"Mythbusting Hemingway" with Robert K. Elder In-Person
Did Ernest Hemingway kill 122 Nazis during World War II? Did he really fight champion Gene Tunney? Did he have very particular thoughts about hair? Mythbusting Hemingway answers these longstanding questions and more. It's a fitting treatment for an author who won both the Pulitzer and Nobel prizes, survived back-to-back plane crashes, and played the cello. He really was “The Most Interesting Man in the World,” who once shot himself in the leg (while hunting sharks), and brawled with Orson Welles. In this new book, Hemingway legends—both true and debunked—are informed by detective work the authors did for the Paris Review, Chicago Tribune, and Huffington Post. For this volume, the authors conducted fresh interviews and scholarship that shed new light on the man, his work, and legacy. The authors have also unearthed an original essay—never before published in a book—from Frances Elizabeth Coates, Hemingway's high school crush and classmate, about growing up in Oak Park with the young man who would become the legend.
Registration recommended to join us in person.
To watch online (no registration needed) visit: https://vimeo.com/event/5217013. The recording will be available to watch later on our Event Archive.
- Date:
- Thursday, September 18, 2025
- Time:
- 5:30pm - 6:30pm
- Time Zone:
- Mountain Time - US & Canada (change)
- Location:
- John A. and Carole O. Moran Lecture Hall
- Campus:
- The Community Library
- Audience:
- Adults
- Categories:
- Lectures & Conversations
Robert K. Elder is the co-author of Mythbusting Hemingway with Thomas Bevilacqua, and the author or editor of more than twenty five books. This is his fourth book about Ernest Hemingway. Elder is also the President and CEO of Outrider Foundation, which supports journalism and multimedia storytelling about climate change and nuclear threats. His previous books include Last Words of the Executed, The Best Film You’ve Never Seen and The Film That Changed My Life. Elder’s work has appeared in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Salon.com, The Oregonian and many other publications. A Montana native, Elder lives and writes in Chicagoland.