Forwarded from a friend

RE:     Fascinating NY Times story

Ah, the importance of reviews!  They seem a serious matter from OUR point
of view, but I guess we just don't have a sense of humor, unlike Nora
Rawlinson.  If you missed this item in today's NY Times, read on!

SAMUEL L. CLEMENS WOULD LOVE THIS

   A year ago, Publishers Weekly magazine panned a book as an "earnest
but
ultimately flimsy narrative."  Last month, it raved about a book with a
bittersweet ending and smooth writing.
   The two reviews were of the same book.
   Last year, copies were distributed to reviewers under the title
"Harder
Than It Looks."  But the publisher, Hastings House, delayed publication.
   The author, THOMAS HAUSER, asked for the manuscript back and took it
to
Lyle Stuart and his firm, Barricade Books.  Mr. Stuart changed only the
title before publishing it as "Mark Twain Remembers."
   "This is so typical," said Mr. Stuart, who called this year's review
"so
favorable that even I would have been embarassed to write it."
   NARA RAWLINSON, the editor in chief of Publishers Weekly, laughted
when
she was told about the two reviews.  "Oh, how interesting," she said.  "I
think it's fascinating.  I think everyone knows that different people
have
different takes on books."