When I first read this complete collection, I told one of the book's
editors that it reminded me of a collection of both timeless essays and
"time capsule" essays -- snapshots of the state of Mark Twain studies in
2016.  And I was curious to think what scholars 50 years down the road
would think.  Holbrook's essay is one such "time capsule" and perhaps the
best thing I have ever read from him.

One other essay well worth mentioning is Joe Csicsila's essay on Langdon
Clemens and the detective work Csicsila did dating the composition of the
original  manuscript of _Tom Sawyer_ based on the dim faint sketch and
notes on the back of one leaf of Clemens's manuscript.  They were a puzzle
worth solving and Csicsila nailed it.

Barb

On Thu, Sep 8, 2016 at 7:18 PM, Kevin Mac Donnell <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> What Kent said, plus one double-down:
>
> Our contributors were generous and hard-working, and put their very best
> efforts into this project. Although I had high expectations for the book,
> the result exceeded them.
>
> This might be a good time to remind everyone that there is space left at
> the
> Mark Twain & Youth Symposium to be held at Quarry Farm on Oct 7-8. All of
> the sessions and meals on Saturday will be at Quarry Farm. That's right,
> all
> day at Quarry Farm. Never mind the sessions and collegiality; you'll be at
> Quarry Farm all day long. Did I mention All Day At Quarry Farm?
>
> Many of you have attended the Elmira Conferences and had an evening dinner
> at Quarry Farm, and some of you have stayed there as a visiting scholar.
> Anyone who has spent any time there at all can attest that spending all day
> there in the Fall is magical.
>
> Here's a link for registration:
>
> http://www.elmira.edu/pdfs/academics/Dear.Friends.
> December.2015.newsletter.pdf
>
>
> Kevin
> @
> Mac Donnell Rare Books
> 9307 Glenlake Drive
> Austin TX 78730
> 512-345-4139
> Member: ABAA, ILAB
> *************************
> You may browse our books at:
> www.macdonnellrarebooks.com
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ken Rasmussen
> Sent: Thursday, September 08, 2016 4:48 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: BOOK REVIEW: _Mark Twain and Youth_, Mac Donnell and
> Rasmussen,
> eds.
>
> When a book review this positive appears, questions of its authorship ten=
> d
> to arise. Indeed, more than one person has already asked me whether Kevin=
>
> and I wrote the review ourselves. Well, we didn't. Steve Courtney did.
> Moreover, we can prove it because we've got the canceled check we wrote t=
> o him.
>
> Seriously, we're grateful to Steve for his kind words about our book and
> about our editing of it. I'm proud to have a played a small part in the
> book's creation, but I would like the world to know that the book was
> entirely Kevin's idea. Equal credit also goes to our team of contributors=
> ,
> with each of whom it was a joy to work. Their enthusiasm and commitment t=
> o
> making the book a success are the main reason the book is as good as it i=
> s.
>
> That said, I'll also offer thanks to Steve for his thoughtful and generou=
> s
> review. Neither Kevin nor I said a word to him about his review before he=
>
> wrote it, so I'm especially pleased he made a point I had expressed while=
> we
> were working on the book--that Hal Holbrook's foreword alone is worth the=
>
> price of admission.
>
> Finally, lest there be any misunderstanding on this point--Steve, like al=
> l
> the book's contributors, is not making a nickel's profit from it.
>