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Life on the Mississippi
work by Twain
Life on the Mississippi, 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 4â22 describe Twainâs career as a Mississippi steamboat pilot, the fulfillment of a childhood dream.
The second half of Life on the Mississippi tells of Twainâs return, many years after, to travel the river from St. Louis to New Orleans. By then the competition from railroads had made steamboats passĂ©, in spite of improvements in navigation and boat construction. Twain observes new, large cities on the river and records his ruminations on greed, gullibility, tragedy, and bad architecture.
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