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Life on the Mississippi
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Life on the Mississippi Paperback - 1985

by Mark Twain; Introduction by James M. Cox; Notes by James M. Cox


Summary

In 1882 Mark Twain returned to the river of his childhood, determined to write the definitive travel book on the Mississippi. Life on the Mississippi is no ordinary guided tour, for every page is expressive of the structure, style and high humour that is the very essence of Twain the writer. Spiced with Twain's pungent observations and commentaries on the culture and society of the great river valley, the book is a wonderful collection of lively anecdotes, tall tales and character sketches; historical facts and information; and reminiscences of the author's boyhood and experiences as a steamboat pilot. Life on the Mississippi, in its composition and substance, is intricately related to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In his introduction, James M. Cox suggests that in writing this travelogue Twain discovered the truths that form the heart of the odyssey depicted in his masterpiece, Huckleberry Finn.

From the publisher

In 1882 Mark Twain returned to the river of his childhood, determined to write the definitive travel book on the Mississippi. Life on the Mississippi is no ordinary guided tour, for every page is expressive of the structure, style and high humour that is the very essence of Twain the writer. Spiced with Twain's pungent observations and commentaries on the culture and society of the great river valley, the book is a wonderful collection of lively anecdotes, tall tales and character sketches; historical facts and information; and reminiscences of the author's boyhood and experiences as a steamboat pilot. Life on the Mississippi, in its composition and substance, is intricately related to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In his introduction, James M. Cox suggests that in writing this travelogue Twain discovered the truths that form the heart of the odyssey depicted in his masterpiece, Huckleberry Finn. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

From the rear cover

Part travel book, part autobiography, and part social commentary, Life on the Mississippi is a memoir of the cub pilot's apprenticeship, a record of Twain's return to the river and to Hannibal as an adult, a meditation on the harsh vagaries of nature, and a study of the varied and sometimes violent activities engaged in by those who live on the river's shores.

Details

  • Title Life on the Mississippi
  • Author Mark Twain; Introduction by James M. Cox; Notes by James M. Cox
  • Binding Paperback
  • Edition Reprint
  • Pages 450
  • Volumes 1
  • Language ENG
  • Publisher Penguin Group, New York, NY
  • Date 1985-02-05
  • Features Bibliography, Table of Contents
  • ISBN 9780140390506 / 0140390502
  • Weight 0.71 lbs (0.32 kg)
  • Dimensions 7.85 x 5.05 x 0.82 in (19.94 x 12.83 x 2.08 cm)
  • Ages 18 to UP years
  • Grade levels 13 - UP
  • Reading level 1090
  • Themes
    • Chronological Period: 19th Century
    • Chronological Period: 1900-1949
    • Chronological Period: 1900-1919
    • Cultural Region: Mississippi River Basin
  • Library of Congress subjects Authors, American - 19th century, Pilots and pilotage - Mississippi River
  • Library of Congress Catalog Number 84001194
  • Dewey Decimal Code B

About the author

Mark Twain was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in Florida, Missouri, in 1835, and died at Redding, Connecticut in 1910. In his person and in his pursuits he was a man of extraordinary contrasts. Although he left school at twelve when his father died, he was eventually awarded honorary degrees from Yale University, the University of Missouri, and Oxford University. His career encompassed such varied occupations as printer, Mississippi riverboat pilot, journalist, travel writer, and publisher. He made fortunes from his writing but toward the end of his life he had to resort to lecture tours to pay his debts. He was hot-tempered, profane, and sentimental--and also pessimistic, cynical, and tortured by self-doubt. His nostalgia helped produce some of his best books. He lives in American letters as a great artist, the writer whom William Dean Howells called "the Lincoln of our literature."
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Life on the Mississippi (Penguin Classics)
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Life on the Mississippi (Penguin Classics)

by Twain, Mark

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Life on the Mississippi (Penguin Classics)
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Life on the Mississippi (Penguin Classics)

by Twain, Mark

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Life on the Mississippi

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Life on the Mississippi (Penguin Classics)

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Life on the Mississippi (Penguin Classics)

Life on the Mississippi (Penguin Classics)

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Life on the Mississippi (Penguin Classics)

Life on the Mississippi (Penguin Classics)

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Life on the Mississippi
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Life on the Mississippi

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ISBN 10 / ISBN 13
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