Ira Fistell’s Mark Twain:

About the Book

Ira Fistell’s Mark Twain: Three Encounters begins with a perceptive analysis of the author’s major novels which will be a revelation to any reader of Twain. Ira proves that Tom Sawyer is anything but a kids book; explains why the ending of Huckleberry Finn, often dismissed as “just cheating,” is actually the most brilliant part of the book; makes sense of the confusing and difficult Connecticut Yankee; and discovers the tragedy in The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson. Then this book explores how the places Twain live affected what he wrote, and concludes with a stunning explanation of the author’s terrible guilt in his later years. No other study of Twain and his work compares with this one: it is the essential book on this subject.

About the Author

A veteran of 38 years on the air as a radio and TV personality, Ira Fistell is also a writer, teacher and lecturer with a wide range of interests. He holds advanced degrees in law and American history, writes a monthly Personal Journal called “Topics” which reaches subscribers from coast to coast, speaks frequently before Civil War Round Tables, and has been a guest lecturer on the Mississippi River steamboats. He has been fascinated by the works and life of Mark Twain for more than forty years and offers new insights into both. A native of Chicago, Ira now lives in California.