Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain. Short summary

5 seconds

An essay and memoir by Mark Twain about his time as a pilot on the Mississippi and then, after the Civil War, making the trip from New Orleans to St. Paul.

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The author begins the book by describing the Mississippi River itself, its geography, and its history of discovery and exploration, beginning with the Spaniards, namely Hernando de Soto in the 16th century. He then tells of the steamboats that sailed the river and how he learned to be an assistant pilot from the experienced seaman Horace Bixby. It was not easy, for the riverbed is constantly changing.

Twain describes himself as a naive fool who ran away from home and sailed the river on steamboats in search of happiness.

In the second part of the book, the author takes a steamboat trip on the Mississippi from New Orleans to St. Paul. Forty years have passed, the Civil War has died down, and Mark Twain talks about the changes that have taken place on the river.

He talks about the competition the railroads have had with steamboats. Big new towns were built, affecting life in the region. But their architectural style is terrible, and Southerners for the most part, in the author’s opinion, have remained greedy and gullible fools.