Bound on the lecture trip all over the world, Tag Twain converts his willing satiric vision to foreign lands in Following the Equator. This stunning chronicle of a sea voyage around the Pacific Ocean displays Twain’s eyes for the unusual, his wide-ranging interest, and his delight in embellishing the reality. The personalities of the ship’s team and travellers, the poetry of Australian place-names, the achievement of women’s suffrage in New Zealand, a merchant account from the Sepoy Mutiny, and reflections around the Boer War as a manifestation of imperialistic morality, among other topics, are the concentrate of his wry laughter and redoubtable forces of observation. Following the Equator is an evocative and extremely unique American family portrait of nineteenth-century travel and customs.