Life on the Mississippi [Blackstone]

By: Mark Twain

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

The Mississippi River, known as “America’s River” and Mark Twain are practically synonymous in American culture. The popularity of Twain’s steamboat and steamboat pilot on the ever-changing Mississippi has endured for over a century.

A brilliant amalgam of remembrance and reportage, by turns satiric, celebratory, nostalgic, and melancholy, Life on the Mississippi evokes the great river that Mark Twain knew as a boy and young man and the one he revisited as a mature and successful author. Written between the publication of his two greatest novels, Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, Twain’s rich portrait of the Mississippi marks a distinctive transition in the life of the river and the nation, from the boom years preceding the Civil War to the sober times that followed it.

Samuel Clemens became a licensed river pilot at the age of twenty-four under the apprenticeship of Horace Bixby, pilot of the Paul Jones. His name, Mark Twain, was derived from the river pilot term describing safe navigating conditions, or “mark two fathoms.” This term was shortened to “mark twain” by the leadsmen whose job it was to monitor the water’s depth and report it to the pilot.

Although Mark Twain used his childhood experiences growing up along the Mississippi in numerous works, nowhere is the river and the pilot’s life more thoroughly described than in Life on the Mississippi.

MARK TWAIN (1835–1910) was born Samuel L. Clemens in the town of Florida, Missouri. One of the most popular and influential authors our nation has ever produced, his keen wit and incisive satire earned him praise from both critics and peers. He has been called not only the greatest humorist of his age but the father of American literature.

Public Domain (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Mark Twain was the first truly American writer, and all of us since are his heirs.” (William Faulkner)

“I believe that Mark Twain had a clearer vision of life…than any other American…I believe that he was the true father of our national literature, the first genuinely American artist of the royal blood.” (H. L. Mencken)

Love the Book - Not So Much the Narration

I love Twain. I have read this book half a dozen times and listened to this Audiobook a few times.
On the whole, of course the Story is a Five-star rating.
But, I am VERY sorry to say, that although Grover Gardner is my absolute favorite Narrator, I do NOT like his readings of Twain.
Technically flawless reading, but I somehow expect a southern drawl or something like that - Gardner reading Twain seems a little "less" to me and perhaps a bit jarring.

Good read

The story was an interesting look at life on the river. It was also interesting how much information a river pilot had to keep in his head.

A History in much detail.

Mark Twain indeed was a man who knew how to choose his words. He was very knowledgeable so this book includes both his knowledge and his wit. Not everyone will appreciate the great detail of each experience but we enjoyed it and even learned alot.

Doesn’t Get Better With Age

I read this book as a young adult and I remember loving it, mesmerized by Mark Twain’s stories of being a riverboat pilot as a young adult himself. Reading (or I should say listening) to it again 40 years later I realize now the book is far less about Mark Twain’s actual adventures, but a long string of fictional accounts set on the river loosely based on perhaps some actual events and characters he may have experienced and possibly met. Twain probably never met a situation or man he couldn’t improve on with a nice assortment of words from his vivid imagination. Life on the Mississippi is a great example of his active imagination and many of the yarns he tells don’t pass the test of time. By the end of the book I was a bit disappointed that I thought this was a real history of his experiences when I read it the first time as a much younger person. The narration by Grover Gardner is outstanding, full of emotion when called for, and keeps the words flowing all along.

Great historical reference

I was very interested to read my first Mark Twain book and I have always enjoyed his observations on life and travel.

I always love the way Twain turns a phrase. And this is great for short stories or snippets. I was surprised at how tedious this can make a novel. When everything is grandiose and larger than life...well..it all starts to sound plain and boring. The actual information and nuggets of truth get lost in the decoration. About half way through I started only listening to 15-20 minute segments before changing to something else and coming back to the book later. He is still witty. I would love to share a corner of a party with him, but maybe not hang out with him every day.

As a history book I was fascinated at the look Twain provided. Both with the development of the river and the communities and cultures along it. Such a valuable look into how people lived and thought at that time. Amazing that while many things have changed many struggles remain universal. Providing for your family, complaints about the dangers of new technology, evils of corporations, etc.

The narrator was a good selection for the voice of Twain in my head. Enough of a drawl to know it is there but not too over the top. Any difficulties with the reading I feel were ultimately with the text and not his performance.