> Also the many fine "thin" bios of particular aspects of MT--MT and science, > MT & Women; Getting to be MT, MT and Courtship, MT as social critic or > social philosopher; Jim Dilemma; MT and Slavery(Searching for Jim); Nook > Farm; there are at least a couple dozen others worthy of mention, sorry for > those escaping my immediate memory. The biography page on the MT Forum > lists many of these. > Harold K. Bush, Ph.D Harold makes an excellent point, to which I'd just add that I think it depends on what you want from a Twain biography. The serious researcher must begin with those by Paine and Henderson (despite Paine's shortcomings). The general reader will truly enjoy Ron Powers' readable and accurate account. Elizabeth MacLeod's recent Twain bio for kids is very good (full disclosure; I contributed a boatload of illustrations from my collection). The biography soon to appear by Jerry Loving (I've read it) will have wide appeal. And so on... it just depends... The only Twain biography that I have not yet seen is one akin to Robert Richardson's astonishing biography of Thoreau (HENRY THOREAU: A LIFE OF THE MIND). Yes, many Twain bios trace the evolution of his thoughts (Ron Powers, Jerry Loving, and many shorter treatments) but Richardson keeps a focus that is amazing. Read his account of Thoreau and then imagine a similar treatment of Twain. Zounds! Kevin Mac Donnell Austin TX