Hemingway's literary journey began in journalism, and his work in this field not only brought him financial rewards but also took him to places he desired to be.

However, it was his enthusiasm, compassion, and vivid imagination that elevated his writing beyond mere timely reporting.

Some readers may see this material as complementing the Hemingway record, while others, hopefully, will consider it among the finest examples of newspaper and magazine reporting in our tumultuous times.

This collection of Hemingway's nonfiction pieces is specifically for journalistic outlets and covers a diverse range of topics.

The opening section hails Hemingway as one of the best journalistic writers of the 20th century, but I believe he is one of the greatest writers of the century, period.

His nonfiction writing is often excellent, but it's difficult to determine his prowess in journalism as these pieces are mostly musings, travel sketches, and light opinion pieces.

He shares some stylistic similarities with Orwell, but without the criticism pieces, a direct comparison is challenging.

Moreover, Hemingway and Orwell have distinct styles, so that comparison doesn't hold either.

What truly stands out here is how Hemingway sets the tone or shares the same vibe as the tone-setting writing of the 50s, 60s, and 70s by Tom Wolfe, Hunter Thompson, and Norman Mailer.

Although they write very differently from Hemingway, they tackle many of the same subjects.

Ernest Hemingway is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in literature, having penned some of the most renowned works. His stories have the power to transport readers to a different time and place, capturing the essence of his era. However, before he was able to create these masterpieces, he had to refine his writing skills.

In "By-Line: Ernest Hemingway: Selected Articles and Dispatches of Four Decades" edited by William White, readers are given a unique opportunity to peek into Hemingway's daily work. These stories, which read like blog posts, are highly observational and intuitive, offering a glimpse into his daily life.

Most of the stories are short, only a few pages in length, but they are packed with Hemingway's trademark wit and humor. They also showcase his remarkable skill in painting a vivid portrait of a moment in time. This collection is truly a fun read and one that should be savored, as it provides valuable insights into the mind of one of the greatest writers of the 20th century.

Ernest Hemmingway was an incredibly prolific writer. This extensive volume is a very careful selection of seventy-seven articles he penned for newspapers and magazines between 1920 and 1956. It was edited by William White, a Professor of Journalism at Wayne State University and an enthusiastic Hemmingway collector. He prefaced this volume with a thoughtful introduction to explain how he organized the material, enabling those who relish Hemmingway's writing to place it within a literary context.

White reminds us of Hemmingway's long career as a newspaperman. He became a cub reporter at eighteen and worked in the field for years before achieving acclaim as a celebrated and award-winning novelist. Reporting funded his lifestyle, with expense accounts covering his beloved travels. His by-line in newspapers and magazines kept his name in the public eye, something he cherished as a man who craved recognition. Ultimately, his career as a reporter paved the way for his other writing, the short stories and magnificent novels that brought him literary prominence.

Hemmingway was always quick to emphasize that his newspaper writing differed entirely from his fiction. He regarded his reporting as a means to hone his craft, learning to write while on the move and always racing to meet deadlines. He believed this writing, which had to be produced quickly, could never be his best. A perfectionist, he insisted that his work as a novelist and short story writer not be judged against his reporting. Interestingly, he ultimately published short stories identical to some of his submitted articles, indicating that his reporting was not as distinct from his novels as he claimed.

When reading these selections, it's easy to see how Hemmingway stood out among his peers. He wrote not only about what he saw but also about his feelings regarding the events around him, attempting to provide readers with a more in-depth understanding of his subject matter and enabling them to experience what they were reading.

The anthology's first section contains twenty-nine selections from his tenure at The Toronto Daily Star and Star Weekly. During this period, he roamed Europe with his battered typewriter, providing readers with reports on various subjects. He covered his interview with Mussolini, his views on inflation in Germany, the delicious meals he ate in small restaurants, inns, and guest houses, and the fishing he did when opportunity arose. There were also pieces on bobsledding, hiking, and his lively, alcohol-fueled meetings with the boys at the Anglo-American Press Club in Paris. When he returned to Toronto, he quickly grew bored with the staid surroundings and was back in Europe within a year, determined to do more serious writing. Within five years of his return, he produced two more collections of short stories and two great novels, earning the recognition he sought from literary critics.

It was this fame that led him back to journalism in the 1930s when he began working for Arnold Gingrich, the founder of Esquire magazine. The second section of this book includes seventeen of the monthly pieces he sent to Esquire, a time when his career was at its peak. In these "letters" home, Hemmingway wrote about his overseas life, immersed in the masculine activities that were the magazine's theme. He wrote about everything from fishing for marlin in Cuba, shooting lions in Tanganyika, and bullfighting in Spain. They all reflected the life of a free-loving, hard-drinking, adventurous tough man, living life on his own terms.

The third section of the anthology features his reports on the Spanish Wars, and the fourth section contains his reports home during World War II. He worked for several different newspapers during this period, cabling his reports back to America from various far-flung locations worldwide. He provided his readers with an exciting, thoughtful, and often interesting analysis of the actual events on the ground, quite different from the sanitized reports of many of his peers. These reports showed Hemmingway to be a tough individual, willing to go where other reporters would not, slogging through mud, suffering from malaria, and attaching himself to different fighting units to immerse himself in the field and capture both the facts and the feel of what was truly happening. His articles covered everything from graphic reports of the civil war in Spain, his journey to China at the beginning of World War II, and his time as an ambulance driver on the Italian Front when he was wounded. He described the absolute confusion and chaos of men, gunfire, and machinery that he experienced in a landing craft on the beaches of Normandy, and this, along with his account of the advance on Paris, has long been recognized as some of the best reporting from that war.

In the final Section Five, which涵盖了1949年至1956年战后的岁月, White includes four pieces. Two represent Hemmingway's writing as a naturalist passionate about the outdoor life of hunting and fishing, one is Hemmingway's personal account of his near-fatal plane crash in Africa in 1954 for Look magazine, and the second article is from the 1956 edition of the same magazine.

For readers interested in Hemmingway's writing, this anthology offers an interesting glimpse into his early writing, his journalistic apprenticeship, and the path that led him to write his award-winning fiction. It helps one understand how his career as a journalist not only contributed to his development as a writer but also supported the lifestyle he loved, with his travel expenses funding his trips around the world and the life he enjoyed. He became not only a famous writer but also a well-known personality, the embodiment of the "man's man."

These pieces also demonstrate his prowess as a great reporter. He was an accurate observer of everything around him, able to connect with people and gather the information he needed for his reports and articles. Much of this material he used later in life, combining it with his creative imagination to produce some truly fine fiction.

This is an interesting book, valuable not only to literary historians but also to those interested in Hemmingway's life, career, and writing.

January 1, 1967 was a significant day.

It marked the beginning of a new year, filled with hopes and possibilities.

The world was in a state of change and progress.

In different parts of the globe, people were looking forward to what the year would bring.

Some were focused on personal goals and achievements, while others were concerned with the larger issues facing society.

Technology was advancing at a rapid pace, and new inventions and discoveries were being made.

The arts were also flourishing, with new forms of music, literature, and film emerging.

Despite the challenges and uncertainties, January 1, 1967 was a day of optimism and excitement, as people around the world welcomed the new year with open arms.