Word: travelers
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Along the way he twisted an aged form--the travel narrative--into something uniquely American. Twain didn't just describe exotic sights; he thoroughly reimagined them with self-deprecation and enough comic invention to keep the reader guessing what really happened. He also demolished the writerly veneration of the Old World at the expense of the New. Yes, Americans could be boorish and loud, but Europe could be tired and sad. Be proud, he said to the home folks. Besides, the food over here is lousy...
After the success of The Innocents Abroad, Twain returned to the form over and over. A life of travel, which he once pronounced "fatal to prejudice," marked Twain deeply. In his twilight years, on an around-the-world lecture tour, he saw far fewer innocents abroad. The man who had crossed the U.S. 35 years earlier without seeming to notice the crushing of Native Americans now decried the depredations of colonization and the eradication of native cultures...
Twain would spend the remainder of his life railing at the savagery and presumption of imperialism abroad and racism at home. Travel had liberated his vandal, but now he wished a lot of other people had just stayed home...
...agreed to share a meal and make a joint public appearance soon. Friends say Bill Clinton is still taking his wife's loss to Obama hard--and personally--but he appreciated the Senator's gracious tone. Clinton has begun to emerge from his combative crouch, but with a travel-packed schedule and the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting looming in September, he may best serve the campaign by example. Obama has already copied some smart tactical moves from Clinton's 1992 bid. After securing the nomination, he made symbolic statements to defuse cultural and defense issues that have been Democratic...
...first flush of success, Twain began work on a travel book, The Innocents Abroad, that would bring him sizable amounts of money. In that book he simultaneously took on the pretensions of Europe and the spectacle of a bunch of comical American tourists, including himself, making a sustained encounter with an Old World that was never quite as impressive as it was supposed...