Chernow here documents Twain’s failings, as well as his triumphs, in exhaustive fashion ... More than simply a book about America’s seminal writer, this is a long and winding story about the quintessential American — clothes and buttons, mind and heart, warts and all.
A mighty tome ... For all its heft, this latest treatment adds little that’s substantively new ... Chernow, ever scrupulous, does not ignore the complexities, but his caution becomes its own kind of evasion. Apologies accumulate like packing peanuts.
Chernow makes out of all this an admirably animated, readable account of one of the modern world’s first celebrities. Somewhere deep inside it, almost hidden, glows the energy and humour of Twain’s very American prose.
Remarkable ... The impeccable research blends seamlessly into a narrative that examines Twain in all his guises: devoted family man, writer, publisher, entrepreneur, and inventor. Like his subject, Chernow has a keen ear for the perfect quote, insult, and witty rejoinder. This monumental achievement will stand as the definitive life of Mark Twain.
Chernow once again demonstrates his impeccably deep research, highlighting Twain’s better qualities without ignoring the issues he grappled with in his life—centrally, the racism of his era and the troubling ways in which he sometimes related to women.
