This was an enjoyable and informative read. Mr. Michelson begins with the assumption that Samuel Clemens's insistence on investing in emerging print technologies was not as bound to fail as one might suspect retrospectively hearing of it in the 21st century. Instead, Clemens was more than casually aware of publishing and its intricacies, and he had reason to believe the Paige compositor would be the "bonanza" he expected. More than that, Michelson places Clemens (and "Mark Twain") within the culture of constantly evolving print culture -- how text and images are produced and then consumed by the public. He closely analyzes the early career of Clemens the young journalist before deftly finding how his early travel-conscious works were part of a broader economy of those types of travels (and the books about them). Most thrilling to me was this book's deep analysis of Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and how it was not only packaged but also written in a way that took complete advantage of illustration trends established by the latest technology. Michelson also offers (convincingly) a very provocative reading of Twain's lesser known "The Mysterious Stranger." Most importantly, the author's narrative voice makes it clear he enjoyed his subject and his enthusiasm mixed in with the ink. Michelson shows not only a carefully crafted theory of Clemens/Twain, but he does so with humor and zest.