May I take exception to this strange idea that scholars aren't interested
in Mark Twain's experiences out West?  After all, one of the two defining
books on Twain, Bernard DeVoto's _Mark Twain's America_ stresses the
Western connections, and no scholar since has been able to study Twain
without beginning there.  If relatively little has been written on Twain's
western experiences in recent years (and RELATIVELY little still means a
fair amount), it may be because this was one of the first topics to be
subject to thorough critical examination.

And even if it is true that relatively little is now being written on
Twain and the West, the Mark Twain Project's 1993 edition of _Roughing It_
should silence all cavilers.  Its annotation constitutes one of the best
pieces of scholarship ever seen.  Isn't quality more important than
quantity?

Gregg Camfield