The Mark Twain Forum needs reviewers for the following books:

1.   Covici, Pascal, Jr.  _Humor and Revelation in American Literature:
     The Puritan Connection_.  Columbia and London: University of
     Missouri Press, 1997.  Pp. 226.  Cloth, 6-1/2" x 9-1/2".
     Bibliography, index.  $39.95.  ISBN 0-8262-1095-3.

          Both the Genteel Tradition and Calvinistic Puritanism
          exhibited a sense of possessing inside information about the
          workings of the universe and the intentions of the Almighty.
          In _Humor and Revelation in American Literature_, Pascal
          Covici, Jr., traces this perspective from its early presence
          to the humorous tradition in America that has been related to
          the Old Southwest, showing how American Puritan thought was
          instrumental in the formative stages of American humor.

          Covici argues that much of American literature works as humor
          does, surprising readers into sudden enlightenment.  The humor
          from which Mark Twain derived his early models had the same
          sort of arrogance as American Puritan thought, especially in
          regard to social and political truths.  Twain transcended the
          roots of that humor, which run from works of
          nineteenth-century Americans back to British forms of the
          eighteenth century.  In doing so, he helped shape American
          literature.

          In addition to reexamining Twain's art, _Humor and Revelation
          in American Literature_ considers some of the writers long
          regarded as among the usual suspects in any consideration of
          cultural hegemony, including Emerson, Thoreau, Hawthorne, and
          Melville.  Covici explores not so much the hypocrisy as the
          ambivalence repeatedly displayed in American literature.  He
          demonstrates that even though our writers have always had a
          strong desire to avoid the influences of the past, their
          independence from its cultural, theological, and psychological
          effects has been much slower in coming than previously
          thought.

          Original and well-written, _Humor and Revelation in American
          Literature_ will be welcomed by all scholars and critics of
          American literature, especially those interested in
          Puritanism, major nineteenth-century writers, Southwestern
          humor, and Mark Twain.

2.   McWilliams, Jim.  _Mark Twain in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1874-
     1891_.  Troy, NY: The Whitston Publishing Company, 1997.  Pp. 291.
     Cloth, 6-1/4" x 9-1/4".  Index.  $29.50.  ISBN 0-87875-469-5.

          This is an annotated, comprehensive checklist of references to
          Mark Twain in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (the major daily
          newspaper of Missouri) from 1874 until the early 1890s when he
          moved to Europe.  There are a surprising number of references
          to Twain in the newspaper, from casual tidbits to lengthy
          articles.

          This checklist is an important contribution to Twain
          scholarship for three primary reasons: it will add to our
          biographical knowledge of Twain, i.e., his day-to-day
          activities; it will tell us what his contemporaries thought of
          him; and it will lead us to material by Twain that has yet to
          be entered into any bibliography.

          This work will be a gold mine for other Twain scholars,
          providing not only literally hundreds of leads, but also
          listing many pieces--some previously published and some brand
          new--actually written by Twain himself.

          THE AUTHOR: Jim McWilliams has published articles and
          bibliographies in many journals and reference books . . .  He
          holds degrees from Southwest Missouri State University (B.A.
          and M.A.) and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
          (Ph.D.) and has taught at the University of Nebraska and at
          Southern Illinois University.  This is his first book.

As usual, the review must be of publishable quality, and it would be due
within two months of your receipt of the book (i.e., due early-April
1997).  The deadline is particularly important, as we are making every
effort for Forum reviews to appear before print reviews.  If you are
inclined to procrastinate, please don't offer to review the book.

If you're interested in reviewing one of these books, please send me
both your home and institutional mailing addresses and phone numbers.
If I don't already know you, it would be helpful for you to explain in
what respect you're qualified to write this review.  (If we haven't
exchanged e-mail recently, it might be a good idea for you to remind me
of this info.)

I look forward to hearing from you.

Taylor Roberts
Coordinator, Mark Twain Forum