I mostly like to post about the bright and happy, but I did promise to review this book and I did finish this morning on schedule. The book was published posthumously in 1999 and
edited by Patrick Hemingway, the second son born to Mr. Hemingway. I felt that the afterword included by Patrick was the only part of the book with any emotional value.
It was soon after Hemingway wrote what is included in this book that he ended his life by suicide in Ketchum, Idaho on July 2, of 1961. Last time I was in Ketchum, I visited the lovely memorial that was erected in 1966 to his memory.
His family has quite a terrible history of mental illness something that his own behavior must have exacerbated greatly. If you take his view of himself at face value from this book, he was a faithless, debauching, alcoholic who was emotionally stunted and selfish. He reminded me so much of Bill Clinton, it was difficult not to compare them.
Bill Clinton claimed to be part of and spoke the language of what I like to think of as The Great Liberal Ideal. Equal treatment under the law for every human being, respect for all people and cultures, you know THOSE great liberal ideals. These are the people who came up with and passed sexual harrassment laws that are meant to protect women in the work place. But, no spoken ideal can speak louder than the way a man treats his own wife.
Hemingway had been married four times. In the book, he talks about what makes a really loving wife... one that will hunt lions with you.. great. Also on his list is one that will allow, even encourage you to keep a concubine. His mention of women in the book makes them more like a consumable product, to be used up and thrown out.
Bill Clinton liked to support those tired and old social programs that originated with Johnson's Great Society and now have shown to be a recipe for keeping the poor in their tenaments for how many generations and those who promise to keep them on the dole in power.
Ernest Hemingway mentioned the poor treatment of Native Americans in the book and yet his own behavior and example toward the East Africans would make them tribes of syphilitic alcoholics.
Why is his writing so famous? It is difficult not to admire his clear prose and unmistakable style, yet, his content fails to inspire me. In college I read a paper written by Marilyn Arnold called Art and The Noble Idea. The article argues that it is not good enough to have great truth or great style. Great writing must have both. I really don't find any truth in True At First Light.
Do you have a different opinion? I would love to hear why.
My original floral photographs like this one...
...have become a line of seasonal note cards...
...like this one. They are original photographs mounted on good archival cardstock, signed and dated. This first series is entitled, Spring...
...and I am hopeful that they will be successful and available for each season. They will arrive picture perfect in a cute box with a bow as shown above and would be a great Mother's Day item. See them in the Love Boxes Etsy Shop. 
America at a Crossroads is just about the most timely television you can get. A documentary series by PBS that shows the history of the United States path to war in Iraq, the history and culture of the Middle East, and actually far more topics than I can list here. As President Bush fights it out with congress over budget that will allow troops to stay in country in Iraq or force them to abandon their mission there, this is program shows both sides of the debate and much more and is something I think every American should see. If you haven't seen it, see it. I missed the first part myself and I am going to find a way to see it. Part 4 airs tonight and I don't think it's necessary to see them in order.