Peter Griffin has drawn upon a wealth of previously unpublished material--including numerous letters and five of Hemingway's early short stories that appear here in their entirety--to trace the formative years of one of America's Most celebrated and influential authors. This book examines in richer detail than any previous biography Hemingway's midwestern childhood, his relations with his parents, his journalistic apprenticeship, and his experiences as a Red Cross volumteer during World War I. It sheds new light on his wartime romance with Agnes Kurowsky, his first love, and the circumstances surrounding his wounding and convalescence. It closes with Hemingway at the brink of the literary career that would bring him worldwide acclaim. As the brisk narrative moves from Illinois to Kansa City on to New York and then Europe, Griffin paints a vivid picture of the people, places and events that shaped Hemingway as a man and a writer. This is the first installment of what promises to become the difinitive Hemingway biography for this generation. In a foreword to the book, Jack Hemingway, Ernest's first son, writes that Griffin's insights and his innate skills have enabled him to bring a far different view of Hemingway as a developing human being. This book, he says, has shown me insights into my own father's character and behavior I would not have thought possible in view of the time lapse between Hemingway's death and the research Griffin accomplished.