1 h 45 minAudiobook2 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if heaven is so vast that Earth barely matters—and your wings and harp disappoint you?
In Mark Twain’s satirical story, Captain Stormfield approaches the afterlife with a sailor’s curiosity and a firm sense of his own importance. His journey crosses immense stretches of space, where even the speed of travel becomes a joke. The universe gives him little reason to think Earth holds a special place.
As Stormfield learns how this imagined heaven works, his expectations keep failing him. Wings and a harp offer less satisfaction than he expects. A fellow inhabitant, Sandy, helps explain the place, and their conversations turn everyday arrangements into questions about fame, achievement, and what makes a person matter.
What you’ll discover
- A sailor beyond Earth Follow Stormfield’s curious gaze as the afterlife unsettles his very human sense of importance.
- Space with comic scale Travel through a universe whose immense distances make earthly assumptions look wonderfully small.
- Heaven without easy answers Discover why familiar wings and a harp fail to deliver the satisfaction Stormfield expects.
- Sandy’s patient explanations Join conversations that move from daily arrangements to searching questions about achievement and worth.
- Dry humor, searching questions Enjoy Twain’s comedy as Stormfield measures each surprise against lessons that no longer fit.
Who will love it
For readers who love Twain’s dry humor, skeptical questions about religion, and ordinary people confronting an absurdly large universe.
What’s inside
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 1 h 45 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 2 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear La visita del capitán Stormfield al cielo in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
La visita del capitán Stormfield al cielo
by Mark Twain · 1909
A sea captain arrives in heaven, where even identifying Earth upends his sense of humanity’s place in the universe.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 5
Captain Stormfield approaches the afterlife with a sailor’s curiosity and a very human sense of his own importance. His journey carries him through immense stretches of space, where even the speed of travel becomes a subject for comedy. He expects heaven to make sense in familiar terms. Instead, he reaches an entrance where the officials have trouble placing the tiny world he comes from.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about La visita del capitán Stormfield al cielo
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Extract from Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven about?
Mark Twain’s story follows a sea captain who reaches heaven and discovers that familiar religious pictures have prepared him badly. His encounters turn into comic lessons about the size of the universe, the variety of happiness, and the difference between earthly fame and real worth.
Is Captain Stormfield’s heaven meant to be taken literally?
The story uses an imagined afterlife to test human assumptions rather than to offer a religious guide. Twain makes heavenly arrangements surprisingly practical, then uses them to question narrow ideas about salvation, importance, happiness, and justice.
Why is Extract part of the title?
The published story presents a portion of a larger work Twain developed over many years. The title suits its shape: readers join Stormfield’s journey and education without receiving a complete account of every stage of his heavenly life.
The author
Mark Twain
1835–1910 · American humorist and novelist
Mark Twain was the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens, an American author born in Missouri in 1835. He lived in Hartford, Connecticut, from 1874 to 1891. He wrote The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and The Prince and the Pauper (1881). He died in Redding, Connecticut, in 1910.
More by Mark Twain
All 23 books
Free
Free
More like this
Free
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Popular in humour and satire
See all
Free
Free
Free
Free
