I really hate to use the term "literary genius," it makes me feel like a pretentious bore, however, that is what he was. He was a satirist, he was smart, and more importantly, he was smart enough to put the cookies on the lower shelf for us 'uneducated masses' to enjoy. Also very entertaining to read about his life and his non-literary quotes.
"Suppose you were an idiot, then suppose you were a member of congress. But then, I repeat myself."

"First God created idiots, that was just for practice. Then he created school boards."
The guy's just sharp as a tack. Very entertaining.

The professors always underestimate the satirists. For his part, Twain liked to satirize the professors. (See his hilarious response to their evaluation of James Fenimore Cooper.) Yes, Tom Sawyer is a horrible bore but nearly anything after that is funny, touching, and provocative.

One of the greatest writers in American literature. Language, narrative, characterizations are all flawless.

Hilarious to this day and anti-religious!

Doesn't talk down to his audience, and keeps it engaged and thinking at the same time.

Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer and Innocents Abroad. Three big reasons why he may be the best author who ever lived.

"An optimist is a man with no experience." -Mark Twain

An exceptionally brilliant author with a very distinct style that manages to appeal to people of various age groups and demographics. In his works, he examined the issues and conveyed the struggles of his time flawlessly. Rightfully considered one of the greatest writers in all of American literature.

One of the greatest authors. I loved him as a kid and I love him as an adult.

Probably America's finest author. But he seem's to be losing steam with each generation. It will ultimately, be their loss. He is my personal favorite. Also I have an 1880's edition of Innocents Abroad.

quntessentially american author. wrote w/social conscious and humor in mind, using all the available stimulus of his era to weave tales. is nowadays mis-understood by the current wave of PCers and humorless minorities that would rather sweep their history under the rug than face it.

One of the greatest American writers!Be sure not to miss his less known works such as The Mysterious Stranger.

IrishGit, i'm not even going to comment on your term American literature. I did not know that existed. But let me move on. Yes, Huck Finn was good (excluding the horrible final 10-15 chapters which were pointless, stupid, dull, stupid, and boring). Other than that, he wrote nothing of value in his career. His stories are good until you reach the High School level and maybe even before that. Even for his era, he was a dozen notches below his overseas counterparts. I don't know how people like him so much, but then again we had 59,000,000 vote in Bush. I guess taste is all relative, or make that bad taste.

Over-rated crap. Huck Finn (ever read it to the end?) is the biggest shaggy dog story ever.

This guy wrote one truly great book (Huck Finn) and an amazing amount of popularist lightweight garbage. Tom Sawyer is fine for those readers in the fifth and sixth grade who can endure the pompous and ponderous language of the tome. Puddinghead Wilson is one of the limpest books I've ever read although it does have a good premise: the only problem is Twain is such a lame writer that he can't make the best of it. A Yankee... is just downright ridiculous. The short stories aren't particularly funny, inventive, challenging or memorable, rather, they're just a mildly diverting, trifling little read. This guy was like the Dave Barry of his time, popular among the masses, but so inconsequential in his themes, concerns and approaches that the shelf life of his work is limited.

Huck Finn is a a three quarters really great book and one quarter children's fiction.

I love his quote about a classic being a book that everyone wants to have ubt nobody actually wants to read.

A great author, and an amazing person.

Mark Twain wrote very entertaining books, and I always enjoyed them. Sometimes they were hard to understand for me as they are classics, but over all, good author. I recommend his works to everyone.

This author never failed to keep one amused.

A delight to read and a true treasure of America.

Mark Twain is both witty and wise. He brings to life the time and place that he lived. When I start reading his stories I forget he was writing over a hundred years ago. He is my favorite American author.

I truly enjoy Mark Twain, if you think his work is unrealistic you have obviously not spent much time understanding his work. What makes Twain interesting is he wrote a lot based on observing people. His phonic spelling of regionalized language (the south) can at times be distracting but once you catch his rhythm and character development, it doesn’t bother any longer because you can kind of hear the characters voice instead of a writers narrative. Additional interesting reading is simply on Twain himself. He was a very outspoken old cuss. But if you read his quotes and views on life, he only spoke the truth most did not want to hear.

I have a large collection of his books. I like the travel stories the best. He had a wonderful life and shared it with all of us.

His books are terribly boring and overrated. I can't stand his books. They are so outdated. They are so unrealistic and not true at all. His books are terribly stupid and boring, and totally not worth the read.

I am reading Huck Finn for Literature, but I could not put it down when I finnaly pick it back up. I have already bought Tom Sawyer and Conneticut Yankee in King Aurther's Court. I can not wait to read them.

I really enjoy Mark Twain's writing because of her character development. Although at times his minor characters lack substance, Twain does an excellent job of creating his main characters. The worlds, or environments, of which Twain writes are vivid and earthy. He creates these environments in the context of his main characters so that the reader knows or sees the elements of the book only through the eyes and experience of his characters.

The reading can be difficult, but Twain is among the best.

After reading Oliver Twist, I really espected a lot out of Tom Sawyer. I have to say that he really disappointed me! :-(