Today we tell about one of America’s best-known writers, Mark Twain. We also talk about his famous book, "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

BARBARA KLEIN: Mark Twain wrote "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" in eighteen eighty-four. Since then, the book has been published in at least sixty languages. Some people say it is the best book ever created by an American writer. American students still read "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."? And parents, teachers and literary experts still debate the issues discussed in the book.

BOB DOUGHTY: The writer who became Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in eighteen thirty-five. He grew up in Hannibal, Missouri on the Mississippi River. After his father died in eighteen forty-seven, young Samuel went to work as an assistant to a publisher. Ten years later, he became a pilot on a steamboat that sailed on the Mississippi. He heard the riverboat workers call out the words "mark twain!"? That was a measure for the depth of water.

In eighteen sixty-one, the American Civil War put an end to steamboat traffic on the Mississippi. So Clemens traveled west and became a reporter for newspapers in Nevada and California.

BARBARA KLEIN: Later, he wrote funny stories and called himself Mark Twain. Twain became famous for his story, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" in eighteen sixty-five. It tells about a jumping competition among frogs.

Twain also traveled a lot and began writing books about his travels. His stories about a trip to Europe and the Middle East were published in "The Innocents Abroad."? And his stories about life in the western United States became the book called "Roughing It."

In eighteen seventy, he married Olivia Langdon and moved to Hartford, Connecticut. During the eighteen eighties, he wrote books for children, such as "The Prince and the Pauper."? It tells about a poor boy who trades identities with a member of England’s ruling family. Twain also wrote "Life on the Mississippi."? This book describes his days as a steamboat pilot and his return to the river twenty years later.

BOB DOUGHTY: Mark Twain was already a successful writer before he became famous as a public speaker. Over the years, he had invested a lot of money in unsuccessful businesses. In eighteen ninety-three, he found himself deeply in debt. So to earn money, he traveled around the world giving humorous talks. His speeches made people laugh and remember events they had experienced.

However, his later life was not a happy one. Two of his daughters died. His wife died in nineteen-oh-four after a long sickness. Some critics think Mark Twain’s later works were more serious because of his sadness. He died of heart failure in nineteen ten.