The Importance of Not Being Ernest

The New York Times–bestselling author of Salt examines the intersections between his life and Ernest Hemingway’s in this mix of travel memoir and history.

By a series of coincidences, Mark Kurlansky’s life has always been intertwined with Ernest Hemingway’s legend, starting with being in Idaho the day of Hemingway’s death. The Importance of Not Being Ernest explores the intersections between Hemingway’s and Kurlansky’s lives, resulting in creative accounts of two inspiring writing careers. Travel the world with Mark Kurlansky and Ernest Hemingway in this personal memoir, where Kurlansky details his ten years in Paris and his time as a journalist in Spain—both cities important to Hemingway’s adventurous life and prolific writing.

Paris, Basque Country, Havana and Idaho.Get to know the extraordinary people he met there—those who had also fallen under the Hemingway spell, including a Vietnam veteran suffering from the same syndrome the author did, two winners of the Key West Hemingway look-alike contest, and the man in Idaho who took Hemingway hunting and fishing.

In The Importance of Not Being Ernest, find:A memoir full of entertaining and illuminative storiesLittle-known historical facts about Hemingway’s lifeAnecdotes about those who suffer from what the Kurlansky calls “hemitis”

Readers of Haruki Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, John Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley in Search of America, or The Boys will love The Importance of Not Being Ernest.

Praise for The Importance of Not Being Ernest

“An absolute delight! Full of personality, Kurlansky’s book will enchant history, literature, and Hemingway fans alike.” —Library Journal (starred review)