Life on the Mississippi

This memoir captures the romance and rigor of the author's youth as a "cub" pilot learning the intricate, shifting currents of the Mississippi River. He describes the river not just as a body of water, but as a living, formidable character that demands respect and mastery. The latter part of the book recounts a return trip, lamenting the loss of the steamboat era to the railroads. It is a nostalgi...