What Is Man? and Other Essays showcases Twain at his most insightful and provocative. Brimming with philosophical candor and sparkling with humor, it features ‘What Is Man?, ‘ a conversation that explores free will and morality, and includes poignant autobiographical accounts (‘The Death of Jean, ‘ ‘The Turning Point in My Life’), hilarious personal narratives (‘Taming the Bicycle, ‘ ‘At the Shrine of St. Wagner’), along with journalism, criticism, and satirical essays. This Warbler Classics edition faithfully reproduces thirty-four playful drawings by Mark Twain that illustrate ‘How to Make History Dates Stick, ‘ ‘A Simplified Alphabet, ‘ and ‘As Concerns Interpreting the Deity.’ Also included is ‘Mark Twain’s Americanism’ by H. L. Mencken and an extensive biographical timeline of Twain’s life and work. Expansive, thoughtful, irreverent, and enormously entertaining, What Is Man? and Other Essays is essential reading for Twain enthusiasts and lovers of American literature.
Tabella dei contenuti
Contents
What Is Man?
The Death of Jean
The Turning Point in My Life
How to Make History Dates Stick
The Memorable Assassination
A Scrap of Curious History
Switzerland, the Cradle of Liberty
At the Shrine of St. Wagner
William Dean Howells
English as She Is Taught
A Simplified Alphabet
As Concerns Interpreting the Deity
Concerning Tobacco
The Bee
Taming the Bicycle
Is Shakespeare Dead?
Mark Twain’s Americanism by H. L. Mencken
Biographical Timeline
Circa l’autore
H. L. MENCKEN (1880-1956) was a journalist, critic, and satirist whose writings have had an enormous influence on American literature and public life.