Life on the Mississippi [Blackstone]

By: Mark Twain

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

The Mississippi River, known as “America’s River” and Mark Twain are practically synonymous in American culture. The popularity of Twain’s steamboat and steamboat pilot on the ever-changing Mississippi has endured for over a century.

A brilliant amalgam of remembrance and reportage, by turns satiric, celebratory, nostalgic, and melancholy, Life on the Mississippi evokes the great river that Mark Twain knew as a boy and young man and the one he revisited as a mature and successful author. Written between the publication of his two greatest novels, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Twain’s rich portrait of the Mississippi marks a distinctive transition in the life of the river and the nation, from the boom years preceding the Civil War to the sober times that followed it.

Samuel Clemens became a licensed river pilot at the age of twenty-four under the apprenticeship of Horace Bixby, pilot of the Paul Jones. His name, Mark Twain, was derived from the river pilot term describing safe navigating conditions, or “mark two fathoms.” This term was shortened to “mark twain” by the leadsmen whose job it was to monitor the water’s depth and report it to the pilot.

Although Mark Twain used his childhood experiences growing up along the Mississippi in numerous works, nowhere is the river and the pilot’s life more thoroughly described than in Life on the Mississippi.

MARK TWAIN (1835–1910) was born Samuel L. Clemens in the town of Florida, Missouri. One of the most popular and influential authors our nation has ever produced, his keen wit and incisive satire earned him praise from both critics and peers. He has been called not only the greatest humorist of his age but the father of American literature.

Public Domain (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Mark Twain was the first truly American writer, and all of us since are his heirs.” (William Faulkner)

“I believe that Mark Twain had a clearer vision of life…than any other American…I believe that he was the true father of our national literature, the first genuinely American artist of the royal blood.” (H. L. Mencken)

A History in much detail.

Mark Twain indeed was a man who knew how to choose his words. He was very knowledgeable so this book includes both his knowledge and his wit. Not everyone will appreciate the great detail of each experience but we enjoyed it and even learned alot.

Love the Book - Not So Much the Narration

I love Twain. I have read this book half a dozen times and listened to this Audiobook a few times.
On the whole, of course the Story is a Five-star rating.
But, I am VERY sorry to say, that although Grover Gardner is my absolute favorite Narrator, I do NOT like his readings of Twain.
Technically flawless reading, but I somehow expect a southern drawl or something like that - Gardner reading Twain seems a little "less" to me and perhaps a bit jarring.

Good read

The story was an interesting look at life on the river. It was also interesting how much information a river pilot had to keep in his head.

A true classic, but…

This is an excellent and entertaining account of Early America. That being said, it was written in a time long past. You will encounter language and descriptions that are offensive today but were at the time descriptors not intended to offend. With that being said, it remains as accurate an accounting of the time and place as you will find, including the ignorance and arrogance commonplace when written.

A decent read

I enjoyed parts of it but it lost its charm for me, but it may be just what you need.