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Life On The Mississippi (Mark Twain) - Book Review

Mere Mortals Book Reviews
Mere Mortals Book Reviews
Episode • Feb 13, 2021 • 18m
The most enjoyable book that I have read all year!

'Life On The Mississippi' is a non-conventional book, alternating between memoirs, story telling, historical facts, reminisces of the past and cultural observations. Mark Twain gets the chance to recount his old adventures as a steamboat pilot on the Mississippi river in his youth and explore some of the changes that he has seen from before and after the American Civil War and the effects of the Industrial Revolution.

I summarised the book as follows. "I came into this book expecting it to be a descriptive but maybe somewhat boring recount of the American past. However, I had so many moments of deep belly laughs and became fascinated with the vivid picture that Mark Twain painted of this era. Not only that but he touches upon some of the questions we still ask ourselves today about technology, losing certain human abilities and adapting to the present moment. A great book if you are looking for an entertaining read and a transportation into the past."

I hope you have a fantastic day wherever you are in the world. Kyrin out!

Timeline:
(0:00) - Introduction
(1:42) - Life in different eras and vestiges of the past
(4:05) - Not preparing for life's changes
(6:42) - Technology and losing human abilities
(11:28) - The fascinating intricacies from passionate people
(13:10) - A wild time in history
(14:10) - Mark Twain is hilarious
(15:55) - An amazing book doesn't need to be conventional
(17:42) - Pragmatic takeaway

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