Mark Twain

December 13, 2011 Impostors can be scheming, even villainous, but their stories tempt us with an attractive possibility — the chance to wear a mask. Writer David Anthony suggests three tales about nefarious characters that let us indulge in our fascination with the art of manipulating outward appearances.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

January 17, 2011 In our daily barrage of information, real insight can be hard to come by — it's easy to become overwhelmed or uninspired by our endless consumption of facts. Author Gish Jen recommends three fable-like fictions that reveal the fanciful side of daily realities.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

December 1, 2010 100 years after his death, Mark Twain's autobiography was published the way Twain himself wished. Fresh Air's David Bianculli talks with Robert Hirst, of the Mark Twain Project, about editing and publishing Twain's work.

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On Fresh Air from WHYYPlaylist

November 30, 2010 For 20 summers, Mark Twain wrote novels in a small cottage on Quarry Farm in Elmira, N.Y. Now, 175 years after Twain's birth, NPR's Tom Vitale makes a pilgrimage to the author's grave in Elmira's rolling hills.

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On All Things ConsideredPlaylist

• 'The Autobiography Of Mark Twain': Satire To Spare

November 15, 2010 After 100 years, the long-awaited Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume 1 has emerged. The author dictated his life story to a stenographer, whose notes and papers have been collected into the first of three volumes of Twain's memories, witticisms and biting political satire.

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On Morning EditionPlaylist

May 1, 2009 Among the previously unpublished writings left behind at Twain's death were squibs, rants and unfinished essays that capture the folksy icon's furious but often repressed compulsion to tell the world what he really thought of its tedious platitudes and received wisdom.

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