Ernest Hemingway: A Writer's Life
Grade 6–10—This engaging and detailed biography will be valued for its accessible style and honest portrayal of one of America's icons. Reef's account of Hemingway's life is riveting and unglamorized, acknowledging the subject's flaws and tenuous relationship with his stern, pious mother (who regularly banned books and challenged her son's seventh-grade assignment,The Call of the Wild, for its coarseness). At 17, Hemingway volunteered for the Red Cross as an ambulance driver in Italy during World War I. Returning home wounded provided fodder for the short story "Soldier's Home" and made Hemingway realize he wouldn't stay home for long. Europe energized the budding writer and with the first of his four wives, he returned to Paris and Italy. Gertrude Stein, Sherwood Anderson, and Ezra Pound provided friendship and support for his writing. Hemingway was a romantic and unfaithful in marriage, and followed in his father's footsteps by committing suicide in 1961. Captioned black-and-white photos appear on nearly every page, chronicling Hemingway's family, friends, and the places he traveled. Some excerpts of his writing are integrated into the narrative, offering readers a good sense of the work's conception and structure.—Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.