Mark Twain is the quintesential American curmudgeon. His style formed an era and no one could ever reproduce him although many have tried. Read the book and meet the Man. I laughed out loud and at times was gripped with the wringing unrelenting pathos of this great master. I had to laugh at myself a time or two...

Dear Reader from the UK (previous review) please note that this book is about Jamaica, Jamaican Maroons and their history, which of course touches the topic of Haiti, but Haiti is NOT the main focus of this book and your review shows, that you mean a different book altogether.

Haiti is a country that provokes strong responses and Libete is the perfect introduction to the wide variety of voices that have commented on the country and its history. Inevitably, there is much tragedy to relate both in the brutal history of slavery and in the later oppression and exploitation of the Haitian peasantry by the wealthy elite and the consistent interference from successive U.S. governments, which sadly continues to this day. Each chapter focuses on a particular topic, drawing on around 20 different commentators, both foreign and Haitian. Many of these are contemporary reports, relating true life stories from the city streets and country villages, showing a life that many people living in affluent Western culture simply have no concept of at all. Yet the story of Haiti is also one of struggle and courage in the face of adversity and these voices are clearly heard as well in Libete. Many good people working in small ways to the best of their ability to improve life for the poor, who form such an overwhelming majority. Another message that comes through the book is that it is this majority who constitute the soul of Haiti, which is so vibrantly expressed in Haitian culture. In the section on literature, it is significant that Haitian authors, largely drawn from the elite class, either celebrate peasant culture or despise it - it is clearly too strong to simply ignore. Vodou is also an integral part of this culture and the extracts included reflect the diversity of attitudes towards this much maligned spiritual tradition. One of my favourite sections is the selection of proverbs, amongst which is "Money goes where money is" which seems to sum up current economic theory very neatly. Buy this book and find out how the majority live!

This is an excellent book. It is by far the best Twain I have read yet, and I give it four stars. In this novel, Mark Twain holds the glory and romance associated with Arthurian Legend up to the standards of 19th century society, and reveals defects in both the romantic ideal of King Arthur and the faith that Twain's generation holds in scientific and social "progress." Both funny and thought-provoking, this book provides the reader with a new set of eyes with which to view the barbarism and injustice that Arthur and his knights so valiantly fought to preserve. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is the tale of Hank Morgan, a typical 19th century man who is transported back in time to the days of Merlin, Guinevere, and King Arthur. After becoming aware of his surroundings, and deciding to ignore his uncertainty about whether King Arthur actually existed, this man uses the common knowledge of his time period, his practicality, and some perfectly timed arrogance to acquire a position of great power in this land that he finds repulsive and in need of an enlightened leader. The ensuing story is the tale of what happens when the two utopias collide and this man abuses his power in an attempt to bring the "great and beneficent" miracles of the 19th century to the Age of Chivalry. I would recommend this book to any reader in 8th grade or above, but I would discourage people with passionate faith in the purity and glory of King Arthur from reading this book if they do not want to be forcefully presented with demonstrations of chivalry's inhumanities. A fairly well developed sense of humor will help the reader to enjoy Mark Twain's subtle ironies and satirical situations, and some basic knowledge of science helps in understanding some of the scenes, however this isn't vital to the book. The vocabulary is moderately advanced, the subject matter is somewhat mature at times, and the philosophical reasoning is probably beyond the reach of most Junior High students, yet I would encourage anyone who is interested to give this book a try. This novel is also great for the general public because A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court provides the reader with a main character with whom they may identify. The main character, Hank Morgan is presented with situations in which he must deal with being a stranger in a new atmosphere, being a social outcast due to his uncommon beliefs, he must avoid physical confrontation, and he is forced to use his intellectual abilities rather than brute strength to solve difficult situations. Many readers will have faced similar difficulties in their lives, and this ability to identify with the characters will definitely add to the overall enjoyment of the story. With this piece of work, Mark Twain displays his true talent for excellent writing and story telling. He incorporates enough adventurous and action filled scenarios to make the reader want to continue reading vigorously, yet he also manages to discuss very philosophical and thought-provoking topics during the lulls in the action. This book reads very quickly near the beginning and end. The action tapers off during the middle of the story, but not for long, and once it starts to pick up again, Twain demonstrates his true potential for greatly entertaining writing in the very climactic and cleverly ironic ending that brings this all-around great book to an even better close. This is definitely a book worth reading.

A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is an intriguing novel written by Mark Twain. This is a fantastic book for the high school level reader, but would be entertaining to adults as well. I am a freshman in high school, and I enjoyed many attributes of the plot and writing style. In this novel the main character, Hank Morgan, is mysteriously transported from the nineteenth century in Connecticut back to the fifth century in England. During his time in medieval Britain, he keeps a journal which is what most of this book is. The preface and afterwards are both the narration of Mark Twain who writes as if he has found Hank's journal, and is merely writing it down in a book. As the journal starts out, Hank is introduced to King Arthur and after narrowly escaping death and becomes the country's most powerful advisor. Hank introduces many modern wonders to this feudal society. He is hailed a magician, being able to perform wonderful "miracles" and "magic", when it really is only modern science. It is very entertaining to read about how the feeble-minded people of that time react to these feats. In the end, there is a tremendous battle with many exciting episodes leading up to it. If a reader is partial to battle scenes of high caliber, this is a book for him! Of course, Hank has many other battles as well. Once of his biggest enemies is the Church of England. The big question the reader asks themselves during this book is "Will Hank return to his time and if so, how?". It was exciting for me to ponder this question throughout the novel. During Hank's travels through medieval Britain, he meets many people. The people he meets who think a government ruled by the people in Britain (his ultimate goal) would be a good idea, he sends to Camelot where he has schools set up which teach people about modern governmental ideas. Schools were also set up to teach people how to produce his wonders of modern science. These few enlightened people remain loyal to Hank until the very end. I thought it an entertaining notion that people who were trained from birth to believe in one thing, could realize it's faults and begin to believe another things. I really enjoy this book because it brings a lot about human nature into question. It discusses the vast differences of beliefs, manners, and life styles between one hundred years ago and fourteen hundred years ago. I also thought the differences between classic Arthurian legend and Mark Twain's perspective of the time were very interesting. Hanks training of these idealistic people he runs across plays into the large political aspect of this book. Since Hank's ultimate goal is to transform Britain into a country ruled by the people, he starts factories producing modern goods which greatly changes the lives of the Britons. I enjoyed the descriptions of the people's reaction to these modern products of science thirteen centuries before they would be invented. Throughout the entire book commentary and philosophizing concerning the comparison of the fifth century feudal system of Britain and the nineteenth century democracy of the U.S. by Hank Morgan is common. This political aspect is typical of Twain's works. It gave me great pleasure to read this aspect of the book and to comprehend it's meaning. Through Hank Morgan, Mark Twain is able to depict vivid images in the readers mind. Whether it be a person, scene, or sensation felt by Hank Twain describes it in a way which puts a solid picture in the imagination of the reader. I have not seen the movie of this novel, but I have heard it isn't very well done and it is nothing compared to the book. I believe this is because Mark Twain paints such a realistic picture in the mind of the reader, it is nothing compared to what some director can film. From Mark Twain's great descriptions and writing style to the unique ideas presented, the novel A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court is a fantastic novel. There are so many aspects of it to enjoy, and it is just an all around entertaining book. I give this book four out of five stars and I recommend it to any one interested in fantasy, especially if they want a different perspective on King Arthur.

Well, the perfect companion to La Morte d'Arthur...

Twain completely dissects the "good ol' days" of Arthurian Britain by exposing the vicious social practices of the time: white slavery, le droit de seigneur, confiscation of property in event of suicide, the complete lack of impartial justice, the degrading influence of the Church on the mass, etcetera etcetera etcetera...

The Arthurian legends are wonderful tales, but they are a mythic literary production; Twain deals with the brutal reality of daily living in the Dark Ages, and points out that the good ol' days were not so good, anyway.

As for its applicability to modern America, I am not fit to judge. Perhaps it's there. But "The Connecticut Yankee" is a wonderful tonic for those prone to romanticizing the past. Twain seems to agree with Tom Paine that the English nobility were "no-ability", and simply the latest in a series of robbers.

And, of course, the book is stuffed with wonderful Twainisms... My favorite is his observation that a conscience is a very inconvenient thing, and the significant difference between a conscience and an anvil is that, if you had an anvil inside you, it would be alot less uncomfortable than having a conscience.

Twain also mentions the beautiful mispronunciations of childhood, and how the bereaved parental ear listens in vain for them once children have grown.

You'll never look at castles the same again...