Gary Scharnhorst, author of The Life of Mark Twain in 3 volumes, will discuss Twain as a social satirist throughout his career, from the short story “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County” to his indictment of imperialism at the turn into the twentieth century. Scharnhorst’s epic and authoritative biography of Samuel Clemens not only offers new insights but also corrects a number of myths about America’s greatest writer.