In the Feb./March issue of _American Heritage_, Arther Schlesinger
Jr. lists his 13 picks for the most important books of American
history.  Appropriatly, _Adventures of Huckleberry Finn_ is
sandwiched between the Federalist Papers, the writings of
Jefferson, Tocqueville, Emerson, Lincoln and _Uncle Tom's Cabin_ on
one side and, after Twain, Henry Adams, H.L. Menken, William James,
James Brice (_The American Commonwealth_), and others in the 20th
century.  Schlesinger points to the climatic scene in _Huck_ as
representing the classic American struggle between the individual
and absolutism.

In the magazine's next article, "All That Glitters is Not Gold,"
Richard Renehart mentions Twain twice, noting that two decades
after the Gold Rush of '49, Twain helped shape the image of the
period in "The Celebrated jumping Frog" despite the fact he was
neither a '49er or a Californian. It's an interesting article--did
you know Levi's were invented in San Francisco during this period?

Wes Britton