Ernest Hemingway: A Writer's Life

    Daisy's life spanned an important era in U.S. history, and her story is chock full of curriculum connections, from the Civil War and reconstruction (her mother was a northerner who believed in abolition, her father was a Confederate soldier), to westward expansion and Native American studies, women's studies and early feminism, and later, World War I. She made her own valuable contribution to history by founding the first national organization that brought girls from all backgrounds into the out-of-doors, giving them the opportunity to develop self-reliance and resourcefulness. She created controversy by encouraging girls to prepare not only for traditional homemaking, but also for possible future roles as professional womenin the arts, sciences, and businessand for active citizenship outside the home. Girl Scouting also welcomed girls with disabilities at a time when they were excluded from many activities and groups.

Ernest Hemingway's literary status alone makes him worthy of a biography. In addition, his life reads like a suspense story—it's full of action, romance, heartbreak, machismo, mishaps, celebrity, and tragedy. He had first-hand experience of several historic events of the last century, and he rubbed elbows with many other notable writers and intellectual greats of our time. Though his reputation has weathered ups and downs, his status as an American icon remains untouchable. Here, in the only biography available to young people, Catherine Reef introduces readers to Hemingway's work, with a focus on his themes and writing styles and his place in the history of American fiction, and examines writers who influenced him and those he later influenced.