Topic: Mark Twain

A Disposition to Be Rich

The author's great-grandfather was the Bernie Madoff of his age – a Ponzi schemer and con man who cheated a US president and kidnapped his own son.

Honor in the Dust

The historical lessons of Gregg Jones's exhaustively researched book about the US's campaign in the Philippines deserve to be remembered.

Innocence abroad for Wal-Mart, Apple, and all Americans

A federal probe of alleged bribery in Mexico by Wal-Mart, along with Apple's lax workplace standards in China, indicate a need for Americans to take their ethical standards with them when operating overseas.

Driving Mr. Yogi

More than baseball, 'Driving Mr. Yogi' is a book about friendship.

Montana's challenge to 'super PACs'

Montana's high court challenges the moral basis for the US Supreme Court's Citizens United ruling that spawned super PACs. The high court needs to rebalance free speech vs. democracy.

10 snapshots of New York from celebrated diaries

From 'New York Diaries' edited by Teresa Carpenter, 10 stories of New York City through the centuries.

French politicians argue over who 'owns' Joan of Arc

In an election year Joan of Arc represents 600-year-old values that fit political messages on both sides of the aisle.

Is Mitt Romney's Europe-bashing well placed?

Mitt Romney called the Obama White House a reflection of the 'worst of what Europe has become' in his victory speech last night. But the austerity favored by the GOP is much in vogue in Europe.

New Yahoo CEO arrives: why his company isn't dead yet

As former eBay executive, Scott Thompson takes the helm at Yahoo the company confronts some big strategic hurdles, but it hasn't been wiped off the Internet map just yet.

Comfort food with an English accent: Lancashire Hotpot

This take on Lancashire hotpot – traditional English food at its most comforting – is made with lamb, onions and carrots topped with sliced potatoes and baked until fork tender.

Jerusalem: The Biography

Chronicling the world's holiest city

Mark Twain and 29 other great pseudonyms

Wednesday's special Google doodle wished a happy birthday to Mark Twain. The American writer was born 176 years ago. Well, Twain wasn't born then. A fellow named Samuel Clemens was. The pen name "Mark Twain" came many years later.

Twain stands among many great pseudonyms. Some are obviously fake – Vin Diesel and Sting. But others might surprise you – John Wayne and Alan Alda. Here are 30 of the best from books, movies, TV, and music.

Mark Twain: Top 5 world travel quotes

Today is the 176^th birthday of Mark Twain, the great American writer of not only fiction but also travel stories.

If Mark Twain were alive today, he'd be reading this on an iPad

Google is honoring the 176th birthday of Mark Twain with one of its trademark doodles. Consummate technophile that he was, Twain would no doubt have appreciated it.

Mark Twain: 10 reasons we love him

For Twain's 176th's birthday, ten reasons the world is still fascinated by the Missouri native.

Why Mark Twain would be booted from Facebook

A Google doodle gave Mark Twain a warm birthday salute on Wednesday. But Facebook would have given Mark Twain a hard time. It's company policy, Mr. Clemens.

Mark Twain quotes: 10 favorites on his birthday

10 classic quotes from Mark Twain to celebrate his 176th birthday

Bumps in the night

Hearing the prolonged creaking sound and occasional clump, an imaginative boy surveyed his options.

Six ways the rich really do get richer

“Class warfare:” Lately this old term has been taking on new life as political theater, a way to rebuke Wall Street protestors, and, predictably, fodder for Fox News. According to Google, in just the last month alone, 3,870 articles have been published containing these words. Another way to express the concept of rich vs. not-so-rich is the expression, “The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.” It’s been around for a long time: According to Wikipedia, William Henry Harrison went there in 1840: “I believe and I say it is true Democratic feeling, that all the measures of the government are directed to the purpose of making the rich richer and the poor poorer.” I’m not going to take a stand on either side of the “class warfare” debate by saying that the rich do or don’t take unfair advantage of the rest of society. This is America, where we all have the potential to become rich. But I will say this unequivocally: The rich do get richer, or at least have the potential to. Let’s count the ways:

Grant’s Final Victory

Charles Bracelen Flood offers a fascinating coda to a remarkable life in this brisk, well-told history of the final months and days of Ulysses S. Grant.

'Prohibition' – so much more than gangsters and flappers

This Sunday (8 to 10 p.m. EDT) Ken Burns turns his prodigious research efforts and illuminating camerawork loose on America's failed attempt to sober up.

A century later, a Massachusetts library lifts its ban on a Mark Twain short story

Just in time for Banned Books Week, the Charlton, Mass., library reversed its ban on Twain's story "Eve's Diary."

Fall books: 20 nonfiction titles you don't want to miss

From the energy crisis to The Doors, from Hitler’s Germany to Rin Tin Tin, here are the nonfiction titles that have readers buzzing this fall.

Jackie Chan lives, but so do celebrity death hoaxes

Jackie Chan: A Facebook Page proclaiming that Jackie Chan had died of a heart attack on Aug. 17 caused a stir. But the fake news was also old news.

Nom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms, by Carmela Ciuraru

Carmela Ciuraru takes a playful look at the history of pen names and the reasons authors use them.