My first copy of this absorbing work was a small, compact edition published by the Oxford University Press. I read it by candle-light and found myself borne into another world, transported. In the early chapters, Twain focuses on his introduction to steamboating - he wears his YOUTH on his sleeve, recounting his cub-piloting experiences with the delight of a child. In the latter chapters, set in the post Civil-War era, Twain focuses on his returning impressions - he wears his HEART on his sleeve, remembering the world of his youth, burdened by sweet nostalgia, and a sense of finality and loss. If you have ever been young, you will laugh, and if you have a heart, you will probably shed a tear. No other writer in American literature has so completely combined a genius for wit and humanity. This is one of those rare books that can be read more than once, and enjoyed even more the second time.