THE LIFE & WORK OF MARK TWAIN

"Everyone is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody," wrote Twain. Stephen Railton seeks to reveal the man "behind the mask of the genial philosopher." The professor has a rich voice and an awe-inspiring knowledge of his subject. There's only one flaw in this series, but for me that flaw is fatal: Railton almost never reads from Twain. I suppose the professor is used to giving out homework, but I'm too old for homework. And I need to be reminded once in a while of how this moon got into the sky in the first place, and of the light it still can shed. B.H.C. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 03]