Rating: 
Summary: Oddly timeless in many ways
Review: Some parts of this book give an incredible insight into the way life was actually lived all western Europe and the middle east in the 1800s. Other parts give testament to Twain's incredibly casual bigotry and racism and intolerance. But in one page he'll note his desire to not appear ignorant in front of a freed slave acting as tour guide in Venice; and then widely compliment the fellow for his intelligence and manner. Twain doesn't smooth the rough edges - he's all rough edges. But so much the better.
Rating: 
Summary: Classic Mark Twain - Characters we still recognize today
Review: This book describes a group tour of "Europe and the Holy Land" Samuel Clemens experienced and reported about 100 years ago. He describes, in a way that only Mark Twain can, the people he meets and the places they go from the point of view from the American West. One memorable example of his American perspective is a comparison of Italian mountains, lakes and rivers with his beloved Rockies, Tahoe, and Mississippi. He also paints humorous portraits of the tour guides and his fellow travelers. The first time I read this book I was on an organized bus tour in Europe and quickly realized how many of Twain's human observations on how tourists are treated still apply, which makes the humor very accessible.
Rating:
Summary: Classic Mark Twain - Characters we still recognize today
Review: This book describes a group tour of "Europe and the Holy Land" Samuel Clemens experienced and reported about 100 years ago. He describes, in a way that only Mark Twain can, the people he meets and the places they go from the point of view from the American West. One memorable example of his American perspective is a comparison of Italian mountains, lakes and rivers with his beloved Rockies, Tahoe, and Mississippi. He also paints humorous portraits of the tour guides and his fellow travelers. The first time I read this book I was on an organized bus tour in Europe and quickly realized how many of Twain's human observations on how tourists are treated still apply, which makes the humor very accessible.
Rating:
Summary: Douglas Adams? No, Mark Twain!
Review: This book is amazing! Join the Quaker City Cruise voyagers and their meandering through Europe and the Holy Land. Mark Twain shows the haughty characteristics of American travellers that still thrive today.
Enticing imagery takes you to the turbulent Europe of 1867. Mark Twain satirizes everything under the sun from travel guides and long dead lovers to Michelangelo and the Old Masters to the Rennaissance and Venice to Israel and the Catholic Church. His bitter sarcasm and witticisms left me laughing out loud. Next to Douglas Adam's Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, this is the funniest book I have ever read. I can't think of any downsides to this amazing work by the greatest humorist that ever blessed the English language. Exceptional!
READ IT!
Rating:
Summary: down on everybody
Review: This book is funny. Sometimes, this is funny/cruel, as in his attempt to pay the Egyptian kid to climb pyramids until it kills him. Pretty much every nationality in Europe is attacked. Maybe this jumps out at you when he gets to the Holy Land, but it's there all along.I found Twain's discussion of Lake Como to be the most troubling. Here, in comparing it to Lake Tahoe, he gets diverted into what can only be called a racist tirade against the Washoe Indians of Nevada. Melville (in The Confidence Man) has a long chapter on Indian-hating, but he writes as an observer, not a practitioner. Twain is more partisan. There is an anti-Catholic tinge as well; but then, anti-Catholic political parties (such as the 'Know Nothings') were also a feature of pre-civil war America. I do believe that this is one of the finest books on tourism one can read. Twain is a keen observer of Old World culture, which he opposes to our American adaptation. Admiration can lead to whitewashing if some of Twain's social pathologies are left unexamined. The book is as anti-Indian as anti-Arab, as anti-Mormon as anti-Catholic. It remains a very funny book; but I wouldn't give it to a teenager to read without a precautionary warning.
Rating:
Summary: As good as travel writing can get
Review: This book, along with Twain's 'Roughing It,' is often considered to be some of the best travel narrative ever put to paper. Certainly it deserves its acclaim. Twain, the irreverent All-American writer, took a trip halfway around the world in a steamer and visited many of the great sites of Europe and the Middle East. This is his account of his experiences, and the experiences of the group of 'Pilgrims' which accompanied him on this 'pleasure excursion.'
One of the best things about Twain is his refusal to romanticize, even in the cases of the greatest places in the world. He does not hesitate to verbally abuse Paris, Florence, Damascus, even Jerusalem. He tells it how it is, refusing to admire the work of the great painters (Raphael, Michael Angelo, and co.) and asserting that everyone who ever wrote of the beauty of the Sea of Galilee was a downright liar. He has some good things to say, too (he seems to have approved of Athens), but mostly he spends his time dispelling the romantic images of the great places of the world. The result is hilarious, and certainly makes one realize that, despite the perfect images that Paris, Pisa, and Rome sometimes have in our minds, they are a far cry from paradise.
Twain's wit, as always, is very sharp, and this book is an excellent example of it. His antics (and descriptions of them) are very funny, and his way of putting things a joy to read. Along the way, he pokes fun of the American "Pilgrims," who deface the sacred relics they visit and call every guide they have 'Ferguson.' This is certainly a classic in American Literature. Anyone interested in travel writing will profit greatly from this book, as will anyone who enjoys Twain's humor or just a good laugh.
Rating:
Summary: As good as travel writing can get
Review: This book, along with Twain's `Roughing It,' is often considered to be some of the best travel narrative ever put to paper. Certainly it deserves its acclaim. Twain, the irreverent All-American writer, took a trip halfway around the world in a steamer and visited many of the great sites of Europe and the Middle East. This is his account of his experiences, and the experiences of the group of `Pilgrims' which accompanied him on this `pleasure excursion.'
One of the best things about Twain is his refusal to romanticize, even in the cases of the greatest places in the world. He does not hesitate to verbally abuse Paris, Florence, Damascus, even Jerusalem. He tells it how it is, refusing to admire the work of the great painters (Raphael, Michael Angelo, and co.) and asserting that everyone who ever wrote of the beauty of the Sea of Galilee was a downright liar. He has some good things to say, too (he seems to have approved of Athens), but mostly he spends his time dispelling the romantic images of the great places of the world. The result is hilarious, and certainly makes one realize that, despite the perfect images that Paris, Pisa, and Rome sometimes have in our minds, they are a far cry from paradise.
Twain's wit, as always, is very sharp, and this book is an excellent example of it. His antics (and descriptions of them) are very funny, and his way of putting things a joy to read. Along the way, he pokes fun of the American "Pilgrims," who deface the sacred relics they visit and call every guide they have `Ferguson.' This is certainly a classic in American Literature. Anyone interested in travel writing will profit greatly from this book, as will anyone who enjoys Twain's humor or just a good laugh.
Rating:
Summary: The more things change...
Review: This book, written over 130 years ago, still captures the essense of a European or Middle East trip. The same tour guide rip-offs, ancient hatreds, true pieces of the cross etc. Twain describes the Church of the Holy Sepulchre as a place where armed guards have to separate the various sects so that the followers of the Prince of Peace don't murder each other. He compares the Sea of Galilee unfavorabby to Lake Tahoe, and he is right. His at time narrow minded American boorishness comes off as charming because he doesn't take himself or anything else seriously. Throw out Lonely Planet and Michelin. This is a must read before your next trip.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent account of the Mediterranean & Holy Land in 1867.
Review: This is a fascinating, extraordinary account, written by Mark Twain in relation to his travels throughout the Mediterranean, the Holy Land & other points of interest around 1867. Many readers will be familiar with Mark Twain from their school-days , perhaps having read the author's stories of 'Tom Sawyer' & 'Huckleberry Finn'. Although factual, this book is itself just as enjoyable a read as the author's other classics. I obtained my rather ancient copy of this book primarily to investigate the author's account of his travels through the Holy Land during the 19th Century, and his observations of the Holy Land, it's terrain, population, culture and character at that time. Noting that the author had also spent some time in Gibraltar at any early stage in his journey, I thought that I might also be able to gather some perception of the accuracy of his accounts, having personally lived in Gibraltar for a period of time & being familiar with Gibraltar's history. I was not to be disappointed and was quite impressed with the writer's description of Gibraltar and his interpretation of it's turbulent history. I was also impressed with the writer's account of so many locations within the Holy Land and the considerable amount of time that he devoted to it in his book. So many of the Judaeo-Christian sites that I am very familiar with are admirably described by the author and are instantly recognisable even after so many years. However, unlike today, where many of these areas are quite heavily populated and where the land has flourished in recent times, the author's account paints an utterly different picture during the 19th Century. A picture which flies heavily in the face of the 'new historians' and the 'revisionists', many of whom allege that the Land even then was quite heavily populated by 'Palestinian Arabs' and was as verdant as the present day. Instead Mark Twain describes the Holy Land as being barely populated and just a collection of small villages in a dry, barren land, an outpost of the Ottoman Empire. [...] I highly recommend this book to everyone. Please note that some copies under the title 'Innocents Abroad' do not include the coverage of the Holy Land trip. Please ensure that you obtain the correct copy. Thank you.
Rating:
Summary: His funniest book
Review: This is Twain when he doesn't have to worry about a bloomin' story line or consistant dialogue. He simply writes what comes to mind, and manages to debunk every so-called monument of western civ.(Just why do they call this the holy land?!) He reminds us we don't have to be a cultured snob to be a superior person. Read this before you go to Europe or after your trip. Or whenever.
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