Even though Samuel Clemens ended his formal education at the age of twelve, he was a voracious and committed reader throughout his lifetime. His reading was eclectic, with a special attention to history, philosophy, and science. Although his library was dispersed through sale and other means, his library has been reconstructed by examining volumes he owned and marked with comments, as well as noting books that he mentions in his works and his letters. His eclectic reading shows him to be an intellectual and autodidact, much at odds with his public persona as a downhome, homespun humorist.