British colonists in 1830s India lived in terror of the Thugs. Reputed to be brutal criminals, the Thugs supposedly strangled, beheaded, and robbed thousands of travelers in the goddess Kali's name. The British responded with equally brutal repression of the Thugs and developed a compulsive fascination with tales of their monstrous deeds. Did the Thugs really exist, or did the British invent them as an excuse to seize tighter control of India? Drawing on historical and anthropological accounts, Indian tales and sacred texts, and detailed analyses of the secret Thug language, Martine van Woerkens reveals for the first time the real story of the Thugs. Many different groups of Thugs actually did exist over the centuries, but the monsters the British made of them had much more to do with colonial imaginings of India than with the real Thugs. Tracing these imaginings down to the present, van Woerkens reveals the ongoing roles of the Thugs in fiction and film from Frankenstein to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

British colonists in 1830s India lived in terror of the Thugs. Reputed to be brutal criminals, the Thugs supposedly strangled, beheaded, and robbed thousands of travelers in the goddess Kali's name. The British responded with equally brutal repression of the Thugs and developed a compulsive fascination with tales of their monstrous deeds. Did the Thugs really exist, or did the British invent them as an excuse to seize tighter control of India? Drawing on historical and anthropological accounts, Indian tales and sacred texts, and detailed analyses of the secret Thug language, Martine van Woerkens reveals for the first time the real story of the Thugs. Many different groups of Thugs actually did exist over the centuries, but the monsters the British made of them had much more to do with colonial imaginings of India than with the real Thugs. Tracing these imaginings down to the present, van Woerkens reveals the ongoing roles of the Thugs in fiction and film from Frankenstein to Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

A happy and interesting jumble is this book of Mark Twain's. It is like a lucky-bag at a fair. In his zigzag journey around the world, the humorist has made a collection of odds and ends of fun, philosophy, and fantastic description, such as has never been gathered in the pages of a single book, and any one dipping in at random is sure of a prize. The heterogeneous mass has some pretense of being loosely strung together, but it is on a line as long as the Equator itself. It is a traveler's miscellany — a globe-trotter's hotch-potch — a sociologist's cabinet of specimens, all bearing the quaint labelings of the creator of Pudd'nhead Wilson. Here is a rare bit of humor surreptitiously picked up in a New Zealand drawing-room; there a sample fragment of a life-tragedy which the trophy-hunter knocked off Molokai. This division of the cabinet contains an incident from the stage-door of a New York theater; that, next to it, a unique string of anecdotes of tiger-hunting in Baroda. And according to the labels, many of the specimens were picked up in very unexpected places; as for instance, the yarn about Barnum which the collector found in Delagoa bay. But wherever found, or however incongruously grouped, this cabinet of odds and ends of life is one of the most interesting and unique collections ever made by a traveler.

This carefully edited collection has been designed and formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Contents: Travel Books The Innocents Abroad Roughing It Old Times on the Mississippi A Tramp Abroad Life on the Mississippi Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion Essays, Satires & Articles How to Tell a Story, and Other Essays What Is Man? And Other Essays Editorial Wild Oats Advice to Youth Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences Concerning the Jews To the Person Sitting in Darkness To My Missionary Critics Christian Science Queen Victoria's Jubilee Essays on Paul Bourget The Treaty With China, its Provisions Explained In Defence of Harriet Shelley Mrs. Eddy in Error Stirring Times in Austria The Czar's Soliloquy King Leopold's Soliloquy Adam's Soliloquy Essays on Copyrights Other Essays The Complete Speeches The Complete Letters Chapters from my Autobiography Biography Mark Twain: A Biography by Albert Bigelow Paine Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835-1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He is best known for his two novels – The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and its sequel, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, but his satirical stories and travel books are also widely popular. His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned him praise from critics and peers. He was lauded as the greatest American humorist of his age.

Fascinating humorous account of 1897 voyage to Hawaii, Australia, India, New Zealand, etc. Ironic, bemused reports on peoples, customs, climate, flora and fauna, politics, much more. 197 illustrations.

Reproduction of the original. The publishing house Megali specialises in reproducing historical works in large print to make reading easier for people with impaired vision.

This Excellent Collection brings together Mark Twain's longer, major books and a fine selection of shorter pieces and Science-Fiction Books. This Books created and collected in Mark Twain's Most important Works illuminate the life and work of one of the most individual writers of the XX century - a man who elevated political writing to an art. Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name "Mark Twain", was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was lauded as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature". His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), the latter often called "The Great American Novel". Twain was raised in Hannibal, Missouri, which later provided the setting for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. He served an apprenticeship with a printer and then worked as a typesetter, contributing articles to the newspaper of his older brother Orion Clemens. He later became a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River before heading west to join Orion in Nevada. He referred humorously to his lack of success at mining, turning to journalism for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise.[5] His humorous story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County", was published in 1865, based on a story that he heard at Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, where he had spent some time as a miner. The short story brought international attention and was even translated into French.[6] His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. Twain earned a great deal of money from his writings and lectures, but he invested in ventures that lost most of it—such as the Paige Compositor, a mechanical typesetter that failed because of its complexity and imprecision. He filed for bankruptcy in the wake of these financial setbacks, but in time overcame his financial troubles with the help of Henry Huttleston Rogers. He eventually paid all his creditors in full, even though his bankruptcy relieved him of having to do so. Twain was born shortly after an appearance of Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it" as well; he died the day after the comet made its closest approach to the Earth. This Collection included: TOM SAWYER SERIES · The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn · The Adventures of Tom Sawyer · Tom Sawyer Abroad · Tom Sawyer, Detective · A Tramp Abroad ALONZO FITZ AND OTHER STORIES AUTOBIOGRAPHIES LETTERS ESSAYS AND NOVELS · A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court · In Defense of Harriet Shelley · A Double Barrelled Detective Story · Editorial Wild Oats · Essays on Paul Bourget · Eve's Diary · Extract From Adam's Diary · Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven · Extracts From Adam's Diary · The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut · Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offences · Following the Equator a Journey around the World · The Gilded Age · Goldsmith's Friend Abroad Again · A Horse's Tale · How to Tell a Story and Other Essays · The Innocents Abroad · Is Shakespeare Dead? From my Autobiography · Life on the Mississippi BIOGRAPHIC ESSAYS