>I'll second that. Charles Neider's editorial choices may have been at times 
>suspect, but his great enthusiasm and activity undoubtedly swept many into 
>the Twain fold ... Scholarship and scholarly editions lapped Neider's 
>efforts after the publication of the "complete" short stories and his 
>edition of the "Autobiography," but I'll also acknowledge the early 
>influence. He helped lead a lot of folks in Twain's direction, and that's 
>an accomplishment worth noting.

I'll pile on by saying I agree completely. I believe Neider's collections of 
stories, essays, tales & sketches, plus his version of the autobiography, 
are all still in print, and for years they were the best sources for many 
otherwise unavailable pieces. I still tend to think his edition of the 
autobiography is probably the most accessible for casual Twain fans who 
might be overwhelmed by the more authoritative complete version. He 
certainly did his part to keep Twain's memory alive for the general public.

-- Bob G.