Stipulating for the moment that the charges which have been leveled against Andy are true, why was he able to get his ideas published in _American Literature_? I had though that the journal formerly edited by Twain scholar Louis Budd would not publish unresponsible speculation; and, if it did, would soon correct the problem. Are there any refutations of Andy's ideas in any literary journal? Should I regard articles in literary journals with the same skepticism that I give supermarket tabloids? I don't wish to address the questions raised about Andy's book here since I would not hold his publisher to the same standard I expect of journals. And please, I don't wish to start a repetition of the debate concerning Andy's motives and scholarship. I simply want to know how ideas are debated in literary journals, how much credibility is given to ideas published in journals, and how the process corrects itself when a misleading article is published. And if it always seems to get so personal! I hope I don't divert us from our Twain focus. Thanks. larry marshburne [log in to unmask]