This is a quick note simply to commend to your attention Gary Scharnhorst's _Mark Twain: The Complete Interviews_ (2006), which was reviewed on the Forum last July. Several months ago, I read the entire book from cover to cover and found it a most stimulating experience. I felt like I was reading a biography that unfolded along with Mark Twain's life, as the interviews are all written by people who wrote mere hours after meeting him at first hand. Many interviews describe his appearance and manner of speaking with a freshness and immediacy unlike anything else I've read about him and make him seem to come to life. If you're looking for something fresh to read about Mark Twain, consider reading Scharnhorst's book from cover to cover. The interview collection is so much fun to read that it's a real shame the interviews don't cover more periods in Mark Twain's life. Most of the interviews naturally cluster around special events--especially Mark Twain's lecture tours--and there are large gaps in their chronological distribution. Moreover, within the periods the interviews do cover, there is a great deal of overlapping. Occasionally, I felt that I was reading in circles, as many interviews clearly describe the exact same group interviews. At times, repeated details became a little tedious, but I'm glad Scharnhorst included every interview in its entirety. Having multiple versions describing the same events makes it easier to judge the reliability of individual interviews. As one who has published a collection of Mark Twain quotes, I'm sensitive to questions about the authenticity of every word attributed to Mark Twain, so I appreciate seeing how different interviewers rendered his words. My gut reaction is not to trust anything that he didn't put to paper himself ... or dictate and later personally vet.