Patrick Hemingway

The book is a blend of fact and fiction from the East Africa expedition Ernest and fourth wife Mary went on from late 1953 to early 1954, in part to visit Patrick and his wife. Toward the end of the trip Ernest Hemingway was in two successive plane crashes and was reported dead. He sustained a severe head wound which went largely undiagnosed until he left Africa. Upon his return to Cuba he worked sporadically on True at First Light, but eventually set it aside.

The manuscript was in the John F. Kennedy Library Hemingway Archives, and Patrick edited the 800 pages down to half the size. He had been present with his father during much of the expedition and was familiar with the events of Africa during that year, which he describes in the "Foreword" to True at First Light. Read Less