From 1929 to the latest issue, American Literature has been the foremost journal expressing the findings of those who study our national literature. American Literature has published the best work of literary historians, critics, and bibliographers, ranging from the founders of discipline to the best current critics and researchers. The longevity of this excellence lends a special distinction to the articles in American Literature. Presented in order of their first appearance, the articles in each volume constitute a revealing record of developing insights and important shifts of critical emphasis. Each article has opened a fresh line of inquiry, established a fresh perspective on a familiar topic, or settled a question that engaged the interest of experts.

"This volume on Twain is among the first in a series of critical appraisals of American authors, 'The Best from American Literature,' which reprints articles from the pages of that prestigious journal. . . . This amounts to a fascinating portrait of Samuel Clemens as author/performer/reformer/husband-man and public figure, thereby profiling the evolution of literary opinion and arbitration of an emerging canon.
"Overall, this valuable entry in the process of recollecting our past scholarship amounts to a most useful overview of American literary study. More important, the Twain selections represent an acutely balanced chronology of a complex talent. This volume and those following should be invaluable additions to academic collections." - Choice