"I've struck it!" Mark Twain wrote in a 1904 letter to a
friend. "And I will give it away--to you. You will never
know how much enjoyment you have lost until you get to
dictating your autobiography." Thus, after dozens of false
starts and hundreds of pages, Twain embarked on his "Final
(and Right) Plan" for telling the story of his life. His
innovative notion--to "talk only about the thing which
interests you for the moment"--meant that his thoughts could
range freely. The strict instruction that many of these
texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they
came out, he would be "dead, and unaware, and indifferent,"
and that he was therefore free to speak his "whole frank
mind." The year 2010 marks the 100th anniversary of Twain's
death. In celebration of this important milestone and in
honor of the cherished tradition of publishing Mark Twain's
works, UC Press is proud to offer for the first time Mark
Twain's uncensored autobiography in its entirety and exactly
as he left it. This major literary event brings to readers,
admirers, and scholars the first of three volumes and
presents Mark Twain's authentic and unsuppressed voice,
brimming with humor, ideas, and opinions, and speaking
clearly from the grave as he intended.