The Elephant on the Raft : Remembering Dad on a Mark Twain Odyssey

How did Mark Twain, a child of slave owning parents, ultimately marry the daughter of leading abolitionists and Underground Railroad conductors, transforming himself from an inherently racist youth and one-time Confederate militia man into one of the leading advocates of racial equality and inclusiveness in American History? What can be learned that might help in today's climate of racial polarity? <p>

In this loving tribute to the author's late father, what begins as a free-spirited journal of road trips and memories in an effort to recapture a lost bond between a father and son, evolves after recollections of growing up in a racially-torn Philadelphia neighborhood in the 1960s and '70s inspire a powerful awakening about the current state of racial divisiveness in the United States, and how the life of celebrated author Mark Twain offers what actor Hal Holbrook once described as "the clear path to the soul of America." <p>

"It had taken my own travels to arrive at a deepened understanding and reinvigorated appreciation for the genius of Mark Twain" writes author Thomas Curley. "Huckleberry Finn was more than just a nostalgic reflection on the innocence of  boyhood...it was boyhood in the midst of the most overtly racist eras of our nation's history. There was more, I was learning, than I had allowed myself to perceive...racial discrimination had dominated our history, and, incredulously, remains a conversation today that still hasn't fully concluded." <p>

Filled with anecdotes about historic and contemporary figures from Frederick Douglas to John Denver, THE ELEPHANT ON THE RAFT takes us on an uplifting journey from South Philadelphia to Twain landmarks from Hannibal to Hartford, with stops at Hollywood, Gettysburg, Ireland, Haiti and elsewhere, sharing revelations about film, fatherhood, the evolution of American life, and a potential path to healing of a national wound. <p>