Following the Equator : A Journey Around the World

Mark Twain’s 1897 nonfiction account of circumnavigating the globe by steamship. Brimming with ironic, tongue-in-cheek humor, the book describes shark fishing in Australia, riding the rails in India, tiger hunting, diamond mining in South Africa, and much more. A true travel classic. Geography, history, culture and customs, language, climate, flora and fauna, language arts (oh, his choice of words and phrases!), politics, time zones, botany, geology, biology, religion, food - all are explored and described. Twain also unmasks and criticizes racism, imperialism, and missionary zeal in observations woven into the narrative with classical Twain wit. A must-read!