Mark Twain moved to the West Coast with his brother Orion in 1861 to assist his brother in the new state of Nevada but also to flee from the Civil War. He remained until 1867 balancing his time between Nevada and California. This book is mostly about the time he spent in San Francisco meeting fellow writers that the author of this book calls Bohemians. The book is entertaining though I'm not sure how much his Western experience really propelled his eventual literary success. The national success of the jumping frog story, yes, but the truth is that Twain left the West to seek his literary future in the East. Eventually he became known as an Easterner rather than a product of the West.
By the way, I have read and reread Twain's famous jumping frog story which launched his fame in the East. I know that humor is a personal thing and this illustrates it for I do not find the story at all funny.
San Francisco in the 1860's seems like a rollicking time. I wish I were there running around Montgomery Street.
My judgement on Twain is that he is overrated. Were it not for Huckleberry Finn he would not be much talked about.
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