In Hannibal, Missouri, in the mid-1800's there lived a boy named Samuel Clemens whose greatest ambition was to become a Mississippi River pilot. From his happy-go-lucky boyhood to the realization of this great ambition, here is a lively account of the early life of the man later known to the world as Mark Twain.

From the book

Many of the incidents in this book are based on Samuel Clemens' recollection of his boyhood in Hannibal and his early years on the Mississippi. Now and then his memory was known to trick him on small details, but most of his descriptions are supported by later inquiry.

And in the broad sense, this is a true story—of a boy and a river and a uniquely picturesque era in American history.

Author's note taken from the book