Using material from his works, diaries, and letters, along with photographs from every stage of his life, Mark Twain follows the great writer/humorist/lecture/people's philosopher from the Hannibal, Missouri of his childhood, to the Europe and Middle East of his travels (and hilarious travel books); from his beginnings as a newspaperman to his storied life as (in his own words) "the most conspicuous man on the planet". Here too are thought-provoking new essays on Twain and his legacy by modern writers and scholars.

The essential companion volume to the upcoming public television series, Mark Twain also stands on its own as an enthralling biography.