Barbara Schmidt's concern about the "poison in the information stream" is
exactly what bothers me.  I know how and error can be quoted as truth from
any printed work.  I found the reference on the Amazon page down by the
graph for how many stars had been given a work.  I'm still hopeful
something might have happened about hardcovers, too.

Thank you, Trace Wuster, for a helpful suggestion for something any of us
can do.  I certainly will contact the head librarian for our public
libraries here in Sacramento and whoever is in charge at our California
State Universityi in Sacramento.  Thanks.
Arianne Laidlaw

On Sun, Dec 14, 2014 at 7:15 AM, Tracy Wuster <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Hello all,
>
> Being a concerned scholar, I just wrote to the librarian at the University
> of Texas explaining the situation and recommending  the book pulled from
> the shelves and returned to the publisher for a refund.  I would hope some
> of you might do the same at your libraries--a sort of post-facto peer
> review.  David Sloane told me that he reviewed the book for "Choice"--a
> journal for librarians--and recommended it not be purchased.
>
> Best,
>
> Tracy
>
> On Sun, Dec 14, 2014 at 8:39 AM, Barbara Schmidt <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
> >
> > According to the Amazon page that I can see, hard copies are still being
> > sold.  And they are still available in many bookstores throughout the
> > country.  It appears the Amazon Kindle edition has been delayed until
> Dec.
> > 23, according to the Amazon projected delivery dates. We can only guess
> at
> > the reason behind the delay.
> >
> > It is my personal opinion that the book would require a complete rewrite
> > and overhaul to address the many errors that have been identified which
> > include many that were not mentioned in Kevin Mac Donnell's review or
> > addendum. It is distressing to scholars to see poison in the
> > informational stream that may take years to overcome when these books are
> > purchased by libraries or the casual reader.
> >
> > Another disappointing fact is that perhaps the most important item
> > pictured in the book of interest to Twain scholars remains lost today.
> > It is Clemens's letter to the Copyright Office addressed to Ainsworth
> Rand
> > Spofford dated May 7, 1874 (along with the cover of the pamphlet for MARK
> > TWAIN'S SKETCHES). The editors at the Mark Twain Project reported that
> the
> > item could not be located in 2001 (see the online annotations for that
> > letter or p. 759 of LETTERS, vol. 6).  Recent inquiries to the Library of
> > Congress shortly after the release of this book indicate the item still
> > cannot be found.  A much clearer photograph of the Clemens letter and
> > pamphlet was published in 1994 in THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: AMERICA'S
> > MEMORY, by Carol Highsmith and Ted Landphair (p. 68) and this photograph
> is
> > the one reproduced in Katz's book.
> >
> > Barb
> >
>


-- 
Arianne Laidlaw A '58