Elvis, the Beatles and Marilyn Monroe have received the A to Z treatment in which every aspect of their lives and works have been reordered alphabetically, so it was only a matter of time that the mania would spread to lesser figures, in this case Mark Twain, James Joyce and Virginia Woolf. This series of three books, originally published by Facts On File and now updated and reprinted by Oxford University Press, combines facts culled from the writers' lives and works, shakes them up thoroughly, and recasts them into easily locatable entries. The result is an addictive pleasure, a page-turning odyessy for anyone interested in learning more about their favorite writer. Mark Twain's fans will rightfully go ga-ga over this 500-page slab of scholarship, research and story telling. All of Twain's major works are discussed, as well as many of his short stories, speeches, newspaper articles, essays and unpublished works. Photos of the great man himself and his contemporaries are thrown in alongside illustrations from the novels. A year-by-year multi-columned chronology charts Twain's personal, professional and public lives. In short, the breadth and depth of this book is astonishing.

This book helped me extensively during my search for biographical information about Mark Twain. It gives great insight to the life and times of Mark Twain. It contains anything and everything one would care to know about Samuel Clemens and his metamorphosis to one of the greatest writers ever known; Mark Twain.

Mark Twain is justly regarded as the first modern American novelist, but he was also a fabulous character; one of the most prominent figures of the 19th century, who seems to have gone everywhere and met everyone, and wrote about it all.
The present work is a fitting introduction to his life and works for those new to Twain, and a boon companion for those deep into the pleasures of one of the original minds of American literature.
Rasmussen has alphabetically arranged the major works with synopses, analyses of characters, people, places, and events Clemens knew, and more, with illustrations, chronology, list of Twain's works, reading list, and an admirable index.
Highly recommended for anyone interested in Twain, American writing, humor, or 19th century life and times.
(The numerical rating above is a default setting within Amazon's format. This reviewer does not employ numerical ratings.)

During the winter session of the American Library Assocation (ALA) conference, CENSORSHIP was voted one of the outstanding adult reference works of 1997. The award will be officially announced in May. The set's editor, R. Kent Rasmussen, is also the author of MARK TWAIN A TO Z, which won the same ALA award in 1996.

For 14 years i lived with my father,till the day came that he had to leave me,to go stay in heaven with our god of all times. The one who leads us the right way,who is the father of our kingdom.Sometimes i wonder...wil he ever come back.On 9 march 1957 my good father was born and on 26 july 2000 he had to leave us.As we all know that each and everyone of us is going to get our time of leaving our family,enemy's and friends.Me and my father had our good times and on the other hand our bad times and very bad times,but for what i know is that i will only try to remember the good times,cause there were more of the good times then the bad times.I know that i was sometimes wrong against my great father and i ask forgiveness every night of my live.All the bad things that I have done in my life,I already told him.Every night when I pray,I ask God to give me a chance to speak to my father.I tell him then evrything that happend that day allthough he have seen evrything.The message out of my review is to know that the person that you have lost in your life is always in your hart and that you can speak with him or her every day and night of your life.