On the Decay of the Art of Lying (kindle) by Mark Twain


Not Twain's best work.

Twain (1835-1910) says that On the Decay of the Art of Lying was an essay written in 1885 for a $30 prize for the "Historical and Antiquarian Club of Hartford". Twain notes that he did not win a prize for this essay.

The essay focuses on the lost art of lying. Twain discusses different kinds of lies, situations in which people lie and why all lies are not bad.

The essay is sometimes funny but mostly sounds like an old stand up routine about good lies and bad lies.

The Kindle version is very short - only 86 locations which equals about 12 regular pages.

 I rate this essay 3 stars out of 5.

 This book can be found on Amazon.com here: On the Decay of the Art of Lying by Mark Twain.

 Reviewed on May 28, 2009.

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