Reviews round-up
Mark Twain
by Ron Chernow
2 of 7 critics positive
10 reviews: 2 positives, 2 mixed, 3 pans; 3 not stating a verdict in public
What the critics said
“a literary celebrity with a moral compass”
Mark Twain was a literary celebrity with a moral compass
“the story of America’s first literary celebrity”
Mark Twain by Ron Chernow review – the story of America’s first literary celebrity, from the author of Hamilton
“dwells more on the wreck of a man than on his sublimely comic work”
The Not-at-All-Funny Life of Mark Twain
“a great writer undone by quack business schemes and his”
Who was the real Mark Twain — fine fellow or racist bigot?
“Chernow’s portrait cannot see beyond its subject”
Mark Twain and the limits of biography
“How Ron Chernow’s biography of Mark Twain misses the mark”
How Ron Chernow’s biography of Mark Twain misses the mark
“enormous, bland and remote”
A New Biography of Mark Twain Doesn’t Have Much of What Made Him Great (Published 2025)
Review: Mark Twain is known for his sense of humor — but he also savored revenge
‘Mark Twain,’ by Ron Chernow, reviewed by Michael Dirda
Verdicts are read from each outlet's own headline and summary; quotes are their words, credited and linked. Where a paywalled summary does not give the critic's view, we say so rather than guess. How it works.
