Hello,

Unfortunately a library filled with tons of books about Mark Twain still
couldn't adequately fill the bill of being a "definitive biography". One
book can't do it! I have not found a Twain biopgraphy yet that didn't
contain flaws, so beware when quoting from one. It is as if Twain has a
prankster hand in such affairs. I just thought that it would be of great
value to anyone seeking a one volume source of information about Mark Twain
to consider "Mark Twain A to Z- The Essential Reference to His Life and
Writings" by R. Kent Rasmussen (ISBN 0-8160-2845-1). It is definitely a top
contender for being the "most definitive" single volume Mark Twain biography
available to the general public.

It may come as a surprise, but there isn't even a definitive Mark Twain
bibliography! I would think that a definitive biographer would need to at
least need to have access to a definitive bibliography (let alone have read
all of the material contained in such a bibliography) to know what he/she
was doing. Such a biographer will probably not surface any time soon. In
many regards we are in primative times considering the understanding of the
life of Mark Twain. What is THE definitive biography of Mark Twain? This
question leaves us with choices of opinions rather than pointing to a
definitive answer because in truth there is not any definitive Mark Twain
biography, nor even a definitive bibliography. Perhaps someone will hear
this battle cry and undertake this endeavor!

Twainiacally Yours,

Bob Slotta  www.marktwainmemorabilia.com
3528 Mark Twain Drive
Hilliard, OH 43026