Exactly. While I enjoyed the whimsy of the  "Borat-like" letter one of our
members posted, I believe Jason makes the point I  was clumsily trying to
make.
Please understand that my WIP is involved with  pinning down dates,
reconciling between various sources and authorities. So,  yes, to me it does
matter,
and, as Jason points out "errors could matter." By no  means is my list of
errors
comprehensive--I'd estimate that there are 10-12 such  errors in the book of
600 pages. Who cares if an event is off by a day or two  (atomic clocks
aside)? I suppose careful scholars do.

Jason also makes the point that such errors erode  credibility in the work,
that we aren't sure if there are substantive errors as  well. I agree.

As for the Madonna/Metallica references--I understand  this is a purely
stylistic technique, but stand by the principle that using  these as
liberally as
Powers does risks weakening the historical view. Many  of these are one
generations icons which may date the work in a few years. For  me, they yank
me from
the historical narrative, jar my understanding rather than  enlighten it.
Was
Adah Mencken truly a Madonna of her time? A red-hot momma? Or,  was she more
in that Bohemian school of thought and style that Sam Clemens swam  in for a
time? Analogies can help understanding--but they also risk an  intellectual
mud-wrestling contest, where the reader gives up on the work. My
perspective is
from a novelist as well as a historian's point of view, as one  who has
taught
college English composition--so I realize others may disagree and  find such
parallels helpful. To each his own.

There are some wonderful passages in Powers' book.  Then too there are some
that made me shake my head.  As for blaming the  errors on printers and
editors, well, that's easy, but the author gets proofs,  right? Sam himself
was
mortified at the errors that found publication in his  first book, The
Jumping
Frog, because he did not examine proofs, a lapse he  swore never to repeat.

Journalism is the reason Powers work comes up short?  Sam Clemens cut his
teeth as a journalist. I'm sure he would hee-haw at the idea  of using
journalism
as an explanation or excuse for such mistakes.

I am fully aware of the beam in my eye. As Sam would  say, being human is
enough to know about a man--nothing could be  worse. Presenting a work of
this
stature error-free of fact may indeed be  an ideal, but it is an ideal
worthy to
aspire to.

David H  Fears