Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain

LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI is a memoir by Mark Twain, telling of his days as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the Civil War. It's also a travel book, recounting his trip along the Mississippi many years after the War. In his memoir, Twain describes the coming of the railroads and the development of cities along the river, and he reflects on the changes to society, the people, the land, and the river over the years.