In his book The Authentic Mark Twain, Everett Emerson makes an extremely successful attempt at connecting the biographical life of Samuel Clemens with the literary life of Mark Twain. Emerson believes, quite simply, that a reader can understand Mark Twain’s work better and more thoroughly if he can see the works in their biographical context. This is not to say that every single event in Clemens’ life translates directly into a passage from one of his works: that would be an erroneous assumption. Rather, Emerson argues that an understanding of Samuel Clemens’ life and times is extremely beneficial when trying to comprehend the writer’s work in a larger context. Understanding what may have prompted Twain to write a piece can lead to new avenues of thought which may have previously remained unexplored, were it not for the biographical context.

A large part of what makes this book so successful is Emerson’s open acknowledgment of Clemens’ flaws. Through his refusal to constantly venerate Samuel Clemens as a writer and as a person, the reader begins to see Samuel Clemens not as some infallible genius of literature, but as a real person with real problems. Where Emerson perceives Twain’s decisions to be ill-considered, he says so. In his preface, Emerson freely admits that there are many pieces Twain wrote which Emerson considers to be "of very little value." This is not to say that Emerson does not hold Mark Twain in high esteem as a writer because he certainly does. He says "even in the midst of the most ordinary and undistinguished passages there are gems waiting to be discovered." In showing the reader Twain’s shortcomings as well as his fine accomplishments, Emerson is telling the whole story, not just the bright, shiny parts. This type of portrait of the artist, rather than disillusioning readers and fans, actually has the effect of endearing Twain to them because of his humanity and sympathetic appeal. Emerson’s frank discussion of Samuel Clemens’ works and biography is especially impressive in that it reflects Twain’s own purpose, which, according to Emerson, was to "show reality as it is, uncolored by pretense, conventionality, and gentility, his familiar enemies."

Throughout the book, Emerson displays an extremely thorough knowledge not only of Samuel Clemens’ biographical history, but also of all of his works, including lesser known essays and letters, in addition to a great deal of unpublished pieces or writing awaiting publication. Emerson states that "one estimate, probably conservative, is that Clemens’ more than eight hundred surviving pieces fill about eighteen thousand pages." All of the information in the book appears to be meticulously researched. The book itself is laid out logically, and as Emerson works chronologically through Clemens’ life, he comments in detail on the development of the persona of Mark Twain along the way.

Obviously a great lover of fiction, Samuel Clemens had no problems with twisting reality to meet his needs. He liberally applied large doses of fiction not only to his writing and his contributions to newspapers, but also to his own life when it came to his most famous character: Mark Twain. Emerson informs the reader that it was Clemens himself who was largely responsible for the myths surrounding the Mark Twain persona, but unlike many other authors who have adopted a nom de plume, he did not encourage readers to forget that he was also Samuel Clemens. This fact may leave the reader with some idea as to exactly how literally we should take his works, since he freely admits to embellishment. Emerson does not want the reader to come away with the feeling that Clemens was a liar, but rather simply to realize that although Clemens’ life has parallels to his writing, none of his writing can be said to be completely factual or completely autobiographical.

But who wants complete facts all of the time? That’s not very exciting. If a fault can be found with Emerson’s book, it must be that a few parts are somewhat dry. Although it is full of facts and dates, names and places, it is certainly more informative than purely entertaining. Although Emerson is a skilled writer, his humor pales next to Twain’s. Emerson realizes this in the beginning of the book and cautions the reader: "most of the humor in this book will be found to be Mark Twain’s, not my own. He is a hard act to follow."

Nonetheless, Everett Emerson’s The Authentic Mark Twain is refreshing and informative, a frankly honest yet respectful look at the literary life of Mark Twain as well as excellent biographical and literary source.