I thought the absence of Michael's 1990 work was a curious and glaring omission that begs for some explanation from the editors. This is not a rude challenge to their apparent decision to exclude it, but an expression of genuine bewilderment. With the passage of time, I find myself growing more and more prone to bewilderment. Kevin @ Mac Donnell Rare Books 9307 Glenlake Drive Austin TX 78730 512-345-4139 Member: ABAA, ILAB ************************* You may browse our books at www.macdonnellrarebooks.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michael Kiskis" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Friday, October 29, 2010 8:57 AM Subject: Re: Mark Twain's Amazing Embargo: The brilliant brand management behind the handling of his autobiography. >I am going to self-serving this morning, and I hope that the managers of > this list will allow it. > > I am consistently surprised that most commentators on the autobiography > insist that there have only been three versions prior to the MTP > edition -- > Paine's, DeVoto's, and Neider's. In fact, even the editors of the MTP > autobiography focus on only those three. There appears to be no attention > paid to the fourth edition -- *Mark Twain's Own Autobiography, *a > collection > of the material Clemens published as "Chapters from my autobiography" in > the > *North American Review *(1906-1907). I first presented that material in > an > edition from University of Wisconsin Press in 1990; a second edition with > an > expanded introduction and updated annotations and bibliography appeared in > 2010. > > While a case can be made that the NAR text is separate from the mass of > autobiographical manuscripts, it was shaped out of those materials by > Clemens and George Harvey (editor of the NAR). Therefore, I think it > deserves some mention in the list. And I think that the critical > introduction to the volume, which places it within the context of the > later > editions as well as the process of composing the autobiography, deserves > some attention for shaping questions that inform our reading of Clemens' > chaotic texts. > > I apologize for this brief interruption. > > > On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 8:11 AM, Mark Twain Forum List Administrator < > [log in to unmask]> wrote: > >> N.B. I am posting this on behalf of Craig Fehrman.--Kevin B. >> >> ~~~~~ >> >> A few months back, I sent you the link to my story on the fate of Mark >> Twain's Greenwich Village home. I've got another weird Twain story -- >> this >> time in Slate, and this time on the long history of Twain's autobiography >> and the various editors who broke his embargo and then found themselves >> embroiled in mini-scandals. The essay includes everything from Cold War >> intrigue to the author of The Power of Positive Thinking. Plus, of >> course, >> a >> lot of Twain. >> >> Anyway, seemed like something the Twain-L readers might enjoy. >> >> Best, >> Craig >> >> http://www.slate.com/id/2272634/pagenum/all/ >> >> <end> >> > > > > -- > Michael J. Kiskis > Leonard Tydings Grant Professor of American Literature > Elmira College > One Park Place > Elmira, NY 14901 > > > > ----- > No virus found in this message. > Checked by AVG - www.avg.com > Version: 10.0.1153 / Virus Database: 424/3225 - Release Date: 10/28/10 >