He then proceeds to tell of his youthful experiences along the river, and its significant role in his life from early childhood right up to adulthood. Twain begins his memoir with a rich historical account of the Mississippi River including its exploration by early explorers, its evolution, and its vastness. Furthermore, the book captures the author’s nostalgic emotions through his resonant depiction of one of the most notable periods of his life. Reminiscing about his happy experiences as a young man under the instruction of an experienced mentor, the autobiographical tale depicts one of the most vivid illustrations of river life. But, again like the Mississippi, it's slow, peaceful and soothing.A river memoir documenting Twain’s early days as an apprentice steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War. Frustrating because they are good enough to keep you plodding through the dull stuff to hear another good one :) Just be prepared for a very long read as it can put you to sleep often. There are many exciting and interesting stories in the narration which are frustratingly enjoyable as the rest of the novel can be quite dull. He also gives an excellent and detailed history of river navigation and how to be a steamboat pilot, from his own experience as one in the 1800's.

The book follows Twain down and back up the Mississippi who gives picturesque vingettes of everything inbetween. The content however is a bit like the Mississippi, rather meandering and long. In all, the audio quality wasn't bad enough for it to significatly effect my understanding or enjoyment of the book. Yes, the narration starts off badly technically sampled, but the quality gets very good a little less than halfway through. (That was supposed to be humorous, but I really have listened twice and read twice.and I hope you do too.)

I have listened to the recording twice, have read the book more than two times, and if I take a notion, I will do it again, regardless of the consequences, so little do I value sanity. Any reader who enjoyed Tom and Huck owes it to himself to sample this wonderful story by a man who never wrote a bad sentence, although he was know for using bad language, i.e. In making the journey, he tells about the geologic history of the Mississippi, about the geographic effects of the river, about the early days of steamboating on the river and the complexity of the task of moving a boat on a river that changed from hour to hour and day to day and was always ready to grab a boat and its passengers and pull them to muddy death. The wild man from Hannibal who gave us Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn remembers (and revisits) his home town in this memoir written after he was rich and famous and no longer the kid that in his heart he always remained, at least partly. Humorous, poignant, informative, adventurous

Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain