Mark Twain (November 30, 1835 - April 21, 1910) was originally named Samuel Langhorne Clemens. He was the sixth of seven children born to Jane (née Lampton) and John Marshall Clemens. In 1861, having failed as a miner, Twain began his writing career as a reporter for the Virginia City, Nevada newspaper, "The Territorial Enterprise." From that humble beginning Twain went on to become one of the most successful American writers of all time virtually defining the genre of American Literature. Twain's particular style was to use experiences from his own life to weave exciting and entertaining tales of common people doing adventurous things. Writing with his special brand of American Mid-Western wit, sarcasm and humor twain managed to lampoon and mock virtually every character and institution he wrote about while simultaneously portraying them as endearing and possessed of great decency and virtue. Twain authored several wildly popular books which have stood the test of time and have remained popular for well over 100 years. His more popular books include "Roughing It," a tale of his travels in the Western United States in the 1860's and 70's; "The Celebrating Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," a tale of the odd adventures and pastimes of California gold miners; and "The Innocents Abroad," a report of American tourists' travel to Europe and the Holy Land in which he pokes fun at the not-so-grand grandeur of Europe and ancient traditions.

However, by far his two most popular books were "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." Emphasizing the innocence and virtues of small-town life, Twain drew heavily from his boyhood experiences growing up in 1840's Hannibal, Missouri when he wrote these two Masterpieces. Still popular today, these books portray the innocence and virtues of early small-town America and, in the characters of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, the quintessential small-town boys and their idyllic and adventurous boyhoods. To read Mark Twain is to understand the American Character.