A fascinating collection of essays brings the founding father of American humor--Mark Twain--to life through the rich visual context of his time: books, documents, and ephemera. A First-Class Fool examines Samuel Clemens's emergence as a humorist and how "Mark Twain" continues to influence humor to this day. The story is richly illustrated with numerous books, manuscripts, art, photographs, and other rare materials from Susan Jaffe Tane's private Mark Twain collection, including many heretofore unpublished pieces. Contributors include John Bird, Julie Carlsen, James Caron, Mark Dawidziak, Kerry Driscoll, Gabriel Mckee, Kevin Mac Donnell, and Susan Jaffe Tane.