BOOK REVIEW Jim Zwick (ed.). _Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire: Anti- Imperialist Writings on the Philippine-American War_. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1992. (Syracuse Studies on Peace and Conflict Resolution.) Pp. xlii, 213. Includes index. $34.95. Cloth, 6-1/4" x 9-1/4". ISBN 0-8156-0268- 5. Reviewed for the Mark Twain Forum by: Robert C. Comeau <[log in to unmask]> Drew University Madison, NJ Copyright (c) Mark Twain Forum, 1995. This review may not be published or redistributed in any medium without permission. Albert Bigelow Paine expressed, while discussing "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg," the idea that Mark Twain, at the turn of the century, was no longer a mere storyteller or humorist, but had become almost exclusively a moralist. It is exactly this moralist who speaks to us from the pages of _Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire_, a Mark Twain who certainly had not abandoned the incisive wit, irony and gift for turning a phrase evident in most of his earlier writing, and a Mark Twain who took very seriously his contention, expressed in _The Mysterious Stranger Manuscripts_, that the human race's most effective weapon against shams and frauds of all sorts was laughter and ridicule--in other words, the satirist's stock-in-trade. Jim Zwick has provided the world with a neat, compact look at Mark Twain's satiric writings relative to the Philippine- American war of February 1899-July 1902 and beyond, all of which date from 1900-1908. There are some well-known pieces, some already heavily anthologized, and there are a variety of more incidental writings collected here for the first time, ranging from newspaper articles and brief-mentions to little-known speeches and items of private correspondence and notebook jottings (see table of contents below), and a profusion of interesting and amusing illustrations and editorial cartoons. In some instances, the familiar is neatly juxtaposed with the obscure, as when the savage and justly famous "A Defence of General Funston" is followed immediately by the unknown "General Funston vs. Huck Finn," in which Twain, with a taste of rather bitter humor, describes the banning of _Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ in Denver as a result of his attack on Funston in the earlier essay (though it's a bit like blaming Sir Walter Scott for the Civil War in _Life On the Mississippi_). This book is a focused snapshot of one aspect of Twain's late period, but it seems to me to be a good place for someone just starting to investigate this phase, after reading "Hadleyburg" and _The Mysterious Stranger Manuscripts_, to begin. The philosophies expressed fictionally in these two masterpieces are here given more factual substance. "The War Prayer" is here, and so is "To The Person Sitting In Darkness." Relevant excerpts from "Three Thousand Years among the Microbes" and "The Secret History of Eddypus" are also included, judiciously chosen by the editor, but there is a high enough percentage of newly available material here to interest even the most seasoned of Mark Twain specialists. "Dialogue on the Philippines," a socratic dialogue styled after _What Is Man?_, expands upon some of the ideas in the earlier effort, while applying Twain's philosophical theories in a more practically directed fashion. In "Introducing Winston S. Churchill," Twain uses the occasion of his introduction of Churchill at New York's Waldorf-Astoria on December 12, 1900 to accuse the United States of following the United Kingdom's policies in the Boer War, referring to England and America as "kin in sin." Jim Zwick's Introduction and headnotes are exemplary, giving excellent historical and biographical context for the novice reader and specialist alike. Also, he has certainly done his archive and library time here, seeming to have carefully combed the Mark Twain Papers as well as other archives from far and near. Where possible he has used texts established by the editors of the Mark Twain Papers. In the absence of a Mark Twain Project edition, he has used the most recent and most accurate texts available, making good use of the previous editorial work of Frederick Anderson and Bernard DeVoto, among others. This was clearly a labor of love for Jim Zwick, and this is shown throughout by his meticulous attention to detail and his desire to present this facet of Mark Twain's career to the world in the best possible manner, giving it the seriousness of intention it deserves. It is a book which succeeds because of its intentions and the quality of the work which went into it. It is useful because of its ability to allow us to watch a great, courageous and highly moral mind track a subject which it found particularly pernicious. My fear is that this valuable book will not gain the readership it deserves. College and university libraries should certainly acquire it, but so should high school and public libraries. The ideas lampooned by Twain have not gone away, and will not until more informed readers are able to articulate their objections to certain policies. In speaking for himself, Mark Twain spoke for everyone, and articulated his anger and disillusionment for all. The Mark Twain whom we meet in this remarkable collection is no stranger to most of us. He is irascible, angry and standing on higher moral ground than practically anybody he knows. He has read the news and is outraged at the actions of his government in perpetuating a foreign military entanglement which he believes is none of our business, and which, even worse, he interprets as a colossal land-grab, an attempt at subjugating and enslaving an entire people half a world away. He has accepted his country's highest moral principals and is filled with loathing for its leaders who seem to have forgotten them. He is, in short, the spokesperson for all of us who have some ideal vision of America which we perceive as being compromised almost daily in more sordid pursuits. He speaks for you and he speaks for me, and while his subject matter may be America's involvement in the Philippines in the early twentieth century, we can change the names and the locations and find things remarkably unchanged since then. Good satire is timeless because human folly and depravity are timeless. I think Mark Twain knew that. Appendix to the book review Contents of _Mark Twain's Weapons of Satire_ Illustrations Preface Abbreviations Introduction (by Jim Zwick) Anti-Imperialist Homecoming Welcome Home: Lotos Club Dinner Speech Introducing Winston S. Churchill A Salutation to the Twentieth Century The American Flag Why I Protest: Four Letters To the Person Sitting In Darkness Battle Hymn of the Republic (Brought Down to Date) The Stupendous Procession The Philippine Incident Recruits for a Liberty-crucifying Crusade; Letter to William James Lampton Training That Pays Civilizations Proceed From the Heart: Letter to Albert Sonnichsen Patriots and Traitors: Lotos Club Dinner Speech History 1,000 Years from Now: A Translation The Fall of the Great Republic The Secret History of Eddypus, the World Empire Review of Edwin Wildman's Biography of Aguinaldo General Funston Is Satire Incarnated Notes on Patriotism As Regards Patriotism A Defence of General Funston General Funston vs. Huck Finn: Letter to the _Denver Post_ Dialogue On the Philippines The Dervish and the Offensive Stranger Major General Wood, M.D. The War Prayer Patriotic America Three Thousand Years Among the Microbes Comments on the Moro Massacre Roosevelt, the American Gentleman The Anglo-Saxon Race The Stupendous Joke of the Century True Patriotism and the Children's Theater Monarchical and Republican Patriotism Select Bibliography Sources of Texts Index