Roughing It

"This book is merely a personal narrative and not a pretentious history or a philosophical dissertation...Yes, take it all around, there is quite a good deal of information in the book. I regret this very much; but really it could not be helped: information appears to stew out of me naturally, like the precious ottar of roses out of the otter."

-Mark Twain (1872)



Roughing It (1872) is Mark Twain's second travel book, after The Innocents Abroad (1869). It describes his journey from Missouri to Nevada, his life in the American West, and his visit to Hawaii. This book offers a humorous take on American and Western society and on Twain's experiences as a gold prospector and speculator in real estate.



This jacketed hardcover replica of the original 1872 edition of Roughing It, with three hundred illustrations by a host of illustrators, is a quintessential chronicle of Twain's life and experiences.