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Infinitely charming. Twain has always known how to capture the magical blend of innocence, ignorance, and insight that characterizes children, and his daughter's writing sheds some light on the likely source of that wisdom. A lot of the humor comes from Twain's commentary, but even more, his love and admiration for Susy shines through.

That's not to discount the actual biography, which obviously lacks the polish of an older and more experienced writer. Even so, the portrait she paints of her family life is actually a lot more evocative than many more "serious" biographies. The details she chooses to focus on are revelatory, all the more so because they would mostly be ignored by any serious scholar. Yet those little nuances are what really make the Clemens family come to life, from the descriptions of their leisure activities to the way the youngest daughter mangles her retellings of the stories made up by her father.

The introduction, on the other hand, is a total waste of time. I have no idea why that guy's picture is on the dust jacket for his nigh-on incomprehensible ramblings. He focuses, for reasons beyond my ken, on several people who would figure in Susy's later life but play no part at the time she was writing the biography.