"HEMINGWAY'S BOAT" A BOOK ANY BOAT LOVER WOULD ENJOY

August 13 2012

The author, Paul Hendrickson, details the life of Ernest Hemingway from the April 8th, 1934 purchase ofPILAR, a 38’ custom cabin cruiser built by the Wheeler Boat Co. in Brooklyn, NY, to the boat’s final anchorage in Havana, Cuba at the time of Hemingway’s death in 1961 in Ketchum, Idaho.  Hendrickson gives the reader a 1930’s, 40’s & 50’s perspective of life in the Florida Keys, Cuba, and the Bahamas while on board PILAR with Ernest Hemingway.    

Great detail is used to describe the feeling and scenery of America circa 1934 via letters and diaries from all involved with Hemingway and his boat.  Insight into the history of early 20th century American boat builders is a real bonus to the book.

Hendrickson connects the situations and the people Hemingway experienced while cruising and living onPILAR with many of the subjects and protagonists of his novels.

Hemingway documented much of his life in daily letters to friends and business associates.  The 27 years of abundant correspondence show how important PILAR was to almost everyone in Hemingway’s life.  So, if you are a boat owner and have an appreciation for history, “Hemingway’s Boat” is a book for you.