‘Mark Twain’s America’ Gives Candid Glimpse Into The Life of America’s Foremost Satirist

Mark Twain’s America: A Celebration in Words and Image, the new collection of rare illustrations, vintage photographs, and never before seen artifacts from Twain’s life and career curated by Harry L. Katz, illuminates the writer as never before. Culled from an extensive collection at the Library of Congress, Mark Twain’s America stands poised to deepen our cultural understanding of Twain and his works during what was a formidable time for America in a post-Civil War era, in much the same way David S. Reynolds’ Walt Whitman’s America did for the renowned American poet.

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington wrote in the book’s preface and in a piece by the L.A. Times about the importance of Twain in American culture.

“Other books on Mark Twain have used materials from the Library of Congress, but none has reached so deeply into our collections to provide a portrait of the artist and the country that inspired him.”

Twain, often called America’s first celebrity, is remembered for his stellar literary contributions as well as his notoriety as a social commentator and public speaker. The influential scribe, born Samuel Langhorne Clemens, left his Missouri home and traversed the nation before settling in Connecticut, offering not simply amusing anecdotes but also scathing criticism of the social injustices that he observed along the way.

Katz explained to the San Diego Union-Tribune what he discovered while pouring through the extensive Twain collection at the Library of Congress.

“When you read the body of his work there is so much that’s contemporary and ahead of his time. For example, in the 1870s, before the Gilded Age started, he named it that in a book he co-authored about Washington speculators, lobbyists and corrupt senators. The issues that he dealt with, the robber barons vs. the working people, race relations — he’s still provocative, he’s still controversial, and he’s still a transcendent oracle for people who want to hear an independent voice.”

Katz became interested in writing about Twain after a suggestion from a friend who is an admitted “Twainiac.”

“I didn’t know what a Twainiac was and then I went online and I found out there are millions of people who look to Twain for inspiration, for information, for entertainment and enlightenment — people all over the world, from societies who are critical of America to societies who want to emulate Americans.”

“There are hundreds, thousands of Twain books. What’s different about this one? I wanted to show his life as he lived it, in his own time. The things he saw, the people he met, the way he conducted himself, the way he really created a character that is unique in our history.”

Mark Twain’s America: A Celebration in Words and Images by Harry L. Katz and the Library of Congress, published by Little, Brown and Co., spans 256 pages and costs $40. It’s available now at booksellers near you.