Although best known for his novels, Mark Twain was a prolific writer of short stories, many of which involved elements of science fiction -- and this compilation highlights his finest works of speculative fiction. Twain applies his wit and imagination to the spinning of tales about mental telepathy, instantaneous communication, alternative histories, and utopian worlds. The collection begins with Twain ' s first science fiction story, an 1862 piece...

Had there been no Civil War, the eminent American author known as Mark Twain would likely have spent his life as Sam Clemens, the Mississippi River steamboat pilot. When the war came and the steamboats stopped running, Clemens served two weeks in the Missouri State Guard before he fled west to begin his career as a writer. After the Civil War dramatically altered the course of Twain's life and career, his thoughts and stories about the war were published...

"Based on a set of unfinished Mark Twain notes for a children's story, this is the tale of Johnny, a young boy with a magical ability to speak to animals who sets off to rescue a stolen prince"--

Following Sterling's spectacularly successful launch of its children's classic novels (240,000 books in print to date),comes a dazzling new series:* Classic Starts*. The stories are abridged; the quality is complete. *Classic Starts* treats the world's beloved tales (and children) with the respect they deserve--all at an incomparable price. *"Tom Sawyer liked adventures, which means he was always getting in trouble."* Searching for treasure, witnessing...

Originally conceived as a Portuguese-English phrase book, this literary curiosity was written by an author who, remarkably, spoke no English. With the help of a pair of dictionaries, Pedro Carolino translated a series of expressions from his native Portuguese into French and from French into English. The result is a volume of unintentional hilarity, praised by Mark Twain in his appreciative Introduction for its miraculous stupidities." Imagine the...