Rating: 
Summary: Curtain Raiser
Review: This was the first book-length volume written by Twain and it was a huge bestseller as a subscription offering. It introduced his remarkable prose style and humor to a wide audience and laid the foundation for his vast fame. That said, it was not nearly his best. It was assembled from his notes and published travel letters about the 1867 "liner" adventure to Europe and the editing was so slipshod he occasionally didn't bother to alter the present tense of the letter insertions. He didn't really seem to be at ease at any time during this excursion, either with his companions, the places or the foreign peoples. He was always a better and more confident writer in dealing with American material. But IB set the stage for Twain's next work "Roughing It", which was one of his three masterpieces along with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. In that respect it's still a worthwhile read.
Rating:
Summary: Great for a laugh, good for those who like to travel
Review: Twain enters a steamship bound for the Mediterranean in 1869. Mingling with foreigners and Europeans specifically, his caustic wit centers on contrast and comparison between the Old and New World, the feature of all of Twain's books. While it is sometimes difficult to divide Twain the traveler from Twain the critic, his remarks are frequently informative as his new eyes are brought to old scenes, and his criticisms (as usual) are incisive and clever. Tangiers, Naples, Constantinople, Alexandria, Cairo -- these are but a few of the places he visits. As a traveler myself, I have often cited Twain's views in comparison or contrast with my own findings, such as his detestation for Turkish coffee (he hated it, but it was almost tasteless to me). In any event, Twain returns home safely after a long voyage to many places, where his tongue had given frequent lashings to the Old World, the Middle East and even his fellow travelers.
Rating: 
Summary: Show Me
Review: Twain from the Show Me State points to the significant differences between American view points and our across the seas ancestors.Most of all Twain makes us laugh at ourselves and fables of yore. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this vacation tale from the late 1800's. Prejudices and Pride not excepted.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Twain's two most familiar travelogues are collected here in a handsome Library of America edition. Roughing It is by far my favorite. In it we sense the limitless possibilities of 19th century America. Twain is by turns an assistant to his brother (the Secretary of Nevada Territory), a gold miner, a journalist, and a traveller in the Pacific. The Innocents Abroad, while still good, is more labored than Roughing It - it is clear that Twain was more fertile when writing about his native soul. A word about the Library of America editions - if you are interested at all in America's literary heritage, you can't do better than buying these editions. Most are comprehensive, are well-bound, and are durable.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: Twain's two most familiar travelogues are collected here in a handsome Library of America edition. Roughing It is by far my favorite. In it we sense the limitless possibilities of 19th century America. Twain is by turns an assistant to his brother (the Secretary of Nevada Territory), a gold miner, a journalist, and a traveller in the Pacific. The Innocents Abroad, while still good, is more labored than Roughing It - it is clear that Twain was more fertile when writing about his native soul. A word about the Library of America editions - if you are interested at all in America's literary heritage, you can't do better than buying these editions. Most are comprehensive, are well-bound, and are durable.
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