Twain in His Own Time: A Biographical Chronicle of His Life, Drawn from Recollections, Interviews, and Memoirs by Family, Friends, and Associates, edited by Gary Scharnhorst, is now available from the University of Iowa Press.

The 94 recollections that make up Twain in His Own Time form a collaborative biography designed to provide a rich, unadulterated look at the iconic author. It includes memoirs by his daughters and by men who knew him when he was roughing it in the West, an interview with the pilot who taught him to navigate the Mississippi, contributions from literary figures, and one of the most damning assessments of his character —- by the author Frank Harris —- ever published.

The array of carefully composed perspectives from lively primary sources, published incrementally over more than 80 years (most after Twain’s death) work to illustrate the complexities of the literary superstar and what made the reputation that still goes unrivaled in American literary history.