Ernest Hemingway was born on July 1, 1899. Although he was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the author adopted Key West, Florida, as a long-term home. Many of Hemingway's most famous works were written in his house on Whitehead Street, now a popular tourist destination. Known for his concise language, his blunt personality, and his adventures as a journalist, Hemingway's turbulent life has become a cornerstone of modern American literature.
In his early life, Hemingway served as an ambulance driver in World War I; after becoming seriously injured, he drifted home, then to Paris, where he covered European wars and travel for The Toronto Star. Embedded among the literary and artistic greats of the period, Hemingway began penning many of the short stories for which he became famous. He would go on to cover the Spanish Civil War, embed with the US Army during World War II, and travel to Africa, Cuba, and become one of the most famous writers of his age before his life ended in 1961.
To commemorate one of Florida's most famous adopted sons, we're highlighting some items in our collection about Hemingway, by Hemingway, and the things that mattered most to him.
- By Ernest Hemingway
The Alachua County Library District has a great selection of Hemingway's seminal works, which you can find by browsing this list. Hemingway's works aren't just available as print media—we also have eBooks, eAudiobooks, Playaways, and more, so you can enjoy Hemingway's work in whatever format works best for you.
Check out some of his more well-known works such as:
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The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
This short novel, already a modern classic, is the superbly told, tragic story of a Cuban fisherman in the Gulf Stream and the giant Marlin he kills and loses—specifically referred to in the citation accompanying the author's Nobel Prize for literature in 1954.
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For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
In 1937 Ernest Hemingway traveled to Spain to cover the civil war there for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Three years later he completed the greatest novel to emerge from "the good fight," For Whom the Bell Tolls. The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain, it tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat, and the tragic death of an ideal. 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. "If the function of a writer is to reveal reality," Maxwell Perkins wrote to Hemingway after reading the manuscript, "no one ever so completely performed it." Greater in power, broader in scope, and more intensely emotional than any of the author's previous works, it stands as one of the best war novels of all time.
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A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
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 - the 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. Ernest Hemingway famously said that he rewrote his ending to A Farewell to Arms thirty-nine times to get the words right.
If you're particularly interested in Hemingway's writing, you might also enjoy:
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One True Sentence: Writers and Readers on Hemingway's Art edited by Mark Cirino
A selection of the greatest sentences by the master, Ernest Hemingway. Sentences that can take a reader's breath away and are not easily forgotten. Each sentence has been selected and examined by authors such as Elizabeth Strout, Andre Dubus III, Sherman Alexie, Paula McLain, and Russell Banks; Seán Hemingway, Valerie Hemingway, A. Scott Berg, and many others in this celebration and conversation between Hemingway and some of his most perceptive and interesting readers.
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Dear Papa: the Letters of Patrick and Ernest Hemingway by Ernest Hemingway, Patrick Hemingway, edited by Brendan Hemingway
An intimate and illuminating glimpse at Ernest Hemingway as a father, revealed through a selection of letters he and his son Patrick exchanged over the span of twenty years. In the public imagination, Ernest Hemingway looms larger than life. But the actual person behind the legend has long remained elusive. Now, his son Patrick shares the letters they exchanged over two decades, offering a glimpse into how one of America's most iconic writers interacted with his children. These letters reveal a father who wished for his children to share his interests-hunting, fishing, travel-and a son who was receptive to the experiences his father offered. Edited by and including an introduction by Patrick Hemingway's nephew Brendan Hemingway and his grandson Stephen Adams, and featuring a prologue and epilogue by Patrick reflecting on his father's legacy, Dear Papa is a loving and collaborative family project and a nuanced, fascinating portrait of a father and son.
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Great Short Books: A Year of Reading—Briefly by Kenneth C. Davis
An entertaining guide to some of the best short novels of all time looks at works from the eighteenth century to the present day, spanning multiple genres, cultures, and countries.Davis provides a guide to some of the best short novels of all time. The works span from the eighteenth century to the present day, covering multiple genres, cultures, and countries, and are arranged alphabetically by title. Each short profile includes the first lines of the work, a brief plot summary, information about the author, and Davis's opinion on why you should read the book—and what you should read next.
- About Hemingway
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Who Was Ernest Hemingway? by Jim Gigliotti
Find out how a journalist and sportsman became one of the most famous American novelists of the twentieth century. For younger readers.
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Examine the visionary work and turbulent life of one of the greatest and most influential American writers: Ernest Hemingway. Intimate and insightful, the series weaves together Hemingway's biography with excerpts from his work. The film penetrates the myth of Hemingway to reveal a deeply troubled and ultimately tragic figure.
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Dateline—Liberated Paris: The Hotel Scribe and the Invasion of the Press by Ronald Weber
Vividly capturing the heady times in the waning months of World War II, Ronald Weber follows the exploits of Allied reporters as they flooded into liberated Paris after four dark years of Nazi occupation. He traces the remarkable adventures of the men and women who lived, worked, and played in the legendary Hôtel Scribe. Press jeeps and trailers packed the street outside, while inside the hotel was completely booked with hundreds of correspondents. The busiest spot was the dining area, where the clatter of typewriters combined with shouts of correspondents needing hot water to brew coffee from military powder. But the bar was the hotel's top attraction, where famed war correspondents like Ernie Pyle, Walter Cronkite, A.J. Liebling, Ernest Hemingway, Martha Gellhorn, Irwin Shaw, Edward Kennedy, Robert Capa, and many others held court while in the company of military censors and top brass.
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Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma by Claire Dederer
Hemingway, like many male auteurs of the twentieth century, was a problematic man, whose life and work have been criticized and grappled with since their publication. Claire Dederer's book concerns how we grapple with these influential characters as part of our cultural history. Do we praise them, reject them, or try to settle for a complicated middle? What does it say when we enjoy a work made by a terrible person—and how do we reckon our love with the actions of the creator?
- The World of Hemingway
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The Importance of Not Being Ernest: My Life With the Uninvited Hemingway by Mark Kurlansky
By a series of coincidences, Mark Kurlansky's life has always been intertwined with Ernest Hemingway's legend, starting with being in Idaho the day of Hemingway's death. The Importance of Not Being Ernest explores the intersections between Hemingway's and Kurlansky's lives, resulting in vivid accounts of two inspiring writing careers. Travel the world with both authors in this entertaining and illuminative memoir, where Kurlansky details his ten years in Paris, his time as a journalist in Spain, and anecdotes set in Key West, Havana, and Ketchum, Idaho--all places important to Hemingway's adventurous life and prolific writing.
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Key West on the Edge: Inventing the Conch Republic by Robert Kerstein
Key West lies at the southernmost point of the continental United States, ninety miles from Cuba, at Mile Marker 0 on famed U.S. Highway 1. Famous for six-toed cats in the Hemingway House, Sloppy Joe's and Captain Tony's, Jimmy Buffett songs, body paint parade "costumes," and a brief secession from the Union after which the Conch Republic asked for $1 billion in foreign aid, Key West also lies at the metaphorical edge of our sensibilities. How this unlikely city came to be a tourist mecca is the subject of Robert Kerstein's intrepid new history. Sited on an island only four miles long and two miles wide, Key West has been a fishing village, salvage yard, U.S. Navy base, cigar factory, hippie haven, gay enclave, cruise ship port-of-call, and more. Duval Street, which stretches the length of one of the most unusual cities in America, is today lined with brand-name shops that can be found in any major shopping mall in America. Leaving no stone unturned, Kerstein reveals how Key West has changed dramatically over the years while holding on to the uniqueness that continues to attract tourists and new residents to the island.
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Pets And Their Famous Humans by Ana Gallo
In this charmingly illustrated collection of pet-related stories children will find out about some of history's most important scientists, artists, writers, and musicians and their beloved animals. Did you know that Mozart's pet starling was the inspiration for his Piano Concerto No. 17? Or that writer Dorothy Parker loved animals so much she let a pair of alligators swim in her bathtub? These are just a couple of the stories in this delightful and surprising collection that profiles the strong bond between humans and their pets. Some of these stories are touching: Frida Kahlo memorialized her pet deer Granizo in her painting The Wounded Deer. Some are a little quirky: Albert Einstein, convinced that his parrot, Bibo, was sad, told bad jokes to cheer the bird up. Each of these wonderfully entertaining stories is made even more appealing by Katherine Quinn's captivating illustrations. Rich in detail and reminiscent of folk art, they capture the humor and poignancy of these fascinating pairings. Together these stories and illustrations will create lasting impressions that will help young readers identify historic figures and spark joy in friendships with the animals in their own lives.
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Death On The Menu by Lucy Burdette
A Florida Keys food critic investigates after a local prized possession, Ernest Hemingway's gold Nobel Prize medal, goes missing followed shortly thereafter by the sole suspect. Book 4 of the Florida Keys Food Critic Mysteries series. Includes recipes! There are several murder mystery books inspired by Hemingway's life and possessions; you can also try Murder in the Reading Room for a mystery surrounding a suitcase Hemingway lost in 1922!
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The Wildest Sun: A Novel by Asha Lemmie
When tragedy forces Delphine Auber, an aspiring writer on the cusp of adulthood, from her home in postwar Paris, she seizes the opportunity to embark on the journey she's long dreamed of: finding the father she has never known. But her quest—spanning from Paris to New York's Harlem, to Havana and Key West—is complicated by the fact that she believes him to be famed luminary Ernest Hemingway, a man just as elusive as he is iconic. She desperately yearns for his approval, as both a daughter and a writer, convinced that he holds the key to who she's truly meant to be. But what will happen if she is wrong, or if her real story falls outside of the legend of her parentage that she's revered all her life?