No American writer better captured the restless spirit of his age than Mark Twain. Hailed as a humorist, he tempered wit with wisdom, mixing sharp social critique into his homespun tales of travel and adventure. This course explores the fascinating trajectory of Twain’s life – from his boyhood along the Mississippi, to his gilded heyday among the Yankee elite, to the later years of business failure and family tragedy. Prospector, printer, and riverboat pilot, Twain was above all a keen observer of human nature, and his insights remain funny and relevant today.