American Notes for General Circulation (Penguin Classics)

Dickens was the most famous of many travelers of his time who journeyed to the New World, curious to find out about the revolutionary new civilization which had captured the English imagination. His frank, often humorous descriptions cover everything from his comically uncomfortable sea voyage to his wonder at the Niagara Falls. In general Dickens is critical of what he saw as a society ruled by money and partly built on slavery, with unsavory manners and a corrupt press. His unfavorable account provoked a hostile response in America and Britain, although he was to change his opinion later.