BOOKS

_Mark Twain on Travel_ by Terry Mort. Hardcover. 304 pages. The Lyons
Press, 2005. ISBN: 1592288065. $24.95. This volume is a collection of some
of Twain's most popular travel passages from _Life on the Mississippi_,
_Roughing It_, _Following the Equator_, _The Innocents Abroad_, and _A
Tramp Abroad_. Mort has arranged his selections into a geographical trek
that begins on the Mississippi River, ventures out to Nevada, onward West
to the Sandwich Islands, through the Pacific, India, the Middle East, and
Europe. Mort concedes he has occasionally adjusted some of Twain's
punctuation for the modern reader.

Amazon web page for this book is:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1592288065/twainwebmarktwaiA

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_ Ste-e-e-e-eamboat a-Comin'!_ by Jill Esbaum, illustrated by Adam Rex.
Hardcover. 40 pages. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005. ISBN: 0374372365.
$16.00. This volume is geared to young readers ages 4-8; the
stylized/realistic artwork of Adam Rex will appeal to Twain lovers of all
ages. The book was inspired by chapter four (the "white town drowsing"
episode) from _Life on the Mississippi_ and Iowa poet Jill Esbaum has
converted Twain's passage into a delightful verse. When the steamboat _S.L.
Clemens_ comes to town the community wakes up and adults and children greet
the boat and its passengers. A couple of cats and an engaging dog are
included. (JUVENILE READER).

Amazon web page for this book is:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0374372365/twainwebmarktwaiA

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_Buffalo Bill's America: William Cody and the Wild West Show_ by Louis S.
Warren. Hardcover. 654 pages. Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. ISBN: 0375412166.
$30.00. Among items of interest to Twain scholars is the reprinting of the
text of an 1884 endorsement from Mark Twain that Cody used in his newspaper
advertising. The author provides a brief discussion of how aware Twain was
of the artful deceptions in Cody's performances. (NONFICTION).

Amazon web page for this book is:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375412166/twainwebmarktwaiA


Barbara Schmidt
Book Review Editor