The tall tales, commentaries, and literary sketches written by American humorist Mark Twain during his years as the editor of a New York newspaper are the subject of a new book co-edited by UNLV professor Joseph McCullough.

"Though many of Twain's writings from his days on the Buffalo Express have been reprinted previously, they never before have been collected in a single book," said McCullough, a distinguished professor of English. "One reason is that this book contains some works that were unsigned when they appeared in the newspaper. By researching various sources, my co-editor and I were able to establish that a number of those unsigned works, including more than three dozen editorials, were indeed written by Twain himself."

Mark Twain at the `Buffalo Express' was published this year by the Northern Illinois University Press. McCullough's co-editor, Janice McIntire-Strasburg, did her doctoral dissertation under McCullough's direction on Twain's Buffalo years and then continued to work on the book with him. Today, she is on the faculty of St. Louis University.

"One reason I find Twain's work at the Buffalo Express so interesting is that it represents his last work as a journalist," McCullough said. "After he married and left the newspaper, he devoted himself to writing his books and giving his lectures. There would be no more of his short stories and sketches, which I think represent some of his most fascinating work."

Readers in Nevada may be particularly interested in some of the work from Twain's Buffalo days, 1869 to 1871, as the author still often wrote about experiences he had had while living in Nevada and California, McCullough said.

McCullough added that he actually began work on this particular project 30 years ago. His doctoral dissertation at Ohio University was about Twain's work during the Buffalo years. He queried publishers then to see if anyone was interested in a book on the subject but found no takers.

"In retrospect, it's really very fortunate that they turned me down at that time. My knowledge of Twain and his work has grown extensively over the years, and I now have many more primary information sources available to me than I did 30 years ago," he said.

McCullough, who is considered to be an expert on the writings of Twain, also is the co-editor of The Bible According to Mark Twain: Writings on Heaven, Eden, and the Flood.

For additional information, call McCullough at 895-3907.