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Life on the Mississippi, Part 1.
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
89 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1883
147 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Mark Twain
8,864 books18.7k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.
Samuel Langhorne Clemens, known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Faulkner calling him "the father of American literature." His novels include The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876) and its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884), with the latter often called the "Great American Novel." Twain also wrote A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (1889) and Pudd'nhead Wilson (1894), and co-wrote The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today (1873) with Charles Dudley Warner.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 23, 2017
Ralph K. Andrist quoted Mark Twain in his book (retitled under the same name) and as I desired more knowledge of the steamboat period in American history, I decided to read this book. Part 1 is a history as only Twain can tell it, filled with wonder and tongue-in-cheek humor.
The wonder is contained in hard to believe but true facts, such as the Mississippi shortening itself by as much as 30 miles when it displays its power by cutting through a narrow neck of land. Humor is spread throughout, as demonstrated by the following description of the LaSalle expedition arriving at the mouth of the Arkansas River: "The white man and the red man struck hands and entertained each other during three days...The priest explained the mysteries of the faith 'by signs' for the saving of the savages; thus compensating them with possible possessions in Heaven for the certain ones on earth which they had just been robbed of." Only Mark Twain could speak volumes with so few words.
Readers in the 19th century were treated to an excerpt of the yet-to-be-published Huckleberry Finn, perhaps one of the earliest previews of an upcoming book novel slipped into a book. Part 1 ends with Twain relating his first exploit on the Great River, when he ran away from home and journeyed on a steamboat down the Mississippi.
I am not sure why this book was split into sections, but it allows the reader to get an idea of what the book is about and is available at no cost. Twain deserves nothing less than five stars.
The wonder is contained in hard to believe but true facts, such as the Mississippi shortening itself by as much as 30 miles when it displays its power by cutting through a narrow neck of land. Humor is spread throughout, as demonstrated by the following description of the LaSalle expedition arriving at the mouth of the Arkansas River: "The white man and the red man struck hands and entertained each other during three days...The priest explained the mysteries of the faith 'by signs' for the saving of the savages; thus compensating them with possible possessions in Heaven for the certain ones on earth which they had just been robbed of." Only Mark Twain could speak volumes with so few words.
Readers in the 19th century were treated to an excerpt of the yet-to-be-published Huckleberry Finn, perhaps one of the earliest previews of an upcoming book novel slipped into a book. Part 1 ends with Twain relating his first exploit on the Great River, when he ran away from home and journeyed on a steamboat down the Mississippi.
I am not sure why this book was split into sections, but it allows the reader to get an idea of what the book is about and is available at no cost. Twain deserves nothing less than five stars.
December 8, 2025
This particular quip made me laugh - teenagers are so dramatic.
"So by and by I ran away. I said I never would come home again till I was a pilot and could come in glory. But somehow I could not manage it. I went meekly aboard a few of the boats that lay packed together like sardines at the long St. Louis wharf, and very humbly inquired for the pilots, but got only a cold shoulder and short words from mates and clerks. I had to make the best of this sort of treatment for the time being, but I had comforting daydreams of a future when I should be a great and honored pilot, with plenty of money, and could kill some of these mates and clerks and pay for them."
"So by and by I ran away. I said I never would come home again till I was a pilot and could come in glory. But somehow I could not manage it. I went meekly aboard a few of the boats that lay packed together like sardines at the long St. Louis wharf, and very humbly inquired for the pilots, but got only a cold shoulder and short words from mates and clerks. I had to make the best of this sort of treatment for the time being, but I had comforting daydreams of a future when I should be a great and honored pilot, with plenty of money, and could kill some of these mates and clerks and pay for them."
February 25, 2024
A Boy's Dream
Mark Twain's,”Life on the Mississippi, Part 1,” touches on how Twain desired to work on a steamboat. He was so adamant that he ran away, claiming he would not return home until he was a pilot, the highest position on a steamboat.
Twain relates how the Mississippi River is the longest and crookedest River in the world.
From Twain’s essay, the reader surmises that the age of the Mississippi River is over one hundred and twenty thousand years.
Has the Mississippi River always been where it is now? Who was the first white man to see the Mississippi River?
Mark Twain's,”Life on the Mississippi, Part 1,” touches on how Twain desired to work on a steamboat. He was so adamant that he ran away, claiming he would not return home until he was a pilot, the highest position on a steamboat.
Twain relates how the Mississippi River is the longest and crookedest River in the world.
From Twain’s essay, the reader surmises that the age of the Mississippi River is over one hundred and twenty thousand years.
Has the Mississippi River always been where it is now? Who was the first white man to see the Mississippi River?
April 24, 2020
Parts of this I liked a lot; Twain's early description of the river, and his experiences learning to be a pilot. But parts of the book seemed almost like filler and had little to do with the river and dragged.
March 5, 2015
Meh. I expected more out of this. Very underwhelming.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews