Ernest Hemingway Reads Ernest Hemingway (Classic Literature Series) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

Ernest Hemingway (Author, Reader)

Book Description

Release date: April 21, 1998

"Hemingway's voice [is] a clear, vibrant, low tenor, unexpectedly youthful, almost boyish. It reminds one of a recurring theme in the fiction, that of age reaching back toward youth. . . [Ernest Hemingway Reads] provides his readers the opportunity to listen for and appreciate the Hemingway wit." - The Nation

One of Ernest Hemingway's deadliest enemies was The Microphone...but over the years, under special circumstances, Ernest did record a few things for me on an old Webster wire recorder that he kept in his finca in Cuba, and on a transistorized pocket recorder called a Midgetape which we took on our travels. These wires and tapes, imperfect though they are, are virtually the only record we have of his voice. (The one exception is his acceptance of the Nobel Prize which was recorded by a Havana radio station.) - A.E. Hotchner

This audio includes: The Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Second Poem to Mary, In Harry's Bar in Venice, The Fifth Column, Work in Progress, Saturday Night at the Whorehouse in Billings, Montana.

This audio reproduces the full sound spectrum of the historic recordings; it has been re-mastered using contemporary digital equipment.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"A writer must face eternity, or the lack of it, each day," says Ernest Hemingway in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech. Eternity Hemingway certainly has secured for himself with his internationally renowned body of work. In this collection, however, he reads some of his lesser-known pieces, including the Nobel speech, a poem, and even a work in progress, most of which were recorded in Cuba. Although his readings of his own work seem timidly rigid at times, this tape represents a rare opportunity for Hemingway fans and nonfans alike, as it is one of the only known recordings of the writer's voice. (Running time: 45 minutes, 1 cassette) --Natasha Senjanovich

From Library Journal

"A writer should write what he has to say and not speak it," noted Ernest Hemingway, toward the end of his Nobel prize acceptance speech. Especially, he might have added, when it is recorded badly on obsolete equipment and the writer sounds like he may have had a few drinks. Nor are these selections taken from his best work. "Second Poem to Mary," "Harry's Bar in Venice," a short excerpt from The Fifth Column, something called "Work in Progress" (Islands in the Stream), and "Saturday Night at the Whorehouse in Billings, Montana" comprise the other selections. Balance these minuses against the historic value this tape holds (it may be the only existing tape of Hemingway reading) and the reasonable price, and you make the call. William Faulkner Reads, on the other hand, can be heartily recommended. The interest here, of course, is how he navigates his own two-page, stream-of-consciousness sentences, which would melt most modern grammarians. Calmly, it turns out, taking frequent breaths. His performance and the technical quality of the recording is much better than Hemingway's, though both would have benefited from titles appearing on the tape, rather than merely on the box. The Faulkner selections are superior, including his well-known Nobel acceptance speech and excerpts from As I Lay Dying, A Fable, and The Old Man.?John Hiett, Iowa City P.L.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Caedmon (April 21, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0898459583
• ISBN-13: 978-0898459586
• Product Dimensions: 4.8 x 0.8 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,586,169 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible to hear his voice August 1, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Audio Cassette

I've seen the old film clips of Hemingway, read the novels and articles, and can call up the images of Papa Hemingway on his boat, or on safari, or just sitting on a chair... but nothing compares to actually hearing what he sounded like - how he would read the words he wrote - this is not only a MUST for any fan of Hemingway - this should be required listening in any American Literature 101 class. Wonderful.

5.0 out of 5 stars History of the "Ernest Hemingway Reads" Digital upgrade April 3, 2012

By Jeffry Martini

Format:Audio Cassette

Back in 1994~95 I was doing some research on a Hemingway tribute planned to take place on the 70th anniversary of Hemingway's "The Sun Also Rises" (Scribner 1926). I had heard Hemingway audio on both a "Ernest Hemingway Reads" version on a 33 1/3 LP record and a VHS videotape of Joris Iven's Spanish Civil War documentary with Hemingway as the narrator. Both made Hemingway's voice sound tinny and almost high pitched. Every account I had read from people who knew him said that he had a rich tenor voice with slight baritone qualities. Having worked years prior for Pioneer Electronics in high end audio and being a one time member of the Audio Engineering Society with some sound special effects work on the film "Apocalypse Now", I felt that I was qualified to voice an opinion to Harper Collins Audio which owned the rights to the LP and audio cassette recording. I was able to contact their Chief Engineer and told him that maybe, because the original recordings were made with equipment that was no longer in use, wire recorders and movie theater sound recording's from the late 1930's, the sound was "off". He agreed to do some additional audio checks and testing. Several weeks later he called me to say that, yes the original audio recordings had distorted Hemingway's normal speech output. When they digitally "restored" his voice, they released a new audio cassette....a copy of which was sent to me. This "new" version is how Ernest Hemingway actually sounded. The difference is like night and day.

6 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars ASANTE PAPA! October 16, 2002

By Paul D. Hammersten - author of ASANTE PAPA! - http://www.asantepapa.compucan.com

Format:Audio Cassette

ASANTE! { thank you in Swahili } Papa for your neat readings!

Go to Billings, Montana.

Get a room high up [ south side ] in the 24 floor Sheraton Hotel.

From there watch the train pass by. Hear it's whistle and the clatter of the wheels as the train rolls along the tracks that lie between the historic Montana Ave. and Minnisota Ave. - the infamous " sporting district " of old Billings.

Papa's whorehouse still stands.

Look over it's roof to the Big Horn Mountains in the distance - and Cody, Wyoming and Red Lodge, Montana.

Then play ERNEST HEMINGWAY READS ERNEST HEMINGWAY.

Listening to Papa tell his story, " Saturday Night At The Whorehouse In Billings Montana ", will then be something special.