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Twain’s Feast

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Twain’s Feast

By: Audible Originals
Narrated by: Nick Offerman
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About this listen

Mark Twain, beloved American writer, performer, and humorist, was a self-proclaimed glutton. With the help of a chef and some friends, Nick Offerman presents the story of Twain’s life through the lens of eight of Mark Twain’s favorite foods. As we explore these foods’ role in Samuel Clemens’ life, we also discover a surprising culinary and ecological history of America. The biggest celebrity of his time, Twain was a witness to a transforming country, and with historian and writer Andrew Beahrs as a guide, Beahrs and Offerman take documentary excursions across America, illuminating each dish and bringing to life a broad sampling of Twain’s writing. Twain’s Feast is a rollicking information-packed journey into the rich culinary history of America, with the sharp eye and unmistakable wit of Mark Twain himself.

Portions of this audiobook contain mature language and themes. Listener discretion is advised.

©2018 Audible Originals, LLC (P)2018 Audible Originals, LLC
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Our favorite moments from Twain's Feast

An epic dinner party for the ages
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Entertaining was in Twain's marrow
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We needed someone fearless…enter Chef Tyler Anderson
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Twain was a long way from his uncle’s farm
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Tyler moved between corn, raccoon and trout with the graceful hand of a poet
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Sitting in Twain’s home we felt his loss
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  • Twain’s Feast
  • An epic dinner party for the ages
  • Twain’s Feast
  • Entertaining was in Twain's marrow
  • Twain’s Feast
  • We needed someone fearless…enter Chef Tyler Anderson
  • Twain’s Feast
  • Twain was a long way from his uncle’s farm
  • Twain’s Feast
  • Tyler moved between corn, raccoon and trout with the graceful hand of a poet
  • Twain’s Feast
  • Sitting in Twain’s home we felt his loss
.

About the Author

Andrew Beahrs loves food and history and has written about both for the Smithsonian. He is the author of multiple novels including Strange Saint and The Sin Eaters. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Gastronomica, The Virginia Quarterly Review, and The Writer's Chronicle, among other publications. He lives in California with his family.

About the Author

Samuel Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American novelist, satirist, and social critic. Described by William Faulkner as the “father of American literature,” Twain produced works of timeless humor and enduring social relevance. His novels The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer remain among the most widely-read books in the American canon. Twain died in 1910, the day after the return of Halley's Comet, which had last appeared shortly before his birth.

About the Performer

Best known as the indomitable Ron Swanson in the popular NBC television series Parks and Recreation, Nick Offerman is an uncommon quadruple threat: carpenter, comedian, actor, and author. Offerman first hit the New York Times bestseller list with the release of his semi-autobiographical work Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man’s Fundamentals for Delicious Living, and followed it up with the best-selling Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America’s Gutsiest Troublemakers and Good Clean Fun: Misadventures in Sawdust at Offerman Woodshop. Recently he co-wrote The Greatest Love Story Ever Told: An Oral History with wife Megan Mullally. Currently he keeps busy producing and hosting a lighthearted crafting competition, Making It, alongside Amy Poehler for NBC. As an audiobook narrator, Offerman has demonstrated an uncanny kinship with the work of Mark Twain. His narration of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer—which one Audible editor called “one of the best things I have ever listened to”—brought an American classic into the 21st century. Offerman's deadpan humor and delivery keep Twain's writing as fresh as ever.

About the Performer

Wanda Sykes first came to national prominence as a comedian and writer on HBO’s The Chris Rock Show, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music, or Comedy Special in 1999. She won another three Emmy Awards as a correspondent on Inside the NFL. Entertainment Weekly declared her one of the "25 Funniest People in America" in 2004. Sykes made history in 2009 as the first African-American woman, and first openly gay comedian, to host the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. On television, she has written, produced, and starred in her own comedy specials for Comedy Central, Fox, and HBO, and performed to wide acclaim on Curb Your Enthusiasm, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and black-ish. You can hear her voice in animated features such as Ice Age: Continental Drift, Over the Hedge, and Rio.

About the Performer

Chef Tyler Anderson started his culinary career at 16, working in kitchens throughout California and Chicago alongside some of world’s best chefs. He opened his first restaurant, Millwright’s, in Simsbury, Connecticut in 2012, and has earned accolades from The New York Times, Connecticut Magazine and Hartford Magazine. He has since opened another award-winning bistro—this time in collaboration with Pitmaster Jamie MacDonald—and has plans to open a Spanish-inspired restaurant.

Anderson supports many charities and plans to create an accredited hospitality and culinary program to shape young chefs and replicate the experiences that inspired him at 16. He has been nominated as Best Chef-Northeast from the James Beard Foundation for the last five years in a row, and was a contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef. He was also a winner on Food Network’s Chopped.

What listeners say about Twain’s Feast

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    4 out of 5 stars

Not a whole lot of food involved

Thought the story would have spent the majority of its time on the food and preparations of turn of the last century American cuisine for hours, but it was refreshing to learn more about Mark Twain in general.

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8 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

What happened to the feast?

Though interesting from beginning to end, I was dismayed that the concept of the different courses served at the dinner disappeared a little more than half way through. The food, how the chef prepared it, and the diners reactions to each course was a highlight that I wished had remained through all eight chapters.

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7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful concept, story, and presentation

I'd love to see more offerings like this on Audible. What an insight into Samuel Clemens!

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2 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not great

This audiobook made good background noise, but the premise of a great feast promised in the beginning fell through. No real critique of the foods was made. Very little of interest came from the dinner conversation. The history of Sam Clemens was interesting, but the editing was so bad that it became nerve-racking. The inserts of short meta-descriptions by the narrator to inform the listener in the middle of an interview was particularly off-putting.

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1 person found this helpful

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Loved. It.

Very interesting, surprisingly evoking of. Many emotions. Newly interested in Twain now. Worth the time!

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1 person found this helpful

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a food lovers must listen

great biography on Mark Twain told thru the fascinating lens of food.

superb story telling performance by the cast.

I highly recommend this book for Twain aficionados and food lovers alike.

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interesting book.

nice in site in to mark Twain. I enjoyed the story. I would recommend the book.

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Well done, but brief look into American history

This audible production is very well done and great at presenting historical information about Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) while tying it in with current day settings in terms of ecological and political changes we see today. The listener is taken on a journey through the United States and really gets an understanding of who Mark Twain really was as a person and a glimpse into what drove him to succeed. Throughout the book there are brief topics that touch on dishes Twain had written about enjoying throughout the United States and similar feasts are prepared by chefs; this is not the heart of the book in my opinion, but it does provide a good understanding of the history of our America's current dishes (mostly southern). The book also discuss the ups and downs of Twain's life and makes him even more of an icon. This book really made me think deeply about myself and my struggles. Great listen!

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A delicious look at life

What an amazing way to get into the life of Mark Twain. Andrew Beahrs does a great job taking the listener along on a journey through Twain’s life by way of food he loved.

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    4 out of 5 stars

volume issues in some sections

the story was good, however the quality of the audio in certain sections was really quiet and hard to hear.

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