Hilarious

For some reason I missed "Roughing It" in my earlier attempts at reading all of Mark Twain. My loss: it's an absolutely hilarious journey, part factual reporting, part tall tale in the best western campfire tradition. (If you're familiar with the omitted "raft chapter" in "Huckleberry Finn," you know what to expect.) One of Twain's greatest strengths is his willingness to include himself among the objects of genial mockery. This is Mark Twain the Humorist at his best.

I didn't find the problems with audio quality that others reported. I agree that Fraley's recording of "Huckleberry Finn" is a superior piece of work, but Norman Dietz does a great job on this one. He's droll, unassuming, loquacious, and endearing, and he adopts one of a variety of other voices at the drop of a hat. My one complaint would be a certain breathiness of delivery -- occasional rapid delivery punctuated by sharp intakes of breath. I think this is partly a matter of recording age and technology: I find that occurring less often on more recent audiobooks. In any case, for an audiobook that gave me this much pleasure, I have to give it five stars.

13 people found this helpful

Funny and Entertaining

I don't know why this book is not more known or read. It probably is the definitive book on the sights and sounds of the Old West, certainly moreso than the Westerns I've read. I laughed out loud listening to it, causing a bit of a stir among fellow airplane passengers.

8 people found this helpful

Always a favorite

I've read this book numerous times since I was young, and the stories and anecdotes are always fun and entertaining. I've traveled the areas mentioned countless times, wishing I could have experienced it as Twain did.

I only had one complaint about this recording. I'm sure everyone has seen jokes that get passed around the office, Xeroxed and faxed over and over until they're almost unreadable. This recording reminded me of that. The quality is extremely poor. If I had known about the audio quality beforehand, I wouldn't have purchased this recording.

6 people found this helpful

Don't miss this classic!!!

The recording wasn't the best but who cares as long as you can make out the words! This is a unique look at Twain and the way he saw the world. It's one of those timeless narratives that captures the character and the characters of a time and place. I laughed out loud and enjoyed Twain's perspective.

4 people found this helpful

One of Twain's best books

I read this book many years ago and enjoyed it just as much this time. It's full of sharp wit and humor, with lots of wonderful insghts into the history and times of the American West. Great narration.

2 people found this helpful

Roughing It

I have thoroughly enjoyed Mark Twain's Western Observations. THe most enlightening is that the same charecters and situations exist today!!! I had some issues with the quality of the first CD I burned resutling is satice. The others were fine.

If you live in the West or paln a trip out here, it is a great "Read" to understand the fabric and flavor of the area.

5 people found this helpful

Several laughs per page...so to speak...

In the mid-1860s Mark Twain travelled from Missouri to Nevada Territory by stagecoach, hung out for a while, then went on to San Francisco, and then to Hawaii. Along the way he mined for gold and silver, wrote for local newspapers (his first paid writing work) and had many damn funny adventures...at least the way he remembered it all, it was funny. In this book you will hear a lot of info that is true about the West in the old days...Indians, cowboys, outlaws, miners, idiots galore...but you will also get exaggerations of all of those characters as a bonus...so you see the real thing, then you see it cockeyed and hilarious as well. You will perhaps also realize that a lot of stuff you have seen in movies about the West came from Twain...descriptions of outlaws especially. This book is highly entertaining...I read the print version three times before listening to the audiobook...and I will listen to it again when I need to be cheered up.

1 person found this helpful

Just didn't work for me

What would have made Roughing It better?

I'm a Mark Twain fan and have read many of his books. This is the first one I ever listened too. This story just seemed to drag on and on. Each little anecdote was fine and sometimes humorous but put together the little stories just did not add up to one good story. Also, the narrators gravely voice just becomes grating over time.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

I could not make it to the end.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The gravely narration paced the story just fine. Nothing much ever really happened.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

It was an interesting look into the view and opinions of the settlers and travelers of the time. But with Mark Twains usual exaggerations it was often hard to tell an opinion from a fact.

Any additional comments?

I really tried to make it through this book. I wanted to like it but could not.

1 person found this helpful

Maybe I'm Biased

This is a book for people who love it when an author transforms mere words into pure, rollicking delight. "Roughing It" is unadultered, joyous story telling that leaves this reader chortling, guffawing, belly laughing, and utterly satisfied. One of my favorites is the story of "Jim Blaine and His Grandfather's Ram" (chapter 53). Local boys tell Twain about Jim Blaine's way with words when Blaine is suitably drunk. Twain eventually gets to hear Blaine in all his glory as the man weaves a meandering tale that begins with a ram, but somehow makes its way to a tale of two one-eyed women who share a single glass eye, with mixed results, the tragedy of a man who fell into a carpet loom, was sewn into a carpet, and was buried vertically in the rolled up carpet after an awkward funeral in a narrow church. And the meandering tale continues until Blaine fades out in a drunken sleep, all of which Norman Dietz narrates masterfully.

Take a lazy weekend to savor this book. There's a lot here. Twain weaves humor, history, and first hand experience into a tale that one should not miss.

Sporadically enetertaining

It would have been good if it was half as long