Ignorance, Confidence, and Filthy Rich Friends: The Business Adventures of Mark Twain, Chronic Speculator and Entrepreneur

Samuel Langhorne Clemens, alias Mark Twain, was a true American original. Born into humble circumstances, he spent his life on a fevered quest to gain wealth. He was enormously successful in this endeavor. Of course, the world remembers Clemens not for his riches, but rather for his rich imagination, his superb wit and his splendid writing under the name Mark Twain, author of numerous classics including The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer. In this offbeat, iconoclastic portrait of Clemens, author Peter Krass examines his early life as a bold adventurer and his later years as an investor, speculator, venture capitalist, businessman and inventor. If you love Mark Twain, iconic writer and storyteller, getAbstract is convinced that you'll enjoy reading this distinctive book about a fascinating - but seldom reported - side of his colorful life.

The author, Peter Krass, does a comendable job in portraying the history of Clemens's (Twain's) business folies for the most part, but he confoundedly tries to include cliched bits of wit on the tail end of many of the historical vingnettes. All in all this failed wit can be ingnored and it is an overall fun and informative read. (3.5 stars)

Who knew Twain pursued wealth with the zest of a robber baron. This book is highly entertaining and instructive as there is much business insight and Twain's adventures are notable. While not a full biography, I enjoyed the excerpts from Twain's writing - you get a good sense of him. The pace of the book is good. Business people and those interested in Twain will enjoy it.