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He was -- still is -- the cigar-smoking humorist-sage whose very name inspires smiles. Twain wrote
books like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that define two sides of an imagined American childhood and the Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson that exposed the wounds of racism in American society. Although he first began to wear his famous white suit in public in 1906, just a few years before his death, that is the most familiar image of Mark Twain for people throughout the world. He was a printer and journalist, steamboat pilot, gold and silver miner, a newspaper editor, author, and publisher. He was also deeply involved in American political and cultural issues, and an active participant in several anti-imperialist movements. |