Kent is either a super-sleuth or has too much time on his hands.  He's
exactly right, we could do a better job of promoting the work of writers
who have benefited us all. Most of the listed books have been reviewed on
the Forum, so the reviewers themselves could start the ball rolling.  I
note that I reviewed five of the books on Kent's list, so I'll steal a
quote or two from my reviews to get the ball rolling.
Martin Zehr

On Sat, Feb 18, 2017 at 9:04 PM, Kent Rasmussen <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:

> I've just been looking at Mark Twain studies on amazon.com and noticed
> something remarkable. See if you can guess what the amazon pages for the
> books listed below have in common.
>
> ___________________
>
> Berkove, L. & Csicsila, J., HERETICAL FICTIONS: RELIGION IN THE
> LITERATURE OF MARK TWAIN (2010)
>
> Bird, J., MARK TWAIN & METAPHOR (2011)
>
> Caron, J., MARK TWAIN UNSANCTIFIED NEWSPAPER REPORTER (2011)
>
> Coulombe, J. L. MARK TWAIN & THE AMERICAN WEST (2011)
>
> Harris, S. K., GOD'S ARBITERS: AMERICANS & THE PHILIPPINES (2011)
>
> Howe, L., MARK TWAIN & THE NOVEL (1998)
>
> Hsu, H., SITTING IN DARKNESS: MARK TWAIN'S ASIA (2015)
>
> Justus, J., FETCHING THE OLD SOUTHWEST: HUMOROUS WRITING FROM LONGSTREET
> TO TWAIN (2004)
>
> Knoper, R., ACTING NATURALLY: MARK TWAIN IN THE CULTURE OF PERFORMANCE
> (1995)
>
> Kolb, H. H. MARK TWAIN: THE GIFT OF HUMOR (2015)
>
> Krauth, L., MARK TWAIN & COMPANY: SIX LITERARY RELATIONS (2003)
>
> Krauth, L., PROPER MARK TWAIN (1999)
>
> Kupersmith, A., TWAIN & FREUD ON THE HUMAN RACE (2009)
>
> Lai-Henderson, S., MARK TWAIN IN CHINA (2015)
>
> Lowry, R. S., "LITTERY MAN": MARK TWAIN & MODERN AUTHORSHIP (1996)
>
> Melton, J., MARK TWAIN, TRAVEL BOOKS, & TOURISM (2002)
>
> Mensh, E., & H. Mensh, BLACK, WHITE, & HUCKLEBERRY FINN (2000)
>
> Messent, P., MARK TWAIN (1997)
>
> Messent, P., THE SHORT WORKS OF MARK TWAIN (2001)
>
> Quirk, T., COMING TO GRIPS WITH HUCKLEBERRY FINN (1993)
>
> Quirk, T., DICTIONARY OF LITERARY BIOGRAPHY: MARK TWAIN’S HUCKLEBERRY
> FINN (2008)
>
> Quirk, T., MARK TWAIN: A STUDY OF THE SHORT FICTION (1997)
>
> Railton, S., MARK TWAIN: A SHORT INTRODUCTION (2003)
>
> Robinson, F. G., et al., THE JESTER & THE SAGES: MARK TWAIN IN
> CONVERSATION WITH NIETZSCHE, FREUD, & MARX (2011)
>
> Robinson, F. G. IN BAD FAITH: THE DYNAMICS OF DECEPTION IN MARK TWAIN'S
> AMERICA (1992)
>
> Robinson, F. G. THE AUTHOR-CAT (2007)
>
> Robinson, F. G. CAMBRIDGE COMPANION TO MARK TWAIN (1995)
>
> Sloane, D., MARK TWAIN'S HUMOR (1993)
>
> Sloane, D., STUDENT COMPANION TO MARK TWAIN (2001)
>
> Wieck, C., REFIGURING HUCKLEBERRY FINN (2000)
>
> Wuster, T., MARK TWAIN, AMERICAN HUMORIST (2016)
>
> ______________________________
>
> Did you guess correctly? The answer is that none the books in this list
> has a single customer review on its amazon page--and this list is only a
> sampling of Mark Twain books without customer reviews.
>
> It's awfully deflating to spend years working on a book, only to see it
> virtually ignored after it's published. I'd therefore like to suggest
> that each of us (me included) take a few minutes to go on amazon and
> distribute a little praise where it is due. We've all gotten a lot out
> of the work of our colleagues. Would it kill us to show a little
> appreciation in return?
>