Books in Classics Here series

Memoir of the steamboat era on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War by Mark Twain, published in 1883. The book begins with a brief history of the river from its discovery by Hernando de Soto in 1541. Chapters 4-22 describe Twain's career as a Mississippi steamboat pilot, the fulfillment of a childhood dream. The second half of Life on the Mississippi tells of Twain's return, many years after, to travel the river from St. Louis to New Orleans. By then the competition from railroads had made steamboats passe, in spite of improvements in navigation and boat construction. Twain sees new, large cities on the river, and records his observations on greed, gullibility, tragedy, and bad architecture. -- The Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of Literature

When Professor Von Hardwigg and his nephew Henry discover a mysterious parchment, little do they know that it will change their lives forever. After many hours of studying the manuscript, and a great deal of painstaking research, they finally decipher the hidden code. It dates back to the sixteenth century, and is written by an Icelandic philosopher, who claims to have found a passage to the centre of the Earth. Is it a hoax? Or is it the greatest scientific discovery of the day? There is only one way for them to find out. And so begins an adventure where the two men, accompanied by their guide Hans Bjelke, set out to climb Mount Sneffels. On reaching the top of the mountain, they search for the crater that will supposedly take them to the centre of the Earth. The promise of finding a subterranean fantasy world, filled with prehistoric life forms and mythical monsters, drives them on. Will they really reach the centre of the Earth, or is it all a myth?