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From:
Wesley Britton <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Mark Twain Forum <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sat, 25 Sep 1999 21:54:27 -0500
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Thanks to Larry Howe for his insightful review of an excellent book.  I
especially liked his comments on the context of the pieces many of us are
familiar with, and it's true they have a different flavor when seen as part
of a daily output of rushed efforts.

For what it's worth, here is the short review I penned for CHOICE magazine
which is geared toward librarians:

All academic libraries with upper division classes should own this volume as
a matter of course, adding to their collections invaluable short Twain
pieces including editorials, squibs, burlesques, hoaxes and satires written
between 1869 and 1870.  However, this edition deserves wider circulation for
its inclusion of many well-known Twain pieces as well as lesser known
obscurities. Of special interest are Twain's commentaries on the subjects of
scandal, sensationalism, and the role of the media in public perceptions. In
addition, noted scholar Joseph McCullough's helpful introduction will assist
readers interested in 19th century humor as well as American humor in
general, pointing to comparisons in the American character then and now. On
its own, the volume is entertaining and illuminating; in the context of
other Twain works, it is a welcome and overdue addition to reliable,
authoritative collections of the Twain canon.  In particular, alongside the
university of California's Mark Twain's Letters: Volume 4, this collection
offers most of the important material from this transitional period of Twain
's life in a readily available volume for both the general and scholastic
reader.

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