In this history of the steamboat era, Mark Twain and Capt. Ed Heckmann, last of the great steamboat pilots, tell what it was like from their own experiences. Here you will relive the discovery of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Then learn of a disaster when the Mississippi flowed backwards in 1811, one that could destroy St. Louis and Memphis if happened today. You’ll go to Natchez Under-the-Hill with bandits, outlaws, harlots and thieves. And here Capt. Heckmann tells of the gamblers, explains piloting side-wheelers vs. sternwheelers while Twain describes the excitement when steamboats came to town, and famous steamboat racing. Get the view from the pilothouse. Learn how the Yazoo River saved Vicksburg. Ride the dangerous rivers with a wounded trooper from the Custer massacre when all river speed records were broken, even to this day. Here you will find plantation families, learn how to read the water, vividly experience the most terrible wrecks, and ride the relief boat rescuing survivors when much of Louisiana was under ten feet of water from the great flood of 1882, all this and much more. This account of those roaring riverboat years is educational and entertaining, suitable for all ages.