The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature
Memoir of the steamboat era on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War by Mark Twain, published in 1883. The book begins with a brief history of the river from its discovery by Hernando de Soto in 1541. Chapters 4-22 describe Twain's career as a Mississippi steamboat pilot, the fulfillment of a childhood dream. The second half of Life on the Mississippi tells of Twain's return, many years after, to travel the river from St. Louis to New Orleans. By then the competition from railroads had made steamboats passe, in spite of improvements in navigation and boat construction. Twain sees new, large cities on the river, and records his observations on greed, gullibility, tragedy, and bad architecture.
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Book Description
LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI was first published when Mark Twain was nearly 50 years old. He wrote it originally as a series of articles titled "Old Times on the Mississippi." It is fresh with enthusiasm for his early life on the river. On hearing it today who can fail to respond to its message of freedom, independent existence and expanding horizons?
