Ernesto: The Untold Story of Hemingway in Revolutionary Cuba
Andrew Feldman

Papa Doble – An entertaining, educational mix of Cuban revolutionary history and Hemingway tales, this biography does a fine job spotlighting how “Papa” really used his wives and their family wealth to build his career. So much for the Self-Made He-Man. The Fitzgerald line, “Hemingway needs a new woman for each big book” was the truth. But you cannot criticize Hemingway’s productivity. Despite everything – the booze, the serial romances, the fishing, the depression, the bullfights, Big Game hunting and brain injuries – Hemingway consistently produced stories and books, including, even, the masterful “The Old Man and the Sea.” The proof is always right there on the page and, ultimately, this is why I so respect Hemingway. As a person, Hemingway was a lot to take.  As a persona, Hemingway was a man as big as his times. As a writer, Hemingway, stands almost alone. As much as I admire the poetry of Fitzgerald’s prose, the chiseled grace of Carver’s stories, the genius of Joyce’s visions, the warm richness of Wharton’s tales, it’s Hemingway who stands in the center-ring spotlight. Plus, Hemingway’s influence is inestimable. As Tobias Wolf once explained at a Chicago Humanities Festival talk years ago, “If you’re writing today you’re either trying to write like Hemingway – or trying not to write like Hemingway.”