{"product_id":"books-mark-twain-and-the-colonel","title":"BOOKS - Mark Twain and the Colonel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(43, 0, 255);\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eS-2\/2   \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eMark Twain and the Colonel,\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem\u003eand the Arrival of a New Centur\u003c\/em\u003ey  2012.  Phillip McFarland.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(43, 0, 255);\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003e Of course, it is Theodore Roosevelt that is \"The Colonel\".  I would never have thought to compare them, their lives, their politics or their writings.  I would have been dead wrong.  This is an exceptionally well done book.  (Confession:  I am only about 300 pages in with another 125 yet to go, but it just keeps getting better and tighter as I read).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(43, 0, 255);\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eMcFarland himself appears fascinating.  Born in 1930, in America's deep South (Alabama) he is still alive with numerous non-fiction books to his credit, as well as at least 2 novels.  Education was Oberlin and Cambridge University.  His writing is meticulous in detail but has yet to be \"boggy\" or slow.  I tend to \"skim\" ... but not this book.  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(43, 0, 255);\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eI really thought there could be too much \"Teddy\".  I was wrong again.  Having read \"The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt\" gave me a succinct foundation for getting into this book.   Probably not necessary but that, too, was well worth the time spent.  The quandary now is do I add another of McFarland's books to my reading table ahead of or behind the next two Roosevelt books (and Zane Grey's fishing books).  \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(43, 0, 255);\"\u003e\u003cspan style=\"color: rgb(0, 0, 0);\"\u003eThis is history and a great comparison of how their worlds crossed paths but never really on the same road ... at least not yet in the book.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Herd Wear Distribution center","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43110064717937,"sku":null,"price":27.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"paperback","offer_id":43110064750705,"sku":null,"price":22.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1741\/3645\/files\/9781442212275-us.jpg?v=1774916379","url":"https:\/\/herdwear.net\/products\/books-mark-twain-and-the-colonel","provider":"Herd Wear Distribution center","version":"1.0","type":"link"}