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"The Innocents Abroad, or The New Pilgrims' Progress is a travel book by American author Mark Twain which humorously chronicles what Twain called his ""Great Pleasure Excursion"" on board the chartered vessel Quaker City through Europe and the Holy Land with a group of American travelers in 1867. It was the best-selling of Twain's works during his lifetime, as well as one of the best-selling travel books of all time. The Innocents Abroad explores he conflict between history and the modern world. Twain continually encounters petty profiteering and trivializations of history as he journeys, as well as a strange emphasis placed on particular past events. He is either outraged, puzzled, or bored by each encounter. During Twain's voyage many of his illusions are shattered, including his discovery that the nations described in the Old Testament could easily fit inside many American states and counties, and that the ""kings"" of those nations might very well have ruled over fewer people than could be found in some small towns. This case laminate collector's edition includes a Victorian inspired dust-jacket."

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9781774762103

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"Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 - April 21, 1910), better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, entrepreneur, publisher and lecturer. Among his novels are The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1885), the latter often called ""The Great American Novel."" Twain was raised in Hannibal, Missouri, which later provided the setting for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. After an apprenticeship with a printer, Twain worked as a typesetter and contributed articles to the newspaper of his older brother, Orion Clemens. He later became a riverboat pilot on the Mississippi River before heading west to join Orion in Nevada. He referred humorously to his lack of success at mining, turning to journalism for the Virginia City Territorial Enterprise. In 1865, his humorous story ""The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"" was published, based on a story he heard at Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, where he had spent some time as a miner. The short story brought international attention, and was even translated into classic Greek. His wit and satire, in prose and in speech, earned praise from critics and peers, and he was a friend to presidents, artists, industrialists, and European royalty. Twain was born shortly after a visit by Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would ""go out with it"", too. He died the day after the comet returned. He was lauded as the ""greatest American humorist of his age,"" and William Faulkner called Twain ""the father of American literature."""

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