Fashioned from the same experiences that would inspire the masterpiece HUCKLEBERRY FINN,LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI is Mark Twain's most brilliant and most personal nonfictional work. It is at once an affectionate evocation of the vital river life in the steamboat era and a melancholy reminiscence of its passing after the Civil War,a priceless collection of humorous anecdotes and folktales, and a unique glimpse into Twain's life before he began to write。Written in the prose which Bernard De Voto called "one of the great styles of English literature" LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI established Twain as not only the most popular humorist of his time but also as America's most profound chronicler of the human comedy.

BUT the basin of the Misslssippi Is the BODY OF THE NATION.All the other parts are but members, important in themselves,yet more important in their relations to this. Exclusive of the Lake basin and of 300,000 square miles in Texas and New Mexico, which in many aspects form a part of it, this basin contains about 1,250,000 square miles. In extent it is the second great valley of the world, being exceeded only by that of the Amazon. The valley of the frozen Obi approaches it in extent; that of the La Plata comes next in space, and probably in habitable capacity, having about eight-ninths of its area;then comes that of the Yenisei, with about seven-ninths; the Lena, Amoor, Hoang-ho, Yang-tse-kiang, and Nile, five-ninths;the Ganges, less than one-half; the Indus, less than one-third;the Euphrates, one-fifth; the Rhine, one-fifteenth. It exceeds in extent the whole of Europe, exclusive of Russia, Norway,and Sweden. It would contain Austria/our times, Germany or Spain five times, France six times, the British Islands or Italy ten times. Conceptions formed from the fiver-basins of Western Europe are rudely shocked when we cousider the extent of the valley of the Mississippi; nor are those formed from the sterile basins of the great rivers of Siberia, the lofty plateaus of Central Asia, or the mighty sweep of the swampy Amazon more adequate. Latitude, elevation, and rainfall all combine to render every part of the Mississippi Valley capable of supporting a dense population. As a dwelling-place for civilized man it is by far the first upon our globe.--Eorror"s TABLE, Harper"s Magazine, February, 1863.

The "Body of the Nation"

I. The River and Its History

2. The River and Its Explorers

3. Frescoes from the Past

4. The Boys" Ambition

5. I Want to be a Cub-Pilot

6. A Cub-pilot"s Experience

7. A Daring Deed

8. Perplexing Lessons

9. Continued Perplexities

I0. Completing My Education

II. The River

12. Sounding

13. A Pilot"s Needs

14 Rank and Dignity f Piloting

15. "The Pilots" Monopoly

16. Racing Days

17. Cut-Offs and Stephen

18. I Take a Few Extra Lessons

19. Brown and I Exchange Compliments

20. A Catastrophe

21. A Section in My Biography

22. I Return to My Muttons

23. Traveling Incognito

24. My Incognito is Exploded

25. From Cairo to Hickman

26. Under Fire

27. Some Imported Articles

28. Uncle Mumford Unloads

29. A Few Specimen Bricks

30. Sketches by the Way

31. A Thumb-Print and What Came of It

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