Forget about Adam Gopnik. Men like him enjoy stirring the pot and  
don't deserve a minute more in the spotlight.

"It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the  
strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them  
better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,  
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives  
valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is  
no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive  
to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who  
spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the  
triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at  
least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be  
with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."
-Theodore Roosevelt

I am enjoying the Autobiography a great deal. Seeing that I'm learning  
about Mark Twain in reverse order (No surprise, I was a breech baby)  
what this Volume has done for me is- it's made me aware of Twain's  
storytelling skills. I have read the Hornet story starting on page 127  
at least 15 times. It's brilliantly written.

Great job MTP!

"It is the will of God that we must have critics, and missionaries,  
and congressmen, and humorists, and we must bear the burden."
- Mark Twain