> ...I saw an advertisement for a biography of Josh Norton, > _The Remarkable Story of Norton I_.... The ad goes on > to claim that Norton is the model for the king in Huck > Finn. I had never heard of him. I owned a copy of a biography of Norton I (title forgotten) that was confiscated in 1987. If the book to which you refer is newer than that, then there exist at least two biographies of Norton I. It wouldn't surprise me if Norton had attracted the attention of Twain; read on: Robert Anton Wilson has a full-page panel, "Emperor Norton: Live like him!," in his book "Right Where You Are Sitting Now" which was published by And/Or Press (Berkeley: 1982) and (I believe) is more recently published by Falcon Press (Phoenix). Excuse any typos, but Wilson says: [begin Wilson segment] EMPEROR NORTON: LIVE LIKE HIM Joshua Norton, or as he preferred to be called, Norton I, proclaimed himself Emperor of the United States and Protector of Mexico in 1859. Although a pauper, he was fed free in San Francisco's best restaurants. Although a madman, he had all his state proclamations published in San Francisco's newspapers. While rational reformers elsewhere failed to crack the national bank monopoly with alternate currency plans, Norton I had his own private currency accepted throughout San Francisco. When the Vigilantes decided to have a pogrom against the Chinese, and sane men would have tried to stop them, Norton I did nothing but stand in the street, head bowed, praying. The Vigilantes dispersed. "When the proper man does nothing (wu-wei), his thought is felt ten thousand miles." -- Lao Tse Although a fool, Norton I wrote letters which were seriously considered by Abraham Lincoln and Queen Victoria. "You must take the bull by the tail and look the facts in the face." -- W.C. Fields Although a charlatan, Norton I was so beloved that 30,000 people turned out for his funeral in 1880. "Everybody understands Mickey mouse. Few understand Hermann Hesse. Hardly anybody understands Einstein. And nobody understands Emperor Norton." -- Malaclypse the younger, K.S.C. [end of Wilson segment] Cliff Walker, editor The Critical Thinker