BOOKS AND MEDIA: Briefly Noted NONFICTION - the following notice was written by Ellison Jones, University at Buffalo: _Down the River; or Wildness of Heart_. By Loren K. Davidson. Xlibris, 2006. Pp. 148. Softcover. $20.99. ISBN 1-4257-0075-6. Loren K. Davidson's self-published memoir tells the story of how he and two other young academics from Ohio University, Bob Hogan and John Violette, went in search of Huck Finn's world during the summer of 1957. From raft building in Hannibal to staying on Jackson's Island, the trio finally end up "somewhere in Arkansas." Along the way, the _New York Times_ featured a photo of them on the front page of the June 20, 1957 issue when they paused in St. Louis, Missouri. Davidson and his friends research the river by taking soundings of the river and contacting a number of scholars--Harry Hayden Clark, DeLancy Ferguson, Edward Wagenknecht, Henry Nash Smith, Chester L. Davis, Walter Blair, and August Derleth. Davidson and his traveling companions build a raft from an old dock in Hannibal, Missouri and stock it with maps. As they head south, Davidson documents their trip including all the characters they meet along the way. Davidson reveals that the men argued while on the raft, usually over whose duty it was to row. His documentation of the disintegrating relationship with his fellow academics amounts to side notes in the text. The real gems in Davidson's memoirs are the glimpses he gives of the Mississippi river's culture. As a guide for planning an adventure, _Down the River _ provides plenty of horror stories and warnings. But, as Davidson makes clear, the river will reward each rafter in its own ways; it gives and it takes. Here, the river has given Davidson the opportunity to spin a yarn; but also became the place in which three men became unintelligible to one another. In this respect, _Down the River_ serves as a cautionary tale, a reminder to pick our shipmates well. Amazon link for this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1425700756/twainwebmarktwaiA/ ~~~~~ FICTION _Channeling Mark Twain_. By Carol Muske-Dukes. Random House, 2007. Pp. 288. Hardcover. $20.99. ISBN 0375509275. This novel, set in New York in the 1970s, features a protagonist who teaches poetry to inmates at the Women's House of Detention on Rikers Island. Among her students are murderers and drug addicts and a woman named Polly Lyle Clement. Clement claims to be Mark Twain's great granddaughter and has the ability to channel his voice. Muske-Dukes, an award-winning poet, taught at Rikers Island for several years and the book is dedicated to members of that group. The book was reviewed in the _Los Angeles Times_ this week. The link to that review is: http://www.calendarlive.com/books/la-bk-smith1jul01,0,7093709.story?coll=cl- books-features Amazon link for this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0375509275/twainwebmarktwaiA/