The Love For the Mississippi River"There's only one way to be a pilot, and that is to get this entire river by heart. You have to know it just like A B C.' That was a dismal revelation to me; for my memory was never loaded with anything but blank cartridges." - Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

In Life on the Mississippi, Mark Twain portrays 19th-century America as seen by a steamboat pilot who dreams of becoming a writer. At the same time, it is a novel of change; soon after leaving behind his apprenticeship, the writing style changes and so does the author's view. 25 years later, the Mississippi River is different yet surprisingly familiar.