BRIEFLY NOTED


_Mark Twain's Guide to Diet, Exercise, Beauty, Fashion, Investment,
Romance, Health and Happiness_. Collected and edited by Mark
Dawidziak. Prospect Park Books, 2015. Pp. 208. Hardcover. ISBN
978-1-938849-45-9. $16.95.


In his introduction, Mark Dawidziak notes that "There's something
wrong with the title of this book . . . It's obviously too short" (7).
With this wink to his readers, Dawidziak sets up a humorous collection
of Mark Twain's advice, quotes, and maxims on various topics that
provide the basis for twenty short chapters. He warns his readers that
"Twain's advice runs contrary to almost every self-help book that has
ever hit the bestseller lists" (9). Each chapter is introduced by a
short comment from Dawidziak and a fitting illustration, many
carefully selected from first editions of Mark Twain's works to
advance the humor. Material included in this volume has been harvested
from a spectrum of Twain's works stretching from the familiar to the
obscure.


Dawidziak's first collection of quotations _Mark My Words: Mark Twain
on Writing_ appeared in 1996 and attained the status of a collector
item.  This current book, with its eye-catching cover featuring an
embossed cameo of Mark Twain by Albert Levering from 1905, will likely
be another popular volume for both the collector and gift-giver.