Vatican, Odessa, Constantinople and Cairo. No city is spared from the scathing satire and insightful commentary of Twain’s pen, making it an invaluable chronicle of world history as well as a classic of American literature. Fans of Bill Bryson or Colin Thubron should not miss the timeless wit of Twain's work, which remains one of the most popular travel books ever written. Mark Twain, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, (1835-1910) was an American humorist, lecturer, journalist and novelist who acquired international fame for his adventure stories of boyhood, especially "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" as well as for his travel narratives, "The Innocents Abroad", "Roughing It", and "Life on the Mississippi". Twain transcended the apparent limitations of his humble origins to become one of America’s most beloved writers.