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