Samuel Clemens a.k.a. Mark Twain tells us about his youthful years, during which he trained for several years as a pilot on a Mississippi steamer. After the end of his training, he steered various ships across the Mississippi for a while until the Civil War brought shipping to a standstill. In the second part of the book, Mark Twain describes his return to the river after 21 years, taking a steamboat on a trip from St. Louis to New Orleans. He describes the race of steamboats with the railroads, the new and great cities, and his observations of greed, gullibility, and tragedy on the banks of the river and the poor architecture in many places. As is often the case, the plot is interspersed with numerous great anecdotes. Gröls Classics - English Edition