LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI.

First Edition, an early intermediate state, with the tailpiece of Twain in flames on p.441 not present, and with caption on p.443 reading "The St. Charles Hotel". Profusely illustrated throughout. Tall 8vo, publisher?s original decorated cloth with black stamped decorations and gilt pictorial vignettes on the upper cover, the spine decorated in black and with a large gilt pictorial vignette, lettered in gilt. 624 pp. A reading copy, nice for such as the text is still very clean and unfoxed. The hinges are cracked but the boards are still attached, the text block shaken but holding as well, the cloth faded and worn, especially at the tips and edges, lacking the front plate illustration of the riverboat.

Edizione: one of twain?s best books and a nice opportunity to read this great classic in its original format for under fifty dollars!<br> twain writes about his home and his muse-the great mississippi. ?as a dwelling place for civilized man it is by far the first upon our globe.? (preface)<br> in this largely autobiographical narrative, twain gives us a vivid account of his experiences on the great river. life on the mississippi is brilliant firsthand account of the steamboat age, the science of river piloting, and the life of the river itself from the point of view of those who made their living navigating it.<br> the book is also an account of the changes of time, both to a man and to a way of life. the first part of the book recounts twain's youthful days as a steamboat pilot before the american civil war. later in the book twain recounts a trip along the mississippi river from st. louis to new orleans many years after the war, taken by a now mature and successful author.<br> life on the mississippi is a truly wonderful book and a valued piece of the american legacy.