Roorda's assessment of Twain's relationship with the sea reflects both his familiarity with Twain's writings and his own maritime expertise, which transforms what otherwise could have been just one more anthology of Twain's writings into a valuable contribution to Twain studies.

Mark Twain is ever full of surprises, one of which is the great amount of time he spent at sea. Readers not already familiar with his extensive travel history will discover in this book that in addition to his years on Mississippi steamboats, Mark Twain undertook scores of sea voyages. His lively accounts of both those and imaginary voyages are collected in this handy volume, which should find a welcome place alongside books about his steamboating days.

Twain at Sea brings together Twain’s comments about sea travel-ships, journeys, and fellow passengers he encountered over half a century. He is characteristically observant, droll, engaged, and interested in everything going on around him. A lovely volume to take on an ocean voyage or dip into on a day at the beach.

[Roorda’s] approach and arrangement are original… Mark Twain was always traveling, and Roorda follows yet another trail of America’s best-known writer.