THE RIVER QUEEN
by Mary Morris

Morris, who teaches at Sarah Lawrence College, takes time off to journey down the Mississippi River. Her father has just died and she wants to seek out the places that he has told her about. She rents a houseboat and hires two men, named Tom and Jerry, to captain the boat.
The book is part travelogue and part memoir with an effortless writing style.
The River Queen is highly recommended.