Twain, Mark (pen name of Samuel Clemens) (1835-1910) American humorist
whose pseudonym was adopted from his days as a Mississippi steamboat pilot,
"mark twain" meaning "two fathoms deep." He introduced colloquial speech
into American writing and was the most popular writer of his time.
What is Man? and Other Essays (1906)
Mark Twain's What is Man? is based on his 1883 lecture "What is
Happiness? which was rewritten in 1898 and published first in 1906
and again, as part of What is Man? and Other Essays, in 1917. The
title essay is a conversation between two men, one young and one
old, wherein Twain presents his cynical view of the human race.
Fifteen other essays are also included in this collection.
