Alex Vernon on War

Alex Vernon joins the show to discuss one of Hemingway’s major themes: men at war.  He penetrates the myth of Hemingway-as-warmonger, isolates some of the writer's most evocative war passages, and even reflects on his own war experiences in the Middle East. 

Vernon also tracks Hemingway’s development from the young eyewitness of World War I to the keen partisan of the Spanish Civil War, and finally to the solemn commentator of WWII journalism. In pursuit of Hemingway’s place in the canon of war literature, this episode incorporates a lively discussion of Crane, O’Brien, Stendhal, and even the Kardashians.

This episode was recorded on June 27, 2019.