Mark Twain claimed he could read human character as well as he could read theMississippi River. Now one of Americas preeminent Twain scholars hasinterwoven the ... » 

Mark Twain claimed he could read human character as well as he could read theMississippi River. Now one of Americas preeminent Twain scholars hasinterwoven the authors inner life with his writings to produce a meditation onhow Twains understanding of human nature evolved and deepened. Quirk chartsthe ways in which this humorist and occasional philosopher contemplated humannature revealing how his outlook changed over the years. His travels hisreadings in history and science his political and social commitments and hisown pragmatic testing of human nature in his writing contributed to Twainsmature view of his kind. Quirk establishes the social and scientific contextsthat clarify Twains thinking and he considers not only Twains statedintentions about his purposes in his published works but also his ad hocremarks about the human condition. «