When Michael Palin was researching for his novel, "Hemingway's Chair", his interest was stimulated by Hemingway's appetite for travel and "Papa's" evocations of the places he knew. Hemingway remains a compelling figure, and in this volume Palin attempts to put himself into Hemingway's world. He starts at the beginning, in Oak Park, Idaho, then travels to Italy where Hemingway served in the Ambulance Brigade in World War I. Then comes Paris in the Roaring Twenties, bull-running at Pamplona and Hemingway's love affair with Spain. Hemingway became disillusioned and returned to the States, where he lived on Key West in Florida, before moving to Sun Valley, Idaho, until the Civil War recalled him. He wrote the war novel "For Whom the Bell Tolls" in a hotel in Cuba, and continued to travel the world as he got older and more famous. Along the way, Palin discovers many people who remember him and archive material to complement the photographs.

Table of Contents

Home and away: American West; "wide lawns and narrow minds"; Idaho; Michigan; fly fishing; hunting; Ambulance Brigade; First World War; Italy; "A Farewell to Arms"; first love; Paris; the Jazz Age; skiing in Austria; bullfighting; "The Sun Also Rises"; Spain's great spaces. Action man: "Fallas" festival in Valencia; life on the Riviera; Gerald and Sara Murphy ("Tender is the Night"); Key West then and now; Hemingway's six-toed cats; "A Farewell to Arms", "Snows of Kilimanjaro"; driving through Wyoming; Africa on safari; fame and fortune; Sun Valley, Idaho; Spanish Civil War; Martha Gellhorn; Hemingway's film "The Spanish Earth"; "For Whom the Bell Tolls". Last orders: Cuba; drinking; fishing; Hemingway's boatmen, Gregorio Fuentes; third marriage; El Presidente; Second World War; liberating the Ritz; nostalgia; "The Old Man and The Sea"; Cuban revolution; depression; suicide.

About the Author

Michael Palin became famous as part of the monty python team, and has acted in a number of award winning films not least A FISH CALLED WANDA. He has written several best selling books and performed in a wide range of TV programmes.

Prizes

In all his many expeditions Michael Palin has been photographed by Basil Pao. Every incident and every breathtaking scene has been recorded. The result is an album which relives Michael's best moments on the road, and captures the inimitable blend of humour and inquisitiveness which has enchanted so many viewers and readers The most beautiful book of photographs infused with the spirit and the sense of fun of one of the most popular personalities of our time.

Reviews

Reading up on his favorite author to write his debut novel, Hemingway's Chair, Palin became intrigued by Hemingway's many travels. Here he takes readers along as he visits top Hemingway sites in Italy, France, Spain, Cuba, and more. There's also a three-part PBS series. Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.