In this narrative of the early life of that great chronicler of childhood, Mark Twain, Ron Powers (a native, like Twain, of Hannibal, Missouri) explores Twain's turbulent childhood, which was blighted by the deaths of siblings and his father's bankruptcy. He also writes about the effects on the impressionable boy--and on the writer he would become--of slavery (as practiced on his uncle's farm), the Presbyterian church, minstrel shows, and the fad for mesmerism. Copyright (C) Muze Inc. 2005. For personal use only. All rights reserved.