When in Doubt, Tell the Truth : And Other Quotations from Mark Twain

Mark Twain is one of the most beloved figures in American history, and one of the most gifted storytellers and critics; through his novels, essays and letters, he is probably one of the most quoted Americans of all time. "When in Doubt, Tell the Truth" captures the essence of Twain's unique gifts - the dark humour, the wry observations and the keen insights into social and political realities, both particularly American and broadly human. "When in Doubt, Tell the Truth" is an extraordinary collection of more than 700 of Twain's most memorable aphorisms, from his jokes - "What is the difference between a taxidermist and a tax collector? The taxidermist only takes your skin" - to his darker musings - "Man is the only animal that blushes. Or needs to". It celebrates Twain's gift for telling a story, and gives us his views on over 400 topics, including Adam and Eve, fountain pens, procrastination, gullibiity, grammar and politics. Brian Collins's eloquent introduction survey's Twain's concerns as a writer and speaker, integrating the witty maxims of his early career with the darker observations of his later life in a vivid portrait. An easy-to-navigate collection arranged alphabetically by subject, "When in Doubt, Tell the Truth" lets the wisdom of Mark Twain continue to speak to all of us today.