I just received a copy of this book two days ago and I've become immersed in the broad topic of cultural milieu, then and now. I'm rather disappointed in myself for not paying much attention to Andrew Levy's points all these years. I don't particularly fit the profile he draws of most readers today in that I never thought of Huck Finn as centered on racism. My own take has always been that this was a story of an outsider, a waif on the edge of society. I considered that Twain's intention was to use this as a vantage point for criticizing that society. I've only just begun a close reading and I've already been distracted by my own research into The Twins of Genius Tour. I must have read about it in passing but it was not until now that I've thought about it. My first big find in this research was http://twain.lib.virginia.edu/huckfinn/hftourhp.html Wonderful job. Anyway, there seem to be a large number of reviews appearing and all are very positive. I'm anxious to hear what Twain-Lians have to say about this. I think it's going to stir that pot about the ending of the book. It seems Tom Sawyer's complex escape plans for Jim may have been the most popular part of The Twins of Genius Tour, at least Twain's part of the tour. Just the reverse view is now held. My thought on the matter is that if the racist elements of this segment were eliminated it would be considered a success. It would be pure slap stick/vaudeville type humor, minstrelsy without the blackface, just replace Jim with Laurel or Hardy or one of the Stooges. Just some thoughts...