[januaryman]

When this book was announced, I placed a preorder and got it very early on. It was the hard cover, as I did not have an ebook reader at the time. It is HUGE and heavy, hard to read on trains or to even carry about with you. I just got a few pages through the introduction and never got back to it. Eyestrain was getting to me due to the tiny print.

I got an iPad last week, stocking up on free books that I had enjoyed on my iPod Touch, before I lost it a few months back. Then I saw the Twain book on Amazon for less than $10. I decided to splurge and pay again to get this book. What a revelation! Easy to read, easy to search, a bring it everywhere edition. I'm won over, although I swore I'd NEVER give up real books for ebooks. I still love and read real books and see it will still stick with me. But for some books, this iPad has given me a revelation.

I strongly recommend the Twain book for anyone interested in his life. The style, although he dictated most of it, rather than laboriously handwritng all, it retains all of his style and wit. It's as captivating as his short stories, but filling with both true history and tall tales. It'll take me a while before I'm done reading, I know. But I doing an odd thing, that I suggest to all who attempt to read this book - start at the biography and skip the very long introduction until last. Get right into his life and you will be hooked.