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ratings: (4.5/5)
Genre: Classic Literature, Satire, Fantasy, Science Fiction, American Literature

Book Review:
'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' is a book of dazzling originality and relentless wit. Mark Twain takes one of the most potent myths of Western culture—the world of King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table—and turns it upside down. He sends a practical, hard-headed Yankee engineer back in time to this world of magic and chivalry, and the result is a collision of cultures that is both hilarious and thought-provoking. Hank Morgan, the Yankee, is a wonderful creation—a man of boundless confidence and ingenuity, who sees the medieval world as a mess of superstition, injustice, and inefficiency. He sets out to modernize it, using his knowledge of 19th-century technology to perform ''miracles'' that astonish the populace and establish his power. But Twain's satire cuts both ways. He lampoons the romantic idealization of the Middle Ages, but he also questions the smug assumptions of his own era about progress and civilization. The novel is uproariously funny, filled with comic anachronisms and sharp one-liners. But it also has a dark side, and its ending is surprisingly bleak. This Bantam Classics edition is an affordable way to experience a work that is essential reading for anyone interested in Twain, American literature, or the art of satire. It is a book that will make you laugh, make you think, and stay with you long after you have finished it.