Description
Traces the life of Mark Twain from his youth in Hannibal, Missouri, through his days as a riverboat pilot and journalist, to his literary success, describing his work, his troubled personal life, and his business failures.
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The fact that Samuel Langhorne Clemens came to use his pen name, Mark Twain, in his personal letters and in his personal life is significant to Kaplan (English literature, Queens College) because it demonstrates the extent to which he was a unified, singular, individual, integrating his life and his art. In Kaplan's sympathetic biography, charges of racism are countered by descriptions of the growth of Twain's progressivism (as well as his anti-imperialism), especially during his later years in virtual exile from the United States. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
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