The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

by Mark Twain

Twain spent seven years writing HUCKLEBERRY FINN--the book Hemingway claimed is the basis for all American fiction. The story of Huck's and Jim's quest for freedom on a raft on the Mississippi provides a panoramic view of Southern society, which Twain saw as beset by greed, violence, and coldhearted brutality in the guise of virtue. At the end of the book, Huck definitively abandons the hypocrisy and cant on which he has been raised when he makes the shocking decision to go to hell rather than betray his friend Jim and send him back to slavery. The book has been banned from time to time, beginning with its publication in 1885, when it was deemed too subversive for children, until the late 20th century when, despite its compassionate attitude toward blacks and its violent denunciation of slavery, it has been branded racist because of Twain's use of dialect and "offensive" language. In addition to its message of tolerance and understanding, HUCKLEBERRY FINN continues to be read, talked about, and loved by readers of all ages because it's a cracking good coming-of-age story full of vivid characters and hilarious events --and because Twain's relentlessly clear-eyed angle of vision sees beneath the foibles and absurdities of humanity to the common ground that we all share.

Editions of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

ISBN 9781565118133	Binding/Format Compact Disc	Publisher Highbridge Co	Date 2003	Price $13.26	NEW
ISBN 9781561034291	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Ags Pub	Date 1973	Price $1.00	Very Good
ISBN 9780811468268	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Steck-Vaughn Co	Date 1973	Price $1.00	Very Good
ISBN 9781437808193	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Indypublish.Com	Date 2008	Price None Available
ISBN 9781403739124	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Dalmatian Pr	Date 2007	Price None Available
ISBN 9780192729163	Binding/Format Hardcover	Publisher Oxford Univ Pr	Date 2009	Price $10.31	NEW
ISBN 9780143105947	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Penguin Classics	Date 2009	Price $10.62	NEW
ISBN 9781595948014	Binding/Format Paperback	Publisher Wingspan Pr	Date 2008	Price $15.38	NEW

Media Reviews

"'Huckleberry Finn' is, among other things, a complex, serious book. And it should be taught as such--to children old enough to think and read with imagination. The supposedly racially insensitive tale, with its repeated use of the word 'nigger,' is the most devastating portrait of American white trash and white-trash racism that has ever been written. 'Huck Finn' savages racism as thoroughly as any document in American history...After 'Huckleberry Finn' was published in 1885, the Public Library in Concord, Massachusetts, banned the book. As the 'Boston Transcript' reported: 'One member of the committee says that, while he does not wish to call it immoral, he thinks it contains but little humor, and that of a very coarse type. He regards it as the veriest trash. The librarian and the other members of the committee entertain similar views, characterizing it as rough, coarse, and inelegant.'"

Synopses

A 19th-century boy, floating down the Mississippi River on a raft with a runaway slave, becomes involved with a feuding family, two scoundrels pretending to be royalty, and Tom Sawyer's aunt, who mistakes him for Tom.

First Line

You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer"; but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth.

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