This book begins with a brief history of the Mississippi River’s discovery by Hernando De Soto in 1541. Mark Twain paints a literary portrait of the recollections he had of his childhood and growing up on the Mississippi River. The latter part of the book is about the memories Twain has after he returns to the Mississippi River and travels from St. Louis to New Orleans.
Review
Written with descriptive mastery and humor, Twain depicts river life in a most interesting way. The most compelling aspect of this book is that it is taken from the pre-Civil War era and provides an intriguing and colorful view into that era. Conforming to his typical mockery of the "guilded age", Twain uses simple satires to take on complex issues. I recommend this book to anyone who is as fed up with artsy-fartsy romanticism as Mark Twain was.