By the time of his death in 1961 by suicide, Ernest Hemingway's celebrity far exceeded that of just a typical best-selling author. He had became known as "the man who did more to change the style of English prose than any other writer in the twentieth century" and was awarded a Nobel Prize for his efforts in 1954. What he did was simple, yet infinitely difficult - he cut out all the crap. He substituted the indirect for the direct in his fiction, without sacrificing any of it's breadth or symbolism.
And he lived his writing like few others had ever done. His masculine prose about big game hunting, bull-fighting, war, womanizing, and deep sea fishing was all drawn closely from his personal experiences, and quite possibly obscured how passionately dedicated he was to his craft.
The novella "The Old Man and the Sea" originally appeared as a special supplement in Life Magazine in 1952 and was published soon after in book form Charles Scribner's Sons. I consider it to be the "high point" of the Hemingway's trademark style and form and he agreed:
"This is the prose I have been working on all my life {The Old Man and the Sea} that should read easily and simply and seem short and yet have all the dimensions of the visible world and the world of a man's spirit. It is as good prose as I can write as of now."
Obviously, modern collectors agree with this assessment as well, since a signed first edition copy (pictured) of this book in fine condition will set you back about $14,000!
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