Seventeenth-century British writer Jonathan Swift is considered to be perhaps the foremost prose satirist in the English language and one of the greatest masters of that form in world literature. Throughout his career he utilized satire to examine both the achievements and shortcomings of individuals and society. His greatest satire, Gulliver's Travels is considered one of the most important works in the history of world literature. Alternately described as an attack on humanity and a clear-eyed assessment of human strengths and weaknesses, it is a complex study of human nature and of the moral, philosophical, political, and scientific thought of Swift's time that has resisted any definitive explication since its initial publication in 1726. In addition to his work as a satirist, Swift was also an accomplished minor poet, a master of political journalism, a prominent political figure, and one of the most distinguished leaders of the Anglican church...