As a biographer who has written and co-edited several books related to Mark Twain and his associates, I am absolutely delighted with Ron Chernow’s biography. The weaving of Clemens’s personal, literal, and business life; the departing from chronology when necessary to enlighten; the sheer clarity of the prose; the introduction of telling incident – I learned so much from this book. I think it will satisfy those who famously bought the 2010 autobiography looking for revelations and were disappointed – Chernow provides a real look into this complicated man’s psyche by his skillful investigation into sources, his digging out revelatory quotations from the huge mass of his writings, and his explorations of the lives of so many around him. He does not neglect his literary works, so many of which are masterful, while others are not. Chernow’s account of those final years, which raise so many scholarly hackles, is masterful. This will be the standard biography for many years to come. – Steve Courtney, author of Joseph Hopkins Twichell: The Life and Times of Mark Twain’s Closest Friend (University of Georgia Press, 2008)

Ron Chernow write a comprehensive, interesting biography of Mark Twain that is informative and fascinating.

Sure to be a "talked about" book and a good pick for library programming. Mark Twain holds a meaningful space in both literary and popular culture and Chernow's book gives insights to both Twain readers and those yet unfamililar with his work. Thank you for the ARC.

Mark Twain gets the Chernow treatment and it the entire author's life to light. Not just as an author but as a Southerner, an early nationwide celebrity, a steamboat pilot, a half-hearted Confederate and a flawed champion of equality.

Very fascinating, but looooong!
Anyone who's slightly literate is familiar with Twain and his most popular works, and view him as a rumpled, funny, sarcastic, snarky author who's not afraid to voice his opinion, veiled or not, on controversial subjects such as slavery, racism, and religion, among others.
What I loved about this book was the not-s0-warm-and-fuzzy side of his life that Chernow exposes through what must've been some intense research. Twain, outwardly, adored women, but only when they took on the duties necessary to keep his life worry-free, and allowed him to continue to nurture his sense of youth, and unbridled irresponsibility. His unending string of failed business ventures, and the fact that he obliviously devoured Livy's family fortune was an aspect of his life I never knew about. And his obsession with young girls bordered on pedophilia. Big yuck factor.
My biggest caveat to the author and publisher is this: who takes on a 1200-page book in the days of podcasts, Twitter, and readers with the attention spans of gnats? I hope Chernow has felt satisfied by his work, and isn't expecting brisk sales.