Friends, Please forgive thoughtess use of the word "definitive" as it applies to any biography of Sam Clemens, or, mark Twain. I assure all that it was not, nor, is my intention to ride in to this forum like some frothy chinned revolutionary intent on inciting upheaval of the status quo. I see that the term " definitive " was a poor choice of words. A less iconoclastic metaphor should have been chosen. In fact, with hindsight, perhaps I might have been well advised to just ask the question outright that was the basis for the request. Please remember that I am still just feeling my way in this forum, and I am a bit in awe of the scholarly credentials that accompany your remarks and suggestions. I want to thank everyone involved for their help and insights re: my request for a definitive biography. Truthfully, my friends, I hope there never is one. I have a mental picture just now of Mark Twain lighting up a cigar and casting a wry grin over the entire cast of his "Community". Hopefully, no one will hold a grudge against the " Janitor" for posing this calamitous inquiry in the first place. Sincere regards and thanks to all; Lloyd Lloyd JH Grant Coyote Communications, Inc. PO Box 5015 Lakeland, Fl. 33807 ([log in to unmask]) Consilium est libere, cum desiderum est minimus. ( or Latin to that effect...)