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H. L. Mencken, an American writer and cultural critic, put together a book of essays called Prejudices: First Series. The book is split into two parts. The first part talks about politics, literature, religion, and social problems. The second part criticizes politicians, writers, and public intellectuals who were important at the time. Mencken's sharp wit, biting snark, and cynicism about American society and culture are all shown in this book. He criticizes politicians for being self-centered and lying, religious fanatics for being closed-minded, and literary pretenses and trends of the time. Mencken's writings are very opinionated, and not all of his ideas are politically correct. This made the book controversial at the time it came out. But the book is considered a classic of American writing and a good way to learn about the social, cultural, and political problems of the early 20th century.

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"H. L. Mencken was an American journalist, essayist, satirist, cultural critic, and expert on American English. He lived from September 12, 1880, until January 29, 1956. He made extensive observations about the social scene, literature, music, well-known politicians, and modern movements. He also attracted notice for his parody reporting on the Scopes Trial, which he nicknamed the ""Monkey Trial"". Mencken is renowned as a scholar for his work on The American Language, a multi-volume examination of American English dialects. He was a vocal opponent of representative democracy, which he saw as a system in which weaker individuals ruled their superiors, and organized religion. He was a fan of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Mencken opposed osteopathy and chiropractic while supporting scientific advancement. He openly criticized economics as well. For six years, Mencken worked as a reporter for the Herald. The newspaper was bought in June 1906, less than two and a half years after the Great Baltimore Fire, by Gen. Felix Agnus, the rival owner, and publisher of The Baltimore American, the town's oldest (since 1773) and largest daily, and Charles H. Grasty, the owner, and editor of The News since 1892."

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