best ernest hemingway biography

Ernest Hemingway

James M. Hutchisson

$37.95 | Hardcover Edition ISBN: 978-0-271-07534-1

Available as an e-book

320 pages 7" × 10" 23 b&w illustrations 2016

A 2017 Choice Outstanding Academic Title

“The best single-volume Hemingway biography now available. Summing up: Essential.” —S. Miller, Choice

• Description
• Table of Contents
• Sample Chapters

This is an examination of the writer through a new lens—one that more accurately captures Hemingway’s virtues as well as his flaws. Hutchisson situates Hemingway’s life and art in the defining contexts of the women he loved and lost, the places he held dear, and the specter of mental illness that haunted his family. This balanced portrait examines for the first time in full detail the legendary writer’s complex medical history and his struggle against clinical depression.

“Toward the end of James J. Hutchisson’s deftly written biography of Ernest Hemingway, we are reminded to ‘remember how difficult it was for him to be “Ernest Hemingway.”’ That’s something no reader of this well-researched book is likely to forget. Chapter after chapter, we see Hemingway in splendid complication as both the man and the artist.” —Sibbie O'Sullivan, Washington Post Book World

“Written in graceful, jargon-free prose, this compact biography will appeal broadly to general readers, students, and scholars.” —William Gargan, Library Journal

“Lovingly detailed. . . . Hutchisson celebrates Hemingway’s many career triumphs, but pays at least as much attention to his troubles.” —Robert Fulford, National Post

“Hutchisson has done the impossible: He has made an original contribution to the literature about the most written-about author in American letters.” —Ron Capshaw, National Review

“A perception exists that everything we need to know about the author of A Farewell to Arms and A Moveable Feast (among so many other great works) has been said ad infinitum. James M. Hutchisson’s Ernest Hemingway: A New Life proves how untrue that thought is. Nearly thirty years after a revisionary wave of biographies reimagined the man, Hutchisson arrives to reset the scales once more, giving us a fuller, more nuanced portrait than we’ve ever enjoyed. Every generation deserves its own Hemingway, and this is ours.” —Kirk Curnutt, board member of the Ernest Hemingway Foundation and Society and author of Reading Hemingway’s “To Have and Have Not”: Glosses and Commentary

“A work of mature judgment and rigorous scholarship, lucidly, often elegantly written.” —Matthew Stewart, American Studies

“Building on newly available letters and other sources, this first new Hemingway biography in twenty years probes the author’s complicated relationships with his family, mentors, wives—and other women. Readers will appreciate this documented account of Hemingway’s fascinating life; those familiar with earlier biographies will find much fresh material in this accessible volume.” —Ellen Andrews Knodt, Pennsylvania State University, Abington

“ Ernest Hemingway: A New Life marks a refreshing change in approach. With the exception of Michael Reynolds’s multivolume biography, biographers since Carlos Baker have viewed Hemingway through various limited critical perspectives, resulting in life stories that differ markedly from one another. James Hutchisson’s A New Life offers an unbiased view of a complex personality.” —Robert E. Fleming, author of The Face in the Mirror: Hemingway’s Writers

“Like a masterful visual artist who takes a familiar subject and makes it fresh and interesting, James Hutchisson gives us an original and compelling biographical portrait of Ernest Hemingway. By examining patterns in Hemingway's life and providing additional context, Hutchisson enables us to see aspects of the writer’s life and art in a new light. The result is a balanced (if somewhat more sympathetic) view of Hemingway and a worthy counterpoint to previous biographies.” —Ruth Hawkins, author of Unbelievable Happiness and Final Sorrow: The Hemingway-Pfeiffer Marriage

“In the first Hemingway biography in two decades, Hutchisson draws on recent scholarship, newly available family and medical histories, and expanded editions of posthumous works to craft a balanced and lucid treatment of Hemingway that deftly charts his spatial and sexual geographies. Hutchisson remains attuned to the patterns in Hemingway’s life without sacrificing Hemingway’s complexity. He probes Hemingway’s contradictions without seeking to resolve them. This biography offers an invaluable aid to scholars of the frequently misunderstood late and posthumous works by examining Hemingway’s continuing efforts to transcend the boundaries of the styles and forms his critics had come to expect. This portrait of Hemingway shows a writer who never ceased to evolve.” —Julieann Veronica Ulin, Florida Atlantic University

“Hutchisson is extremely good at describing the demons that rode [Hemingway] and the suffering they caused him, and he strikes an admirable balance between excuse and generous empathy that culminates in his treatment of Hemingway’s final desperate act early on the morning of July 2, 1961.” —Chilton Williamson, Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture

James M. Hutchisson is Professor of American Literature at The Citadel and the author of The Rise of Sinclair Lewis , also published by Penn State University Press.

List of Figures

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1 The Midwest: Childhood and Youth

2 Italy and Agnes von Kurowsky

3 Michigan, Chicago, and Hadley

5 Duff Twysden and The Sun Also Rises

6 Pauline, Key West, and A Farewell to Arms

7 Spain and Death in the Afternoon

8 Jane Mason and Africa

9 Martha Gellhorn and the Spanish Civil War

10 Cuba and For Whom the Bell Tolls

11 China and World War II

12 Mary, Adriana, and Across the River and into the Trees

13 Revisiting the Past: Africa and Paris

14 Dangerous Summers: Spain, Cuba, Idaho

Selected Bibliography

Ernest Hemingway is probably the most famous literary figure of all time. Some might argue that Hemingway wasn’t the greatest American writer, or even the creator of the best American book. But Ernest Hemingway certainly is the American writer. He was the perfect blend of literary talent and iconic personality, and the contours of his life have become deeply etched in the American popular consciousness—from his vibrant, fledgling self in patched jacket and sneakers on the boulevards of 1920s Paris to his white-bearded, barrel-chested eminence in khaki shorts and long-billed fishing cap off the waters of 1950s Cuba. “Papa” still walks among us and looms large on the literary horizon—just as he wanted it to be.

Hemingway is also one of the most written-about authors, in terms of both his life and his art. Yet, surprisingly, there has not been a single-volume biography of Hemingway published in almost twenty-five years. Most of his biographers have seemed to veer from one pole of critical approval to the other, either accepting wholesale—or with exaggerated winks and nods—the self-created legend of the hypermasculine hero, or disapproving of Hemingway by emphasizing the superficial image of him as a mean-spirited, alcoholic womanizer.

Carlos Baker’s “official” biography of 1969, Ernest Hemingway: A Life Story, laid the groundwork for all further writing on the author, but even Baker, as the authorized scribe, many times expressed true disdain for his subject. (Jack Hemingway, the author’s eldest son, once complained that Baker had made his father out to be “a son of a bitch.”) Jeffrey Meyers’s 1985 Hemingway: A Biography, while clearly written and accessible, is openly disapproving. Kenneth Lynn’s controversial 1987 psychobiography of Hemingway advances the fascinating argument that the greatest trauma of Hemingway’s life was a consistent pattern of gender confusion, but it does not do full justice to the other material of Hemingway’s life and work. James Mellow’s 1992 book reads nearly everything that Hemingway wrote in the context of the homoeroticism within Hemingway’s circle. Unlike previous biographers, I see Hemingway as someone who became many things to many people—sometimes opposite things. He was the war hero, the foreign correspondent, the expatriate, the consummate artist, the marlin fisherman and lion hunter, the womanizer, the drinker, the father and husband, the overbearing egotist, the tragic figure whose thoughts of self-destruction trailed him for nearly his entire life.

Hemingway’s keystone subject was violent death. Plagued by depression and a history of mental illness in his family, Hemingway fought constantly against the insidious slow descent of what he called “the black ass,” which could envelop him in an instant in a fog of despair. The adventuring, the risk taking, the life lived large, was collectively a way of avoiding the dark places that he tried to steer clear of in his life, so that he could explore them with some measure of safety in his art. His writing was a means of connecting with deep, raw emotion; to him, this meant being truthful about what is real—true to what is. The dark call to die, yet the insistence upon continuing, like the offering and withdrawing of emotion in his fiction, is an essential rhythm of Hemingway’s life and art, just as are the silences that sit in his short, declarative sentences—a kind of concession to dread and, ultimately, mortality. It might not be too much to say that he was in some ways a nexus for death, for among the people whom he became close to, or who were part of his family, many were suicides. The psychic terrain that he lived in must therefore have been very hard for him to navigate while still remaining sane.

It is often said that one of Hemingway’s best fictional creations was Ernest Hemingway himself. But what has not been traced through his life and work is how he discovered (or created) different identities through his writing, or how he used his writing to try to reconcile the contradictory elements within himself. I thus tend to see Hemingway more sympathetically than many earlier writers have; I believe he thought that if he could see himself clean and whole—what he thought of as the “true gen”—his writing might be useful to others who also lived their lives as journeys into themselves. Like most people, Hemingway changed over the course of his life. He was not the static figure that he has often been made out to be.

Hemingway had unusually high standards for his work, for others’ work, and for others’ friendships. So great a talent as his, and the concurrent fame and celebrity status that accompanied it, created huge difficulties in his personal life that he could never overcome, although he tried mightily to do so. Having the mantle of fame put on his shoulders while he was so young, he was always looking over his shoulder at the competition. He therefore developed a competitive streak that often made it impossible for him to praise fellow writers or to feel that anybody was as good a writer as he was. His relationships were often tempestuous, like a summer storm crossing the bay. His high standards created an almost suffocating anxiety in him; it is actually something of a miracle that he survived that pressure as long as he did. He also had a deeply ingrained sense of character, which he often, all too humanly, failed to live up to. This seems forgivable in most people, but many found it unforgivable in Hemingway. As Edmund Wilson once snidely put it, Hemingway had an inviolable code of honor that he was always breaking.

Hemingway also had an insecurity about all things physical. He was perpetually trying to impress people with his athletic skill, his sexual prowess, his stamina, his muscle tone, and his ability to participate competitively in physically challenging activities like sportfishing and boxing. His obsession with the body led him to explore the physical in his fiction in ways that no one had ever done before, although that interest did not come into focus until after the period of his greatest productivity, 1926–1940. After 1940, he pondered this theme in his fiction—though he could never push through and actually publish most of this work, perhaps for the very reasons that drove his own physical insecurities. His obsession with the physical also probably accounted for his often harsh treatment of his wives and lovers, since all of those relationships—with the exception of his first wife, Hadley—were based largely on sexual attraction. His letters to his wives and wives-to-be are among the most passionate and heartfelt in all of literary history. He thought that love was both the sine qua non of human existence and the greatest deceiver. When his marriages collapsed, he spun downward each time, powerlessly caught in an inner cyclone of guilt, anxiety, and even grief. By the time his emotions were spent, he was spiritually and psychically empty, hollowed out like a drum.

In this book, I pursue several specific angles of entry into understanding Hemingway. One is the pattern of how his writing was influenced by women and by place. I offer an organized look at the sequence of results produced in his work by his various wives, lovers, and mistresses. Each major novel gestated in Hemingway’s consciousness and was brought to fruition during a relationship—whether sexual or not—with a woman. Hemingway’s relationships with women were also inextricably bound to geographic locale. The battlefield seems to have been the most recurrent setting, but he also adopted a series of spiritual homes that became stimuli to creativity—most of all Spain, which he said in the second sentence of The Dangerous Summer that he loved more than any place on earth.

I also emphasize Hemingway’s interest in medicine (his father was a physician, and his third son became one) and analyze his complex medical profile. I take into account his family health history, his recurrent vision problems, and the pattern of accidents, injuries, and illnesses that plagued him throughout his life. As John Dos Passos once said, he never knew an athletic, vigorous man who spent as much time in bed as Hemingway did. Hemingway had a complicated medical history that helps explain his emotions and attitudes, his public behavior, his fictional themes and preoccupations, and his ability or inability to write. Medical records among his personal papers show that for much of his life Hemingway took medications that conflicted chemically with one another and eventually produced disastrous results. It is my strong belief that it was this condition, much more than the idea that he was felled by fame or corrupted by the allure of celebrity, that propelled him down the slope into suicide at the end of his life. With his family history of mental illness, it is not surprising that Hemingway was obsessed with suicides, real and imagined. Trying to stare down the dark facts of a difficult world was something that had been part of him since youth.

The portrait of Hemingway that emerges in this book is neither tragic nor heroic, but is instead a balanced assessment that shows the ambition that drove him, and the anxieties, both real and imagined, that destroyed him.

Biography & Memoir

General Interest

Also of Interest

American Fiction, American Myth

Essays by Philip Young

Philip Young Edited by David Morrell and Sandra Spanier

The Rise of Sinclair Lewis, 1920–1930

Mailing list.

Subscribe to our mailing list and be notified about new titles, journals and catalogs.

Reviews of Biographies of Ernest Hemingway From the Archives of The New York Times Related Articles Featured Author: Ernest Hemingway Hemingway Collection/ JFK Library, Boston Hemingway as a child in Willow Lake, Michigan. Carlos Baker's 'Ernest Hemingway' (1968) "Professor Baker has delivered his trophy and it is, as promised, a life-size replica of Ernest Hemingway. . . . In plain language, reading Carlos Baker's long-awaited biography is hugely exasperating. But then so, apparently, was Ernest Hemingway." Bernice Kert's 'The Hemingway Women' (1983) "Kert's study proves valuable in ways that are different from, and certainly more graceful than, the usual psychobiography. By re-creating Hemingway's life from the perspective of his wives and lovers, a now-familiar story achieves greater dimension." Raymond Carver on Hemingway Biographies by Jeffrey Meyers and Peter Griffin (1985) "Adulation is not a requirement for biographers, but Mr. Meyers's book fairly bristles with disapproval of its subject. . . . The only possible antidote for how you feel about Hemingway after finishing this book is to go back at once and reread the fiction itself. How clear, serene and solid the best work still seems . . ." Kenneth S. Lynn's 'Hemingway' (1987) "Hemingway, in Mr. Lynn's version, actually lived the kind of courageous and painful life he wrote about. . . . 'Hemingway' helps us recover a view of his life as having been, despite its end, a success." James R. Mellow's 'Hemingway' (1992) ". . . fresh and powerfully coherent, and stands with the best work done on the writer to date." Nancy R. Comley and Robert Scholes's 'Hemingway's Genders' (1994) ". . . a surprisingly succinct and jargon-free essay despite its deconstructionist subtitle . . . The results are richly rewarding. Whatever else the authors accomplish, they force one to see new subtleties in stories read dozens of times before . . ." Michael Reynolds's 'Hemingway: The 1930's' (1997) ". . . a good account of the 10 years of Ernest Hemingway's life in which his public image took shape and his writing skills began to mature. However, Michael Reynolds perpetuates the popular myth that by knowing more about Hemingway's life we know more about his novels." Michael Reynolds's 'Hemingway: The Final Years' (1999) "Excellent and exhaustive . . . One of the forces of disintegration, sensitively considered by Reynolds, was Hemingway's fear that he would never write anything better than 'For Whom the Bell Tolls' . . . " Return to the Books Home Page

Biography of Ernest Hemingway, Pulitzer and Nobel Prize Winning Writer

Famous Author of Simple Prose and Rugged Persona

Bettmann Archive / Getty Images

• People & Events
• Fads & Fashions
• Early 20th Century
• American History
• African American History
• African History
• Ancient History and Culture
• Asian History
• European History
• Latin American History
• Medieval & Renaissance History
• Military History
• Women's History

World War I

Becoming a writer, life in paris, getting published, back to the u.s., the spanish civil war, world war ii, the pulitzer and nobel prizes, decline and death.

• B.A., English Literature, University of Houston

Ernest Hemingway (July 21, 1899–July 2, 1961) is considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century. Best known for his novels and short stories, he was also an accomplished journalist and war correspondent. Hemingway's trademark prose style—simple and spare—influenced a generation of writers.

The 10 best Ernest Hemingway books, according to Goodreads readers

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

• Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) is the master of understated, spare prose.
• Below are Ernest Hemingway's 10 most popular books, according to Goodreads readers .
• Readers especially love " The Old Man and the Sea ," " The Sun Also Rises ," and " A Farewell to Arms ."

When you think of Ernest Hemingway — journalist, novelist, bullfighting aficionado — you probably think of the lean, understated prose that defines many American classics. 

The opening line of the book that helped him win the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature, " The Old Man and the Sea ," reads as a status report: "He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish." Nicknamed the "iceberg theory" by Hemingway, much of his novels' meatiness (their nuances, their themes) lies looming beneath the surface. (For a man who wrote that he gets over writer's block by sitting down and writing the truest sentence that you know," this isn't altogether surprising.)

If you're looking for where to start in the Hemingway canon, know that you can't really go wrong. After reading the manuscript for " For Whom The Bell Tolls ," the famed editor Maxwell Perkins wrote Hemingway to say, "if the function of a writer is to reveal reality, no one ever so completely performed it." And William Faulkner, often considered one of the best American writers of all time, wrote that "time may show ["The Old Man and the Sea"] to be the best single piece of any of us, I mean his and my contemporaries."

To make diving into Hemingway's work a little easier, we've compiled a ranking of the 10 most popular Hemingway books, according to Goodreads reviewers.

The 10 most popular Ernest Hemingway books, according to Goodreads:

Descriptions provided by Amazon and lightly edited for clarity.

'The Old Man and the Sea'

"The Old Man and the Sea," available on Amazon and Bookshop , from $11.39

"The Old Man and the Sea" is one of Hemingway's most enduring works. Told in language of great simplicity and power, it's the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck, and his supreme ordeal, a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Here Hemingway recasts, in strikingly contemporary style, the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, and of personal triumph won from loss.

'The Sun Also Rises'

" The Sun Also Rises," available on Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.72

A poignant look at the disillusionment and angst of the post-World War I generation, this novel introduces two of Hemingway's most unforgettable characters: Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley. The story follows the flamboyant Brett and the hapless Jake as they journey from the wild nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal bullfighting rings of Spain with a motley group of expatriates. It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions.

'A Farewell to Arms'

"A Farewell to Arms," available on Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.99

Written when Ernest Hemingway was 30 years old and lauded as the best American novel to emerge from World War I, "A Farewell to Arms" is the unforgettable story of an American ambulance driver on the Italian front and his passion for a beautiful English nurse. Set against the looming horrors of the battlefield — weary, demoralized men marching in the rain during the German attack on Caporetto; the profound struggle between loyalty and desertion — this gripping, semiautobiographical work captures the harsh realities of war and the pain of lovers caught in its inexorable sweep.

'For Whom the Bell Tolls'

"For Whom the Bell Tolls," available on Amazon and Bookshop , from $17.47

Published in 1940, "For Whom the Bell Tolls" tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain. In his portrayal of Jordan's love for the beautiful Maria and his superb account of El Sordo's last stand, in his brilliant travesty of La Pasionaria and his unwillingness to believe in blind faith, Hemingway surpasses his achievement in "The Sun Also Rises" and "A Farewell to Arms" to create a work at once rare and beautiful, strong and brutal, compassionate, moving, and wise.

'A Moveable Feast'

"A Moveable Feast," available on Amazon and Bookshop , from $13

Published posthumously in 1964, Hemingway's memoir of Paris in the 1920s, "A Moveable Feast," remains one of his most enduring works. This restored edition includes the original manuscript, never-before-published Paris sketches, and irreverent portraits of literary luminaries, such as F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ford Maddox Ford.

'The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories'

"The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories," available on Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.72

Selected from "Winner Take Nothing," "Men Without Women," and "The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories," this collection includes "The Killers," the first of Hemingway's mature stories to be accepted by an American periodical; the autobiographical "Fathers and Sons," which alludes, for the first time in Hemingway's career, to his father's suicide; "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," a "brilliant fusion of personal observation, hearsay and invention," wrote Hemingway's biographer, Carlos Baker; and the title story itself, of which Hemingway said: "I put all the true stuff in," with enough material, he boasted, to fill four novels. 

Beautiful in their simplicity, startling in their originality, and unsurpassed in their craftsmanship, the stories in this volume highlight one of America's master storytellers at the top of his form.

'The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway'

"The Complete Short Stories of Ernest Hemingway," available on Amazon and Bookshop , from $17.90

The complete, authoritative collection of Ernest Hemingway's short fiction, including classic stories like "The Snows of Kilimanjaro," "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," and "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber," along with seven previously unpublished stories.

'To Have and Have Not'

"To Have and Have Not," available on Amazon and Bookshop , from $15.64

"To Have and Have Not" is the dramatic story of Harry Morgan, an honest man who is forced into running contraband between Cuba and Key West as a means of keeping his crumbling family financially afloat. His adventures lead him into the world of the wealthy and dissipated yachtsmen who throng the region and involve him in a strange and unlikely love affair.

In this harshly realistic, yet oddly tender and wise novel, Hemingway perceptively delineates the personal struggles of both the "haves" and the "have nots" and creates one of the most subtle and moving portraits of a love affair in his oeuvre.

'In Our Time'

"In Our Time," available on Amazon and Bookshop , from $7.99

"In Our Time" is Ernest Hemingway's first collection of short stories, published in 1925. Its title is derived from the English Book of Common Prayer, "Give peace in our time, O Lord". The collection's publication history was complex. 

The stories' themes – of alienation, loss, grief, separation – continue the work Hemingway began with the vignettes, which include descriptions of acts of war, bullfighting, and current events.

'Islands in the Stream'

"Islands in the Stream," available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $15.79

First published in 1970, nine years after Hemingway's death, this is the story of an artist and adventurer, a man much like Hemingway himself. Beginning in the 1930s, "Islands in the Stream" follows the fortunes of Thomas Hudson, from his experiences as a painter on the Gulf Stream island of Bimini through his antisubmarine activities off the coast of Cuba during World War II.

'Men Without Women'

" Men Without Women," available at Amazon and Bookshop , from $14.72

First published in 1927, "Men Without Women" represents some of Hemingway's most important and compelling early writing. In these 14 stories, Hemingway begins to examine the themes that would occupy his later works: The casualties of war, the often-uneasy relationship between men and women, sport and sportsmanship. 

• Main content

Ernest Hemingway’s Top 10 Books Ranked 📚

Hemingway was a prolific writer. He wrote at least 25 books during his lifetime, and likely more.

Article written by Emma Baldwin

B.A. in English, B.F.A. in Fine Art, and B.A. in Art Histories from East Carolina University.

Upon his death, the Nobel Prize winner left behind more than 322 unfinished manuscripts for his family to go through, some of which have since been published. On this list, you’ll find ten of the best books that Ernest Hemingway wrote, all of which received varying degrees of positive and negative criticism during his life .

1. The Old Man and the Sea

‘ The Old Man and the Sea ‘ is commonly cited as Hemingway’s best novel. It was written in Cuba in 1951 and then published a year later. It was the last major fiction novel that Hemingway published during his life. The story focuses on a short period in the life of a Cuban fisherman named Santiago. This endearing, poor old man hooks and fights with an enormous Marlin for days before finally wrestling it out of the Gulf Stream. By the time he gets it back to shore, it has been devoured by sharks, leading him to regret the entire endeavor. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1953.

2. A Farewell to Arms

This novel is set during the Italian campaign at the Italian front of World War I. It is a first-person story told from the perspective of Frederic Henry. During his time in Italy, a love affair between Henry and an English nurse named Catherine Barkley begins.

This novel is often considered to be the success that solidified Hemingway’s place in American literary history. The book is inspired by events in Hemingway’s own life and his time as an ambulance driver during WW1.

3. For Whom the Bell Tolls

‘ For Whom the Bell Tolls’  is considered by some to be Hemingway’s best novel. The novel tells the story of an American teacher called Robert Jordan, who, during the 1920s, gets involved in the Spanish Civil War as Hemingway did himself.

Their mission is to destroy a major bridge during an attack on the city of Segovia, and the novel follows the four days leading up to this event. He wrote the novel in Havana, Cuba, as well as in Key West, Florida, and Sun Valley, Idaho. 

4. The Sun Also Rises

This very popular novel describes the travels of Jake Barnes, Lady Brett Ashley, and other American and British expatriates who travel to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona. There, they watch the brutal running of the bulls.

By some, this book is Hemingway’s greatest work, even though it received less than stellar reviews when it came out.  Ernest Hemingway  was inspired to write this book after he took a trip to Spain in 1925.

This Hemingway book focuses on Gertrude Stein’s coined “lost generation”, which is a post-World War generation rife with disillusionment caused by the horrors of the World War and who are ready to move on from the traditions of the older generation.

5. A Moveable Feast

Hemingway’s memoir, ‘ A Moveable Feast’, was published in 1964. It tells of the years he spent as a journalist and writer in Paris in the 20s. In it, a reader can find references to a variety of famous figures and an account of Hemingway’s marriage to Hadley Richardson.

6. Complete Short Stories

Although not a novel, this collection of Hemingway’s short stories deserves to be on this list. In it, readers will find all of his best short fiction works, including ‘ The Snows of Kilimanjaro’ and ‘ Hills Like White Elephants.’

7. To Have and Have Not

This novel tells the story of Harry Morgan, a fisherman from Key West, Florida. This ordinary working man gets forced into the black market goods trade. He runs contraband between Cuba and Florida, but things only end up getting worse for him as he decides to swindle Chinese immigrants and gets involved in a murder.

8. Islands in the Stream

This novel was published posthumously in 1970. It was among the 332 finished and unfinished works that Hemingway left behind when he died. The book follows Thomas Hudson through the stages of his life. It is made up of three stories, or acts, that were retiled as “Bimini,” “Cuba,” and “At Sea”.

9. Death in the Afternoon

This is one of Hemingway’s non-fiction works. It describes the traditions of bullfighting in Spain, something that the writer observed personally. The book looks at the history of the sport as well as explores the elements of fear and courage that are involved.

10 . Green Hills of Africa

‘ Green Hills of Africa ‘ is another non-fiction book, Hemingway’s second. In it, he describes a month he spent on a safari in Africa with his wife, Pauline. It is separated into four parts, each of which has a different bearing on the story. He speaks about the time he spent hunting, meditates on the impact of various authors, and spends time talking about the landscape.

What is considered Ernest Hemingway’s best book?

‘ The Sun Also Rises ‘ is commonly considered to be one of Hemingway’s best novels. It describes the travels of American and British expatriates who venture to the Festival of San Fermín in Pamplona.

What is the best Hemingway book to start with?

‘ The Old Man and the Sea ‘ is often read first. It is short, easy to understand, and extremely effective. It was the last major work of fiction that Hemingway published during his life. The story focuses on a short period in the life of a Cuban fisherman named Santiago.

What is Hemingway’s greatest contribution to the world of literature?

His contributions include original short stories, novels, and a style of writing that inspired generations to come. Hemingway was also respected in journalism. One could argue that his greatest contribution is the “iceberg theory,” which influenced 21st-century literature.

What is Hemingway’s shortest book?

His shortest book is ‘ The Old Man and the Sea ‘. It is only 127 pages and tells a compelling and memorable story of an old fisherman, Santiago. Hemingway also wrote many more short stories, including the collections, ‘ The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories ‘, and  ‘The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories’

What did Hemingway write about?

Hemingway wrote about hunting, adventure, fishing, Africa, relationships, contemporary life, etc. He often included the theme of disillusionment in his work, as did many writers of the Lost Generation.

What was Hemingway’s best-selling book?

Hemingway’s best-selling book is ‘ A Farewell to Arms ‘. It is set during the Italian campaign of World War I. It is a first-person story told from the perspective of Frederic Henry.

Join Our Community for Free!

Exclusive to Members

Create Your Personal Profile

Engage in Forums

Join or Create Groups

Save your favorites, beta access.

About Emma Baldwin

Emma Baldwin, a graduate of East Carolina University, has a deep-rooted passion for literature. She serves as a key contributor to the Book Analysis team with years of experience.

Huh…so, you didn’t read any of these and outsourced all critical thinking to existing lists. I believe this is what people mean when they point to “cookie-cutter” content on the internet.

Pretty sure it’s “a different bearing on the story”.

Quick Facts

Discover literature and connect with others just like yourself!

Start the Conversation. Join the Chat.

There was a problem reporting this post.

Block Member?

Please confirm you want to block this member.

You will no longer be able to:

• See blocked member's posts
• Mention this member in posts
• Invite this member to groups

Please allow a few minutes for this process to complete.

• BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

6 Fascinating Biographies on Ernest Hemingway

Celebrate the life of one of the most iconic American writers to date.

• Photo Credit: National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Ernest Hemingway was not only a revolutionary American novelist, but he was also an adventure seeker and world traveler.

Hemingway moved to Paris in 1921, where he worked, partied, and learned from other authors such as F. Scott Fitzgerald , Gertrude Stein, and Ezra Pound. In 1925 his first major piece, In Our Time , was published. In the following year, one of his most famous books, The Sun Also Rises , was released. 

His novel, The Sun Also Rises , took much inspiration from his life while settled in Paris. While it is not the most optimistic book, the story involves a group of American expatriates working in France and Spain,  which reflected Hemingway and his author-friends’ current situations. These famous authors would go on to be considered a group of writers called The Lost Generation .

Throughout the thirties, the novelist drew creativity from his travels to Spain and Africa. His love for bullfighting helped him write Death in the Afternoon , and an African safari resulted in Green Hills of Africa . Hemingway’s global travels fueled his motivation and artistry throughout his entire life and often resulted in some of his most trailblazing work.

During the post-war years, Hemingway wrote some of his other greatest novels and short-stories including For Whom the Bells Toll , A Moveable Feast , and The Old Man and the Sea , which he received a Pulitzer Prize for in 1953. In 1954, Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

While we give a big-picture look at Hemingway’s career, the biographies on this list offer insights into his private life and stories behind the work that captivate us. These biographies come from some of the closest sources to the artist and provide a deeper look into who Hemingway truly was and how it shaped his work.

Related: 10 Moving Biographies and Memoirs

Get great deals on ebooks, every day! Sign up for Early Bird Book's newsletter for discounted ebooks in your inbox daily.

Papa Hemingway

By A. E. Hotchner

In 1948, journalist A.E. Hotchner traveled to Cuba in hopes of interviewing Hemingway for an article on “The Future of Literature,” for Cosmopolitan magazine. While the article was never published, Hemingway and Hotchner developed a strong friendship that lasted until Hemingway’s death in 1961.

Throughout the years of friendship, the pair caroused through the bars of New York City, ran with the bulls in Pamplona, fished in the waters off of Cuba, and hunted in the Idaho wild. 

Hotchner candidly recites the life of Hemingway down to the details of his daily routine. From hand writing long, descriptive passages, to memories with F. Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein, and finally to Hemingway’s final years and his battle with depression, Hotchner celebrates the life of one of the most iconic literary figures in Papa Hemingway.   

Hunting with Hemingway

By Hilary Hemingway, Jeff Lindsay

Fifteen years after her father’s death, Hilary Hemingway received an intriguing inheritance—an audio cassette recorded by her father Les ,recounting the incredible and unbelievably true hunting stories he shared with his older brother, Ernest Hemingway.

Humorous tales of the Hemingway brothers hunting ferocious crocodiles, dangerous Komodo dragons, and scary ostriches are retold by Hilary. However, along with these fun memories is Les’s seriousness in defending his brother’s reputation and life.

Hilary brings us into the larger-than-life bond between Ernest and Les and shares her own story with making peace with the Hemingway legacy.

Hemingway’s Boat

By Paul Hendrickson

Focusing on the Hemingway’s life in the years of 1934-1961, Paul Hendrickson explores the highs and lows from Hemingway’s peak as the monarch of American letters until his suicide. During this time, one thing remained constant in Hemingway’s life: his beloved boat Pilar. 

Hendrickson dives into unpublished work, interviews with Hemingway’s sons, and undiscovered truths of the novelist’s life to bring a fresh understanding of the great American writer fifty years after his death.

Ernest Hemingway

By Mary V. Dearborn

Mary V. Dearborn’s biography on Hemingway was the first in many aspects. The first to use never-used-before material, the first to be written by a woman, and the first full biography of Hemingway in over fifteen years.

Published in 2017, Dearborn’s biography of Hemingway explores the complexity of his personality, his work, and his life. His seven novels and six short-story collections have changed the art of fiction and literature and continue to influence it today.

Dearborn also examines Hemingway’s personality and character on a deeper level as it was the same demons inspiring his revolutionary work that ultimately were leading him to his death in 1961.

Related: 12 Brilliant Female Authors You’ve Never Heard Of

The Young Hemingway

By Michael Reynolds

Michael Reynolds breaks down Hemingway’s life into five pivotal parts through his Hemingway Collection, from his early life to his final years. The Young Hemingway is the first biography in the series focusing on Hemingway’s upbringing, the foundation his writing will be built on, and his experience during World War I.

Going through the formidable years of his life, Reynolds reveals Hemingway’s father’s own self-destructive battle with depression , his mother’s fierce sense of spiritualism and independence, and Agnes Von Kurowsky—the first woman Hemingway fell in love with.

Ernest’s Way

By Cristen Hemingway James

Hemingway’s great granddaughter Cristen Hemingway James takes us around the world to the different places the great American novelist lived, drank, fought, ran with the bulls, and wrote his most famous work. Ernest Hemingway thrived on exploring new places, creating excitement, and interacting with influential artists of the twentieth century.

In Ernest’s Way, an intimate look into Hemingway’s life is created with essential insights and information on the many places around the world he lived. This biography is the first to give a comprehensive guide to the author’s exhilarating adventures and how each place shaped his writing.

Cristen not only brings us a deeper glimpse into Hemingway’s life and work, but she also brings each of these places to life and takes us on our own Hemingway-inspired adventure.

Keep Reading: 

8 Roaring 20s Books to Usher in the Next Era

5 Martha Gellhorn Books That Stand on Their Own

Featured image: National Archives and Records Administration, Public domain / Wikimedia Commons

Get the best daily book deals delivered to your inbox

© 2024 OPEN ROAD MEDIA

• We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

Ernest Hemmingway: A Biography

Ernest hemminway (1899 – 1961).

Ernest Hemingway was a novelist, short story writer, and journalist. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works, and won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. More works, including three novels, four short story collections, and three non-fiction works, were published posthumously. Several of his works are now classics of American literature. In 1961, like his father, a brother and a sister, Hemingway committed suicide. A niece, Margaux Hemingway, the Holywood star, also committed suicide.

What places Hemingway among the twenty top American writers is the style he developed, that set the benchmark for 20th century prose writing in the whole of the English speaking world. He changed the nature of American writing by reacting against the elaborate style of 19th century writers and by creating a style, in the words of literary critic, Henry Louis Gates, of Harvard, ‘in which meaning is established through dialogue, through action, and silences—a fiction in which nothing crucial—or at least very little—is stated explicitly.’

When Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize, the citation commented that it was for his ‘mastery of the art of narrative, most recently demonstrated in The Old Man and the Sea , and for the influence that he has exerted on contemporary style.’ His first novel, The Sun Also Rises is written in the minimal, lean, muscular, stripped-down prose for which he became famous and which influenced the writers who came after him.

Perhaps most famous for his war novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls , he began his fiction writing with short stories, in which he taught himself how to edit his prose, stripping it to the bone and creating a greater intensity by the omission rather than the inclusion of detail. The result is to create significant connections and meaning beneath the surface of a sparse, apparently simple, almost monosyllabic narrative, using the simple sentences that a child might use. He also employs cinematic techniques such as cutting quickly from one scene to the next and of splicing one scene into another. Intentional scene omissions allow the reader to fill in the gap, creating for herself a three dimensional prose. As a result of that example it became almost impossible for 20th Century fiction writers to revert to the kind of prose that preceded Hemingway’s.

It wasn’t just writers and critics that showed enthusiasm for Hemingway’s works: he had a huge following among general fiction readers. His universal themes of love, death, war and loss permeate his writings in the same way that they did that of Shakespeare  and many other great writers, as well as being recurring themes in American literature.  The critic, Susan Beegel, in spite of an objection to what she sees as an anti-semitic, homophobic thread in his works, sums it up thus: ‘Throughout his remarkable body of fiction, he tells the truth about human fear, guilt, betrayal, violence, cruelty, drunkenness, hunger, greed, apathy, ecstasy, tenderness, love and lust.’

The extent of Hemingway’s presence in the popular culture is testament to his significance as a 20th century literary figure. There are several bars named ‘Harry’s Bar’ around the world, in recognition of the bar in the novel Across the River and Into the Trees . There are also many restaurant’s called ‘Hemingway’s.’ A line of furniture includes ‘the Kilimanjaro bedside table’ and a ‘Catherine’ sofa; a line of Hemingway safari clothes has been created and there is an expensive Hemingway fountain pen. His  novels have been made into films, sometimes more than once, and several short stories have been adapted for film and television.

Read biographies of the top 20 American authors >>

Read biographies of the top 10 English writers >>

Read biographies of the 30 greatest writers ever >>

Born on July 21, 1899, in Cicero (now in Oak Park), Illinois, Ernest Hemingway served in World War I and worked in journalism before publishing his story collection

Ernest Hemingway was different than other authors of his time not only because his style of writing, but also because of what he enjoyed to do with his free time in his exciting life.

Leave a Reply

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Ernest Hemingway: How Mental Illness Plagued the Writer and His Family

Hemingway had a troubled relationship with his parents

He was the second child of Clarence “Ed” Hemingway and his wife, Grace. Ed was a successful doctor and Grace was a former singer and music teacher. Much of his childhood was split between the family’s home in Oak Park, Illinois, and a house in the woods of Michigan, where Ed passed down his love of hunting and the outdoors. But Hemingway struggled to connect with his father, who despite his placid exterior could be a violent, domineering bully .

He also had a fraught relationship with his mother, who dressed Hemingway as a girl when he was a child. Hemingway’s third wife, journalist Martha Gellhorn, would later attribute Hemingway’s difficulties with women, including infidelity, cruelty and abandonment, to his relationship with Grace. As Gellhorn would write years after the collapse of their marriage and Hemingway’s death, ”Deep in Ernest, due to his mother, going back to the indestructible first memories of childhood, was mistrust and fear of women.”

READ MORE: 10 Things You May Not Know About Ernest Hemingway

He seemed set on a path of self-destruction from an early age

Seeking adventure and an escape from his suburban life, Hemingway left home as a teen , eventually volunteering as an ambulance driver in World War I . Severely wounded in Italy, he fell in love with his nurse, and her eventual rejection of him led to a depressive episode that would become characteristic of his life. While working as a journalist back in America, he married his first wife, Hadley Richardson, and the couple moved to Paris so Hemingway could focus on writing fiction.

He soon found himself at the center of an artistic circle of fellow expats, known as the “Lost Generation,” forming relationships with future luminaries like F. Scott Fitzgerald , Gertrude Stein , Ezra Pound , John Dos Passos and others. But Hemingway’s mercurial temperament , exacerbated by the prodigious drinking and often-pugilistic personality that would become his trademarks, led to conflicts with Richardson and his circle of friends, who struggled to cope when his mood turned towards jealousy, mistrust and extreme competitiveness.

His father’s suicide left a deep wound

Despite Hemingway’s destructive personal life, he found professional success, publishing his first novel, The Sun Also Rises , in 1926. Earlier that year, he had begun an affair with journalist Pauline Pfeiffer, and soon divorced Richardson — a decision that caused him great mental anguish and which he reportedly regretted for the rest of his life.

In December 1928, when Hemingway was 29, his father killed himself, shooting himself with a family revolver after a long period of both physical and financial setbacks. Hemingway was deeply shaken by his father’s death, which he largely blamed on his mother . He alternated between anger at what he considered a “cowardly” move, and a sense of resignation that he might suffer the same fate as his father, writing to his then-mother in law shortly afterward, “I’ll probably go the same way.” He also fictionalized the events in his 1940 novel, For Whom the Bell Tolls , in which the father of the main character commits suicide in a similar manner.

For many of his family and friends, Hemingway’s risky life choices, including his obsessions with hunting and the gory, spectacle of bullfighting, as well as his rush to join the action during the Spanish Civil War and World War II , reflected a perhaps morbid fascination with darkness and death. As he reportedly told actress and close friend Ava Gardner in 1954, “I spend a hell of a lot of time killing animals and fish so I won’t kill myself.”

READ MORE: The Many Wives of Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway’s final years were troubled

In 1940, Hemingway bought a home in Cuba, and although he continued to travel the globe, it would be his primary residence for the next 20 years. He published his last major work of fiction, The Old Man and the Sea , in 1952, winning a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954, bringing him a new level of international fame. That same year, Hemingway was nearly killed following two plane accidents while traveling in Africa, suffering a cracked skull, ruptured liver and spleen, two cracked discs, as well as other injuries. The accidents led to a precipitous decline in both his physical and mental health, with a bedridden Hemingway disregarding doctors' orders to curb his drinking.

When he and his fourth wife, Mary Welsh, finally returned to Cuba in 1957, he began work on A Moveable Feast , a memoir of his early years in Paris. But unlike all the earlier works that seemingly flowed out of him, he struggled to finish the piece (it would be published posthumously), and his frustration further deepened his depression. As the political situation in Cuba worsened, Hemingway and Welsh left in July 1960, and over the next few months, Hemingway became increasingly isolated and paranoid, convinced that he was under surveillance by the FBI.

He attempted to get help at the Mayo Clinic shortly before his death

In the fall of 1960, the couple settled into a newly-built house in Ketchum, Idaho. Hemingway’s instability intensified, as his worried mind became convinced that, despite his publishing success, he was on the verge of going broke. In November, Welsh and Hemingway’s physician convinced him to travel to Minnesota’s renowned Mayo Clinic. His doctors prescribed the then-new drug Librium, as well a course of electroconvulsive treatments, which robbed him of his short-term memory and seemed to provide little relief. But Hemingway’s doctors, perhaps persuaded by his still powerful and persuasive charm, released him into Welsh’s care after just seven weeks.

Back in Ketchum, he found himself unable to write , often struggling for hours or even days to write a few sentences and was forced to cancel plans to attend the inauguration of John F. Kennedy that January. He threatened to kill himself several times, and when he was being transported back to the Mayo Clinic for a second time in April, he reportedly tried to walk into the propeller of the plane carrying him there. By this time, news of his Mayo stay had made headlines, with locals reporting sightings and interactions with Hemingway, whose doctors allowed him to come and go as he pleased (and also permitted him to drink despite medical tests that revealed significant liver damage).

Doctors once again released him in late June. Two days after he arrived home, on the morning of July 2, 1961, he found the keys to the gun cabinet that Welsh had poorly hidden, pulled out his favorite rifle and several bullets and then shot himself in head inside the home’s foyer. He was less than three weeks shy of his 62 nd birthday. Early newspaper accounts described his death as accidental, the result of a misfire while he was cleaning his guns. But these early reports were largely fueled by Welsh, who refused to publicly admit that he had killed himself until several years after his death.

READ MORE: Inside Ernest Hemingway's Key West Home and How It Inspired Many of His Famous Writings

New research has helped shed light on contributing causes for Hemingway’s struggles

In 2006, Dr. Christopher D. Martin, a psychiatrist and Hemingway fan, published a groundbreaking study based on medical records, correspondence, biographies and interviews that aimed to shed light on Hemingway’s mental health history. He found what he believed to be significant evidence that Hemingway presented symptoms of bipolar disorder, as well as possible borderline and narcissistic personality traits, which were exacerbated by a lifetime of alcoholism. Martin also delved into both Ed and Grace’s history of depression, arguing that Hemingway likely carried a genetic predisposition towards mental illness, as well as deep, unresolved anger at both his parents for his upbringing.

In his 2017 book Hemingway’s Brain , psychiatrist Andrew Farah argued that Hemingway’s symptoms more closely resembled chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) than bipolar disorder. According to Farah, Hemingway suffered at least nine concussions or severe brain traumas during his lifetime, which might explain his increased instability and volatility. And the electroconvulsive treatments Hemingway received in his final months may have actually exacerbated his psychological decline.

Yet another theory holds that Hemingway suffered from hemochromatosis , a rare genetic disorder that leads to an inability to absorb iron. Left untreated, it can lead to intense fatigue, memory loss, depression and diabetes, all of which affected both Hemingway and other family members. But as with other conjectures about the cause of Hemingway’s mental health struggles, experts are unable to be 100 percent sure of any diagnosis.

Several other Hemingway family members later struggled with mental health issues

Just five years after Hemingway’s death, his sister Ursula, who was battling both cancer and ongoing depression, died due to a deliberate overdose of pills . Leicester, Hemingway’s only brother and the youngest of the six siblings, was the author of several books, including a biography of his brother. He shot himself in 1982, following years of health issues stemming from diabetes. Hemingway’s youngest child, Gregory (also known as Gloria), suffered from alcoholism and was diagnosed with manic depression, and his relationship with his father was further strained by Hemingway’s reluctance to accept his child’s transgendered identity.

Two of Hemingway’s granddaughters faced their own mental health battles. Joan, nicknamed “Muffet” and the eldest daughter of Hemingway’s first son, Jack, was diagnosed with manic depression . Her sister Margaux struggled to overcome learning disabilities, including dyslexia, and found fame as a supermodel and actress in the late 1970s. Fascinated by the mystique of her famous grandfather, she later claimed she lived her fast-paced life in emulation of him. But epilepsy, eating disorders, depression and substance abuse derailed her once-promising career. She committed suicide in 1996, with her body discovered on the 35 th anniversary of her grandfather’s death.

His granddaughter has become a fierce advocate for mental health

Mariel Hemingway, Margaux and Muffet’s younger sister, also became an actress, earning an Oscar nomination for her work in Manhattan . She, too, struggled with depression at several points in her life, unable to process the multi-generational mental illness and substance abuse that plagued her family. Born several months after Hemingway’s death, she recalls a dangerous and chaotic upbringing, in which she and her sisters were told little about their famous grandfather but experienced a chaotic and sometimes dangerous upbringing in line with the Hemingway family. As she told the Miami Herald , “I grew up watching a family that was completely amazing and creative but also destructive and self-medicating. All of them, they were addicts. I didn’t want to end up like that. I was on a mission.”

Determined to both erase the stigma surrounding mental illness and depression and break what she’s referred to as the “Hemingway curse,” she’s become a wellness and self-help advocate, publishing several books and starring in a 2013 documentary. She hopes that by shedding a light on her family’s history, she can help others seek the help and acceptance they deserve. As she told WNYC in 2016, "I think we live in a world where creativity is defined by how much pain you go through, and that's a misinterpretation of artistry… I think if my grandfather were around today, he would go, 'Wow, I didn't have to suffer.'"

Watch Next .css-smpm16:after{background-color:#323232;color:#fff;margin-left:1.8rem;margin-top:1.25rem;width:1.5rem;height:0.063rem;content:'';display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;}

Famous Authors & Writers

Agatha Christie

A Huge Shakespeare Mystery, Solved

9 Surprising Facts About Truman Capote

William Shakespeare

How Did Shakespeare Die?

Meet Stand-Up Comedy Pioneer Charles Farrar Browne

Francis Scott Key

Christine de Pisan

Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz

10 Famous Langston Hughes Poems

• Biographies & Memoirs
• Arts & Literature

Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Amazon Prime includes:

Fast, FREE Delivery is available to Prime members. To join, select "Try Amazon Prime and start saving today with Fast, FREE Delivery" below the Add to Cart button.

• Cardmembers earn 5% Back at Amazon.com with a Prime Credit Card.
• Unlimited Free Two-Day Delivery
• Streaming of thousands of movies and TV shows with limited ads on Prime Video.
• A Kindle book to borrow for free each month - with no due dates
• Listen to over 2 million songs and hundreds of playlists
• Unlimited photo storage with anywhere access

Important:  Your credit card will NOT be charged when you start your free trial or if you cancel during the trial period. If you're happy with Amazon Prime, do nothing. At the end of the free trial, your membership will automatically upgrade to a monthly membership.

Buy new: .savingPriceOverride { color:#CC0C39!important; font-weight: 300!important; } .reinventMobileHeaderPrice { font-weight: 400; } #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPriceSavingsPercentageMargin, #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPricePriceToPayMargin { margin-right: 4px; } -42% $12.84 $ 12 . 84 FREE delivery Saturday, May 25 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35 Ships from: Amazon.com Sold by: Amazon.com

Return this item for free.

Free returns are available for the shipping address you chose. You can return the item for any reason in new and unused condition: no shipping charges

• Go to your orders and start the return
• Select the return method

Save with Used - Good .savingPriceOverride { color:#CC0C39!important; font-weight: 300!important; } .reinventMobileHeaderPrice { font-weight: 400; } #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPriceSavingsPercentageMargin, #apex_offerDisplay_mobile_feature_div .reinventPricePriceToPayMargin { margin-right: 4px; } $9.75 $ 9 . 75 FREE delivery May 28 - June 3 Ships from: ThriftBooks-Seattle Sold by: ThriftBooks-Seattle

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Follow the author

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Ernest Hemingway: A Biography Paperback – September 11, 2018

Purchase options and add-ons

• Print length 752 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Vintage
• Publication date September 11, 2018
• Dimensions 6.11 x 1.59 x 9.19 inches
• ISBN-10 052556361X
• ISBN-13 978-0525563617
• See all details

Frequently bought together

Similar items that may ship from close to you

Editorial Reviews

About the author, excerpt. © reprinted by permission. all rights reserved., product details.

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Vintage; Reprint edition (September 11, 2018)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 752 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 052556361X
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0525563617
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.75 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.11 x 1.59 x 9.19 inches
• #204 in Author Biographies
• #257 in Traveler & Explorer Biographies
• #482 in United States Biographies

About the author

Mary v. dearborn.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Reviews with images

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• Amazon Newsletter
• About Amazon
• Accessibility
• Sustainability
• Press Center
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell on Amazon
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Supply to Amazon
• Protect & Build Your Brand
• Become an Affiliate
• Become a Delivery Driver
• Start a Package Delivery Business
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Become an Amazon Hub Partner
• › See More Ways to Make Money
• Amazon Visa
• Amazon Store Card
• Amazon Secured Card
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Credit Card Marketplace
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Amazon Prime
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Recalls and Product Safety Alerts
• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

Ernest Hemingway

Early life and education.

Ernest Hemingway was born on the 21 st of July in 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois. He was a bright son of Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, a physician and his mother, Grace Hall Hemingway, was a musician. He received his early education in various public schools. He was an outstanding student writer. Strangely, after leaving school in 1917 he did not attend college for further education. He wanted to join military services but his defective eyesight led to repeated rejections. However, he managed to participate in World War I as an ambulance driver. His early life experiences coupled with love and war rigors became settings for most of his future writings.

Personal Life

Ernest Hemingway married Mary in 1946. Unfortunately, the family suffered health problems and mishaps in the years following the war: Hemingway and Mary had some serious accidents as well as deaths of literary friends like Ford Madox Ford, William Butler Yeats Scott Fitzgerald, and James Joyce . These tragedies threw him into the hell of depression. Despite all these challenges, the couple remained faithful to each other.

Some Important Facts of His Life

• He won Pulitzer Prize in May 1952 for his novel , The Old Man and The Sea.
• He received Nobel Prize in Literature in October 1954.
• His wife, Mary Hemingway, established the Hemingway Foundation in 1965, and in 1970s, she donated Hemingway’s papers to the John F. Kennedy Library.
• Several prizes have been established in his honor including Hemingway Award and Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award.

Ernest Hemingway started writing at a young age and his lucid and succinct writing style exerted a powerful influence on world literature. He became a published writer in 1925, when his first important book , In Our Time, got published in America . Later, in 1926, his first novel, The Sun Also Rises , enabled him to score the first solid success. The novel deals with the purposeless expatriates in Spain and France. His next work, The Torrents of Spring , also appeared in 1926. His reputation as a master of shorter fiction skyrocketed with the publication of Men without Women that published in 1927. This well-received work followed by another notable publication, A Farewell to Arms , that came up in 1929. The novel accounts for his real war experiences as a young soldier in Italy; he successfully infused war stories into a love story . He fictionalized his passion for bullfighting and unbound love for Spain in his next publication, Death in the Afternoon . Weaving the considerable experiences of Spain in peace and war, he came up with his next finest work, For Whom the Bell Tolls . His other notable works include The Old Man and the Sea and Across the River and Into the Trees .

After establishing his career as a writer, Ernest Hemingway earned huge success in life. He gained immense popularity on account of his thoughtful ideas and unconventional style. Using his unique simple style of writing, he has shed light on the horrors of warfare, biting loneliness, and the horrible sadness of losing loved ones. By applying techniques like irony , contrast , and autobiographical details, he talks about the emotions people experience in life. His works deal with simple yet complex diction to enhance the unique perspective presented to the readers. Ernest Hemingway intentionally used this distinct style to separate himself from other writers. The recurring thematic strands in most of the writings are love, war, wilderness , and man versus nature. Regarding literary devices , he often turns to metaphors , foreshadowing , imagery , and similes to create a unique style.

Some Important Works of Ernest Hemingway

• Best Novels : Some of his best novels include The Sun Also Rises , A Farewell to Arms , For Whom the Bell Tolls , and The Old Man and the Sea.
• Other Works: Besides writing novels, he tried his hands in other areas, too. Some of his best short stories include “Indian Camp”, “True at First Light”, “The Killers,” “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber,”, “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and “The Short Happy.”

Ernest Hemingway’s Impacts on Future Literature

Ernest Hemingway was a dynamic writer who started his writing career at a young age and became popular in his life. His unique writing style and literary qualities of his masterpieces brought praiseworthy changes to the world of literature. Also, he had a significant influence on a diverse range of writers and critics and other influential figures. He expressed his thoughts and ideas in his literary pieces so well that even today writers tend to imitate his style, considering him a role model for producing simple fiction.

Famous Quotes

• “If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.” ( A Farewell to Arms )
• “You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring , as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen. When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person died for no reason.” ( A Moveable Feast)
• “Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.” ( The Old Man and the Sea)
• “The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too.” (Men Without Women)

Related posts:

• Literary Writing Style of Ernest Hemingway
• The Old Man and The Sea‎
• A Farewell to Arms
• The Sun Also Rises

Post navigation

10 Best Ernest Hemingway Movie Adaptations, Ranked

T he American Noble and Pulitzer Prize winner Ernest Hemingway is among the most celebrated authors who ever lived. His work, which was mostly produced between the mid-1920s and the mid-1950s, often offers audiences thoughtful meditations on solitude and the complications of life, making for some of the most intriguing novels ever written.

Thanks to his straightforward writing and approach to both novels and short stories, Hemingway has revolutionized modern literature, inspiring many writers even today. Given how many incredible and highly influential books the prolific Hemingway has worked on over the years, it only makes sense that a good chunk of those were adapted to the big screen at some point. As such, we celebrate the artist's work by looking back and analyzing the best Ernest Hemingway movie adaptations , from The Sun Also Rises to To Have and Have Not .

'The Sun Also Rises' (1957)

Director: henry king.

Filmed on location in France, Spain, and Mexico, The Sun Also Rises stars Tyrone Power , Ava Gardner , Mel Ferrer , and Errol Flynn . It focuses on a journalist injured in World War I, who moves to Paris for a fresh beginning. Complications arise when he forges new connections with a group of expatriates living a carefree life and finds himself in love with a woman named Brett Ashley, played wonderfully by Gardner.

Although it is not the best of the best Ernest Hemingway adaptations (it can feel a bit underwhelming after reading the book), The Sun Also Rises is still an entertaining and beautifully illustrated take on the novel of the same name , which is a fictionalized account of the events that the author experienced in Pamplona ( via Town&Country ) and one of his major works. Supposedly, according to Hemingway himself, the best part about the film is Errol Flynn.

Rent on Apple TV

'A Farewell to Arms' (1932)

Director: frank borzage.

The first Hemingway novel to make it to the big screen tackles themes of war and purpose. A Farewell to Arms sees an American serving as an ambulance driver, Lt. Henry ( Gary Cooper ), and an English nurse named Catherine Barkley ( Helen Hayes ) fall head over heels for each other against the backdrop of World War I Italy.

Frank Borzage's pre-code romance drama, which was based on Ernest Hemingway's semi-autobiographical novel of the same name, earned Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Sound, though it was also nominated for the big prize, Best Picture, as well as Best Art Direction. Although it sent out a hopeful message about such dark times, A Farewell to Arms was one of the films banned for its treatment of war as well as sexual content when it premiered.

Watch on Amazon Prime

'Islands in the Stream' (1977)

Director: franklin j. schaffner.

Franklin J. Schaffner 's Oscar-nominated feature is set in the British-controlled Bahamas and stars George C. Scott as the lead character. The movie portrays the story of an isolated sculptor who has left the civilized world to live a simple life in the Caribbean and revolves around the visit of his three sons before the start of World War II.

Islands in the Stream is undoubtedly one of the best Hemingway big screen adaptations ; it was assembled by his widow, Mary Hemingway , from among 332 works in progress Hemingway left behind at his death (via The New York Times). It ultimately resulted in an enthralling narrative that intrigues audiences, strong performances at its heart, and a great meditation on freedom and courage.

'For Whom the Bell Tolls' (1943)

Director: sam wood.

Directed and produced by Sam Wood , 1943's For Whom the Bell Tolls is now regarded as an epic American war film. It stars Gary Cooper and the extraordinary Ingrid Bergman (in her first technicolor movie) and tells the story of an American International Brigades volunteer, who is fighting against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War. He ultimately falls for a young woman fighter.

Nominated for the Best Picture Academy Award, Wood's engaging movie earns a spot among the best movies based on Hemingway books , and that is thanks to its masterful acting and great casting. While far from a masterpiece (and definitely not everyone's cup of tea), For Whom the Bell Tolls is undeniably well-made.

Rent on Amazon

'The Killers' (1964)

Director: don siegel.

While John Cassavetes is known for being the father of independent cinema, given his career as a filmmaker , he was also a talented actor. The Killers proves this as he steps into the shoes of a car driver, the victim of a hit man ( Lee Marvin ) and his crime partner ( Clu Gulager ) who surprises them both by not getting away.

Don Siegel 's neo-noir crime film based on the Ernest Hemingway novel of the same name is the second big-screen adaptation of the book. Although not as good as the first one (nor the director's best effort), 1964's The Killers is nonetheless tense and stylish , offering an entertaining narrative that will likely satisfy viewers who have read the novel. What's more? Expect Ronald Reagan in his final film role before retiring from acting in 1966 to enter politics.

Watch on Criterion

'The Old Man and the Sea' (1958)

Director: john sturges.

Viewers are introduced to an elderly Cuban fisherman, played by Spencer Tracy , who hasn't caught anything for 84 days in this Ernest Hemingway big-screen adaptation. His only companion? A young boy, Manolin ( Felipe Pazos ), is forbidden to join him on his fishing journey. On the 85th day, he finally catches a marlin, struggling to bring it back to the shore for three days and nights.

The Old Man and the Sea deservedly took home the Academy Award for Best Score. However, despite the incredible music John Sturges' movie features, its strongest aspect is perhaps the message it sends about persistence and courage . Despite its flaws, Hemingway's tale — which earned the author a Pulitzer Prize and a Nobel Prize — is perfectly brought to life in this beautifully shot 1958 film. Tracy was Oscar-nominated, too.

'Captain Khorshid' (1987)

Director: nasser taghvai.

Made in Iran by talented filmmaker Nasser Taghvai , Captain Khorshid is one of the few Ernest Hemingway adaptations that aren't English-spoken. Taghvai's work is based on the author's novel To Have and Have Not but changes the setting to Cuba, the south of Iran, and the Persian Gulf. The plot follows a sailor ( Dariush Arjmand ) who is asked to take dangerous criminals out of the country with his boat. He manages to do this despite only having one hand.

Considered one of the best Iranian movies of all time, Captain Khorshid does a brilliant job of altering Hemingway's story's backdrop , adapting it to different circumstances, and providing audiences with a fresh and intriguing new take on the well-known novel. With great music and performances, the engaging and graphic Captain Khorshid is, all in all, a really solid adaptation.

Captain Khorshid is not available for streaming, renting, or purchasing at this time.

'The Breaking Point' (1950)

Director: michael curtiz.

The Breaking Point is the second adaptation of To Have and Have Not and features John Garfield (in his second to last film role) and Patricia Neal as the lead. In the movie, the captain of a charter boat who is facing financial difficulties finds himself forced to resort to illegal activities to keep up with the payments on his boat.

While Michael Curtiz 's The Breaking Point is arguably on a different level than that of Howard Hawks ' movie, the filmmaker does a pretty good job at adapting the Ernest Hemingway novel — perhaps an even better one, if we consider how faithful to the book both film versions are. Be that as it may, Curtiz's classic film noir is a heart-wrenching and fascinating tale of desperation and corruption .

'The Killers' (1946)

Director: robert siodmak.

Featuring Ava Gardner in one of her best roles (though she could've gotten more screen time), the first adaptation of The Killers endures the best. In this version, audiences take a sneak peek into an insurance detective's investigation into the execution by two professional hitmen of a former boxer, Swede ( Burt Lancaster ), who was unresistant to his murder.

Robert Siodmak 's compelling movie is told in reverse, which was kind of innovative for the time it was released. For film noir buffs, the quintessential The Killers is essential viewing, standing among the best of its genre during the 1940s. Plus, what is so great about Siodmak's movie is how it fully expands on Hemingway's story and gives it greater dimension , resulting in a way-better-than-average adaptation. As expected, Gardner shines brightly in her breakthrough role.

'To Have and Have Not' (1944)

Director: howard hawks.

Regardless of how far from a close of an adaptation it is, To Have and Have Not is an undeniable romance classic . Starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in two of their most memorable roles (the iconic real-life couple met on the set), the movie is set during World War II and follows Harry Morgan as he helps transport a French Resistance leader ( Walter Surovy ) and his wife ( Dolores Moran ) to Martinique. In the meantime, he finds himself swept off his feet by a beautiful lounge singer.

The fantastic acting performances and incredible narrative elevate this Ernest Hemingway performance to higher grounds. However, it is Bogart and Bacall's chemistry that makes To Have and Have Not so irresistible. The film was understandably one of the highest-grossing movies of the 1940s and endures as one of the most influential American features of all time.

NEXT: The 10 Best F. Scott Fitzgerald Movie Adaptations, Ranked