 2 days a week. Sometime I missed a month or two but I alway knew where the ship was docked when it was time to get on board again. Once the ship left the subcontinent of India, I was a full-time passenger which may be why I enjoyed South Africa the best. I was suprized that the journey from Cape Town to Southhampton only took the last three pages of the book. "Following the Equator" really should have ended with the previous chapter. In a tribute to Cecil Rhodes that only Twain could write, he ended that chapter with the following; "I admire him, I frankly confess it; and when his time comes I shall buy a piece of the rope for a keepsake."¤

2) Paperback Book Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Dover Publications. Any reader who loves a good book will relish the vicarious experience of traveling with Twain, his wife, Livy, and Clara, one of their three daughters as they tour the world on the lecture circuit. It´s important to understand the necessity of the trip: Twain was 60, facing bankruptcy, and signed on for the lecture tour in order to pay off his debt. The grueling schedule and unpredictable travel accommodations take no toll on his writing, however. Prepare to laugh - hard and often. Was it hot in India? "I believe that in India ´cold weather´ is merely a conventional phrase and has come into use through the necessity of having some way to distinguish between weather which will melt a brass door-knob and weather which will only make it mushy." Teachers - do not pass on the opportunity to laugh and learn and share the world with your students. Geography, history, culture, language, climate, language arts (oh, his choice of words and phrases!), politics, time zones, botany, geology, biology, religion - all are explored and described and relevant today. Jimmy Buffett´s "Remittance Man," "That´s What Living is to Me," and "Take Another Road" all spring from this book (especially the remittance man, a character you´ll meet early in the book). There is also an "unfinished story" with which you can challenge your students. I worked with nineteen 4th and 5th grade gifted students one summer, and they spent two weeks reading, scripting, and animating a 70 minute video of this book. They loved it, and so will your students if you plan accordingly. A good accompanying video is "On the Trail of Mark Twain" with Peter Ustinov, but only as a companion - NOT as a replacement! Go for it... where else will you get the opportunity to travel from Vancouver to Hawaii to Fiji to Australia to New Zealand to Ceylon to India to South Africa? The book chronicles their travels in such a way that you can pick it up and focus on one region without losing anything. But don´t let that stop you from reading the whole book. See the Southern Cross and the Blue Mountains. Get rousted out of your comfortable train berth to change cars in Australia because the gauge of the tracks changes from wide to narrow. Meet the dingo and the Aboriginals, eavesdrop on Twain´s conversation with "Satan" and "God" in India, explore the diamond mines of South Africa near the Trappist Monastery, and steer clear of the sharks in the Great Barrier Reef. There is more adventure in this one book than a whole year´s subscription to National Geographic. My favorite part? Twain´s vivid description of "that bird of birds - the Indian crow." No, wait, it´s the hand-car ride down the Himalayas. No, wait... ah, who can pick? Read it yourself, and find out why.¤

3) Paperback Book Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Dover Publications. The only thing I would add to the other positive reviews is that the book is just riddled with political and social commentary - wonderfully scathing, far ahead of its time, and subtely presented at that. Jingoism is derided, missionary zeal seen from the perspective of the injured convert, colonialism unmasked, feminism promoted .... other ills rought by the west are put in perspective as well through good storytelling and Twain´s trademark humor. A great travel tale, but also a work of wicked and broad-reaching social commentary backed up by solid history and first-hand accounts.¤

4) Paperback Book Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Dover Publications. Twain´s chronicle of a steamship trip to the subcontinent and beyond is incomparable. If nothing else, anyone would enjoy Puddinhead Wilson´s maxims at the beginning of each chapter, all classics that hold up a century after they were written. No Twain fan should skip this one--and I suspect few have.¤

5) Paperback Book Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Dover Publications. This book made me quit my job and follow my dreams. Twain tells the tale in elaborate detail. If you have ever dreamed of traviling the world read this book!!! I also recomend Jimmy Buffet A priate looks at fifty I bet it will also be a classic.¤

6) Paperback Book Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World by Dover Publications.

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 23-Nov-2008, 04862611319780486261133, 810-960-240-310-2X0-040-540-590-94B-8

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