The Dangerous Summer

Ernest Hemingway
With an Introduction by James A. Michener

Indultado – In his introduction, which turns out to be the story of James A. Michener with an occasional reference to a guy named Hemingway, Michener translates the bullfighting term “indultado” as “forgiven.” He explains: “On occasions so rare that most aficionados, including me, have never witnessed one, a bull will prove so heroic that the public refuses to let it be killed.” I feel similarly about this book. Authors should be judged by their best work, not their lesser attempts and failures. Michael Jordan is an unparalleled basketball giant; we don’t criticize him for losing around 300 games; rather, we celebrate him for winning about 800 games. Papa was a wounded bull when he penned this work. It doesn’t diminish any of his masterful short stories, “The Old Man and the Sea,” “The Sun Also Rises,” or “A Farewell to Arms.”