I certainly agree with Jules that many of the errors can be attributed to editorial slips. As an example, Powers makes a reference to Keokuk being in "southwestern Iowa," an error that no one, myself included, could conclude was the product of his pen, or word-processor. Most dates might have negligible importance, in the context of a 600-page work, but they are nonetheless worth noting, in service of a "scholarly duty," as Jason Horn notes. In one chapter, Powers makes a reference to all the important events occurring in 1895, presaging the modern era, including the publication of Freud's "The Interpretation of Dreams." Actually, "Dreams" didn't make its appearance, which went largely unnoticed, until 1900, a fact which does not seriously undermine the point Powers was making. I had what I considered the great privilege of interviewing Ron Powers in Elmira in August, 2005 for a review of his book which appeared the next month in the Kansas City Star. In the course of the interview I made a reference to both the above errors and, while little time was spent in the discussion, I do recall that he was concerned that they had slipped through the net, so to speak. On the other hand, I should note, it was my opinion then, as it is now, that Powers' biography is the finest attempt at a comprehensive look at its subject since Paine, and the fact that us carrion-pickers can find mistakes would never deter me from recommending it unhesitatingly to anyone attempting to get a grip on the source of our eternal, infernal ruminations and explorations. Martin Zehr Kansas City, Missouri