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How It Was
by Mary Hemingway
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Knopf (1976-08-12)
ISBN: 0394401093
EAN: 9780394401096
Dewey Decimal #: 813.52
Binding/Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1st
Release Date: 1976-08-12
SKU: 20270
Condition: Used: Good
Comments: Hardcover. Dust Jacket Condition: good. All pages clean and unmarked.
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Customer Reviews
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My only regret: this book came to an end.
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-06-30
6 out of 7 customers found this reveiw helpful
Maybe the best biography I've read to date; certainly the best biography I've reviewed on Amazon.
Mary probably did as much to enhance the myth of Ernest as anyone.
She was a journalist in her own right and certainly held her own alongside Ernest. I found myself laughing out loud often as she described her experiences; she has a wonderful midwestern way of writing.
Her first-hand reporting from the European Theater in WWII is unsurpassed and is worth the price of book. Her vignettes will fill in any gaps one might have regarding Ernest's self-appointed role as scout (and in violation of the Geneva Conventions) for the 22nd Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division.
The power of Ernest's persuasion is evidenced by his ability to encourage Mary, at great risk to herself, to go to the front where his son Jack had been taken prisoner of war. Ernest wanted to see for himself if there was any possibility that a "special operations" mission might be successful in rescuing his first-born son, Jack (Bumby), from German captivity.
Mary's writing also fills in so many details of his novels after the war, and events leading up to his suicide.
This was Mary's third marriage; she would say the first one didn't count, and the second one, with Noel Monks, ended amicably. He realized they had grown apart and wished her the best. Her marriage to Ernest almost ended before it began, following a slap to her face, but with grace and dignity, she accepted Ernest's apology, with the understanding that he teach her how to spar/box for her own safety. Marlene Dietrich was so impressed, she also requested and received lessons.
I have always argued that Ernest was a more impressive man than his writing would indicate; it is clear that Mary was his equal in literary stature, though not physical stature (she was a diminutive 5'3").
My only regret with this book: it came to an end.
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