I very much agree with Mary Christmas's review of the Gold book on Twain
and
"bankruptcy." I'm both amazed and impressed at the lengths she went through
to check out footnotes and sources and chuckled over her compare/contrast
with Hoffman's bio. I was very puzzled while reading this book, especially
for the shifts in tone, focus, and organization along the way. I thought
perhaps part of my reaction was my growing worry over scholarship these
days, dwelling in the first person to the extreme. But Mary articulated the
book's weaknesses quite well, so I simply second her reactions.

I'm reviewing the Gold book for another venue which asks I recommend what
libraries should buy the title. In this case, I say none.

Wes Britton