re: the best version of the Autobiography, someone should mention Michael
Kiskis's nice edition from the NAR.

re: the Best Biography on Mark Twain. there is an archival discussion of
this somehwere available on-line, I think.  Generally Twainiacs hearken back
to J. Kaplan's book, though it is from the 60s, I think.  Lately, I have
noticed many if not most references in article and so forth from Ron
Powers's bio.  Arguably it has become the so-called "standard" life.  Andy
Hoffman's has excellent aspects but got slammed for certain references to
MT's sex life.  I also seem to recall Jerry Loving is writing one at the
moment, and based on his encyclopedic books on Whitman, Dreiser, etc., I'm
sure it will be quite thorough and good.

Also the many fine "thin" bios of particular aspects of MT--MT and science,
MT & Women; Getting to be MT, MT and Courtship, MT as social critic or
social philosopher;  Jim Dilemma; MT and Slavery(Searching for Jim); Nook
Farm; there are at least a couple dozen others worthy of mention, sorry for
those escaping my immediate memory.  The biography page on the MT Forum
lists many of these.

Harold K. Bush
Saint Louis University