Life on the Mississippi (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781721288540)

Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. Life on the Mississippi (1883) is a memoir by Mark Twain of his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War, and also a travel book, recounting his trip along the Mississippi River from St. Louis to New Orleans many years after the War. The book begins with a brief history of the river as reported by Europeans and Americans, beginning with the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto in 1542. It continues with anecdotes of Twain's training as a steamboat pilot, as the 'cub' (apprentice) of an experienced pilot, Horace E. Bixby. He describes, with great affection, the science of navigating the ever-changing Mississippi River in a section that was first published in 1876, entitled "Old Times on the Mississippi". Although Twain was actually 21 when he began his training, he uses artistic license to make himself seem somewhat younger, referring to himself as a "fledgling" and a "boy" who "ran away from home" to seek his fortune on the river, and playing up his own callowness and naïveté.

Author: Mark Twain
ISBN-10: 1721288546
ISBN-13: 9781721288540
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Language: English
Published: 06/17/2018
Pages: 226
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.18lbs
Size: 11.02h x 8.50w x 0.48d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 9.1
Point Value: 24
Interest Level: Upper Grade
Quiz #/Name: 10039 / Life on the Mississippi