Life on the Mississippi

Book cover of Life on the Mississippi

Book description

Life on the Mississippi (1883) is a memoir by Mark Twain of his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War. It is also a travel book, recounting his trip up the Mississippi River from New Orleans to Saint Paul many years after the…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Life on the Mississippi as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Peter B. Dedek

Author

Life on the Mississippi is the autobiographical story of Mark Twain’s career as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River in the mid-1800s.

I first read this book when living in the French Quarter in the 1990s and could hear ship horns out on the river as I took in Twain’s fascinating, often silly and sarcastic narrative about his life and the river.

When describing New Orleans cemeteries, Twain writes, “Many of the cemeteries are beautiful, and are kept in perfect order. When one goes from the levee or the business streets near it, to a cemetery, he observes…

From Peter's list on the history of life, death, and magic in New Orleans.

Marnie O. Mamminga

Author

It is no secret that Mark Twain loved the Mississippi River. Most of us know this from his classic novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. But Life on the Mississippi, Twain’s memoir of his youthful adventures as a steamboat pilot in training published in 1883, gives us a deeper picture not only of the author but also the Mississippi.

Like a meandering current, Twain weaves together a historic journey of the river, life on a steamboat, the changing landscape, and the challenges of navigation. Throw in a few tall tales and signature Mark Twain philosophy, and you feel…

From Marnie's list on historic memoirs that speak to the love of place.

Sor Juana, My Beloved

By MaryAnn Shank,

Book cover of Sor Juana, My Beloved

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What is my book about?

Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, this brilliant 17th century nun flew through Mexico City on the breeze of poetry and philosophy. She met with princes of the Church, and with the royalty of Spain and Mexico. Then she met a stunning, powerful woman with lavender eyes, la Vicereine Maria Louisa, and her life changed forever. As her fame grew, she dared to challenge the diabolical Archbishop once too often, and he threw her in front of the Inquisition, where she stood, alone.

Sor Juana's work is studied still today, and justifiably so. Scholars study her months on end; mystics…

Sor Juana, My Beloved

By MaryAnn Shank,

What is this book about?

This astonishingly brilliant 17th century poet and dramatist, this nun, flew through Mexico City on wings of inspiration. Having no dowry, she chose the life of a nun so that she might learn, so that she might write, so that she might meet the most fascinating people of the western world. She accomplished all of that, and more.

One day a woman with violet eyes, eyes the color of passion flowers, entered her life. It was the new Vicereine, Maria Luisa. As the two most powerful women in Mexico City, the bond between them crossed politics and wound them in…

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