All You Can Books

Life on the Mississippi

Mark Twain

15,026 ratings
Life on the Mississippi | Mark Twain

Life on the Mississippi

Download Here

headphones icon
Download Audiobook (part 1)
headphones icon
Download Audiobook (part 2)

sound iconListen Online (part 1)

sound iconListen Online (part 2)

download icon
Download eBook

notebook iconRead eBook Online

pdf icon
Download eBook PDF
Life on the Mississippi is a memoir by Mark Twain detailing his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War. A good portion of the work also deals with his post-war visit to the “old haunts”.
I thought I had finished this chapter, but I wish to add a curious thing, while it is in my mind. It is only relevant in that it is connected with piloting. There used to be an excellent pilot on the river, a Mr. X., who was a somnambulist. It was said that if his mind was troubled about a bad piece of river, he was pretty sure to get up and walk in his sleep and do strange things. He was once fellow-pilot for a trip or two with George Ealer, on a great New Orleans passenger packet. During a considerable part of the first trip George was uneasy, but got over it by and by, as X. seemed content to stay in his bed when asleep. Late one night the boat was approaching Helena, Arkansas; the water was low, and the crossing above the town in a very blind and tangled condition. X. had seen the crossing since Ealer had, and as the night was particularly drizzly, sullen, and dark, Ealer was considering whether he had not better have X. called to assist in running the place, when the door opened and X. walked in. Now on very dark nights, light is a deadly enemy to piloting; you are aware that if you stand in a lighted room, on such a night, you cannot see things in the street to any purpose; but if you put out the lights and stand in the gloom you can make out objects in the street pretty well. So, on very dark nights, pilots do not smoke; they allow no fire in the pilot-house stove if there is a crack which can allow the least ray to escape; they order the furnaces to be curtained with huge tarpaulins and the sky-lights to be closely blinded. Then no light whatever issues from the boat. The undefinable shape that now entered the pilot-house had Mr. X.'s voice. This said—

'Let me take her, George; I've seen this place since you have, and it is so crooked that I reckon I can run it myself

Bill 05/24/2024

I first read this book fifty years ago when I was in high school, and I recalled Twain's account of his days as a Mississippi steamboat pilot's apprentice as a work of great humor and style with quintessentially American themes, equal in power to Huckleberry Finn. A recent re-reading has left me bot
Terry 02/13/2024
My interest in this book waned as it devolved from the geography and history lessons which I founded very interesting, to being a boat pilot which went on too long, to storytelling of various characters which was variable, to travelogue to Native American mythology. I may be outgrowing Twain at this
Michelle 03/28/2022
I really struggled with this one.

It's a long wordy book that is basically about a river and nothing apart from the river. It's a very detailed account of said river.

This wasn't what I was expecting at all, it is however another classic off the list!
Roy 09/22/2018
And, mind you, emotions are among the toughest things in the world to manufacture out of whole cloth; it is easier to manufacture seven facts than one emotion.
This is an awkward book to review, since it consists of so many, varied sections. Yet it can be neatly divided between the first third an

How it works

30-day FREE trial

Get ALL YOU CAN BOOKS absolutely FREE for 30 days. Download our FREE app and enjoy unlimited downloads of our entire library with no restrictions.

UNLIMITED access

Have immediate access and unlimited downloads to over 200,000 books, courses, podcasts, and more with no restrictions.

Forever Downloads

Everything you download during your trial is yours to keep and enjoy for free, even if you cancel during the trial. Cancel Anytime. No risk. No obligations.

Significant Savings

For just $19.99 per month, you can continue to have unlimited access to our entire library. To put that into perspective, most other services charge the same amount for just one book!

Start Your Free Trial Now

Our Story

Welcome to All You Can Books, the ultimate destination for book lovers.

Welcome to All You Can Books, the ultimate destination for book lovers.

As avid readers, we understand the joy of immersing ourselves in a captivating story or getting lost in the pages of a good book. That's why we founded All You Can Books back in 2010, to create a platform where people can access an extensive library of quality content and discover new favorites.

Since our founding days, we’ve continuously added to our vast library and currently have over 200,000 titles, including ebooks, audiobooks, language learning courses, podcasts, bestseller summaries, travel books, and more! Our goal at All You Can Books is to ensure we have something for everyone.

Join our community of book lovers and explore the world of literature and beyond!