This is a quick note simply to commend to your attention Gary
Scharnhorst's _Mark Twain: The Complete Interviews_ (2006), which was
reviewed on the Forum last July. Several months ago, I read the entire
book from cover to cover and found it a most stimulating experience. I
felt like I was reading a biography that unfolded along with Mark
Twain's life, as the interviews are all written by people who wrote mere
hours after meeting him at first hand. Many interviews describe his
appearance and manner of speaking with a freshness and immediacy unlike
anything else I've read about him and make him seem to come to life. If
you're looking for something fresh to read about Mark Twain, consider
reading Scharnhorst's book from cover to cover.

The interview collection is so much fun to read that it's a real shame
the interviews don't cover more periods in Mark Twain's life. Most of
the interviews naturally cluster around special events--especially Mark
Twain's lecture tours--and there are large gaps in their chronological
distribution. Moreover, within the periods the interviews do cover,
there is a great deal of overlapping. Occasionally, I felt that I was
reading in circles, as many interviews clearly describe the exact same
group interviews. At times, repeated details became a little tedious,
but I'm glad Scharnhorst included every interview in its entirety.
Having multiple versions describing the same events makes it easier to
judge the reliability of individual interviews. As one who has published
a collection of Mark Twain quotes, I'm sensitive to questions about the
authenticity of every word attributed to Mark Twain, so I appreciate
seeing how different interviewers rendered his words. My gut reaction is
not to trust anything that he didn't put to paper himself ... or dictate
and later personally vet.