Hunting with Hemingway, by Hilary Hemingway

I bought this book two months ago in Chiang Mai, Thailand, because I thought it was a biography of Ernest Hemingway... Well, it's not, but that's ok. It's still an enjoyable read.

Hunting with Hemingway is a strange little memoir by Hilary Hemingway, daughter of Papa's brother, Leicester. It begins with the passing of the author's mother, who left Hilary a cassette tape recorded by an unnamed professor, on which her father, Les, tells various hard-to-believe stories about hunting with his older brother, Ernest.

The book weaves an odd narrative, telling the story supposedly as it was stated on tape, while detailing Hilary's reaction to the deaths of her mother and father and, to a lesser extent, her uncle. At times the personal element is somewhat mishandled, I felt, as in the final chapters of the book, which seem unnecessary.

The book's value comes from the fascinating stories told by the crotchety old man on the tape. These are pure old fashioned boys stories of adventures across the globe - hunting lions, fighting ostriches, chasing Nazi U-boats...

Are they real? Did these things ever happen as stated? Maybe, and maybe not. That's dealt with throughout the book in conversations between the author and her family. At times it is stated, perhaps rightly, that it is unimportant. A story is a story. Leicester Hemingway, paraphrasing his brother, said:

A good story is at its best when the line between truth and fiction remains ambiguous.

 What bothered me was not the element of truth. I don't care if a story is embellished a little here or there. What bothered me was the hunting. It was hard to read these stories about the murder of innocent animals - tigers, lions, komodo dragons, marlin, etc. Leicester and Ernest go on about respecting the animals, yet it never enters their heads that perhaps the animals didn't want to die in the first place, and didn't need to.

I get that hunting has its place. It is not as black and white as right and wrong... But hunting for sport, for fun, is just monstrous and anyone who does it should be castrated, skinned alive, and fed to the buzzards. Of course, this was long ago in a different time, but still... It's hard to read these stories.

I've had the privilege in my life of coming up close to most of the animals they killed and I disagree with Les about them being monsters. The stories about these animals being man-eaters and posing threats are certainly wrong, and their deaths always unnecessary. This book doesn't really glorify the hunting element because it is commented negatively upon by those listening to the tape, but it is still hard to stomach. 

Currently Reading/Watching

I'm currently reading Hilary Hemingway's book, Hunting With Hemingway. It's an odd little story about her - Ernest Hemingway's niece - finding a tape on which her father is recorded telling stories about his adventures with his famous older brother.

I'm quite enjoying the book, although I admit that I despise hunting in almost all forms, and so the supposedly heroic tales of murdering crocodiles, lions, tigers, cobras, etc are really rather off-putting. Still, it's an engaging story.

There's much to hate about Hemingway, including the hunting, but there's no denying that he's one of the great writers of the modern era, and beyond that a fascinating character.

I'll review the book later, but for now, as I finish up reading it, I'll share this video I recently watched, which tells about Hemingway's life in more depth.

Kingdom of Rarities, by Eric Dinerstein

This past week I've been reading the wonderful Kingdom of Rarities, by Eric Dinerstein on my Kindle. As soon as I read the synopsis I was excited to get into it, and it absolutely did not disappoint. Though it may sound a bit inaccessible, it is a thoroughly readable look at species on this earth which are rare, exploring why exactly they aren't in abundance.


Dinerstein has spent his life travelling the world, studying rare animals, and his knowledge and experience guide the reader from chapter to chapter. We are taken on a trip around the world, from South America to the Himalayas to Southeast Asia. His descriptions of his surroundings are vivid and impressive. I've travelled much of my adult life and I envy his ability to capture the magnificence of a locations.

Moreover, he knows a lot about biology and the workings of the world, and where he isn't the expert, he talks to those who are, and eloquently captures their perspectives of rarity. He describes jaguars and rhinos and other amazing creatures, explaining why these animals are rare and what exactly their place in nature is.

The book is filled with fascinating information. For example, in the UK there are 15 species of trees which occur naturally, while in the tropics - where rarities abound - there are 70,000 species. 1,000 of these exist on a single mountain, which harbors numerous rarities. Elsewhere, he describes the tropics canopies and methods scientists are using to explore the life they support. All of it is surprising and informative.

Sadly, though many of these animals exist naturally in small numbers, many of them are endangered due to human activity, and many naturally occurring rarities are pushed from rare to extinct due to our own growth. It is incredible sad how Dinerstein details amazing creatures all across the globe over his career, and yet whenever he draws close to the present day, he finds them extinct or nearly extinct. It is nothing short of heartbreaking just how much destruction we are doing to our planet, and much of it is irreversible.

He talks about the Vietnam War and its aftermath - the battle between conservation and development. Unsurprisingly, the conservationists are losing all the way. Where American bombs damaged populations of wildlife, now the population is hunting every remaining species and ensuring that natural diversity disappears.

Though Dinerstein often seems optimistic about conservation, it is hard to read this beautiful book without feeling the opposite. I've been lucky in my life to have come face to face with the most incredible animals, yet if I have children I'm sure I'll have to explain to them how so many of these animals are no longer with us.