Beautiful book, yet ultimately rather sad. That may, in fact, be analogous to Hemingway's life. Big, bold, brash & beautiful, yet with an undercurrent of intense melancholy & great sadness. Perhaps it is as one reviewer noted the book that gives us the best understanding of Hemingway as a man. Hotchner paints a portrait of Papa Hemingway in a way very few have seen him before & does so with deft & elegant storytelling.