The Best Friend I Ever Had was an interesting book. I'm embarrassed to say that I've never read any works by Ernest Hemingway. In fact he was barely mentioned in my high school so I never really understood the "hype". Mr. Nuffer however has shown Hemingway to be a quirky, fascinating and eventually tragic individual, I learned quite a bit. The author himself has quite a tale to tell, through his devotion he has managed to make astonishing friendships with some of Hemingway's closest friends and amass some impressive collections.
My only complaint is that I sometimes found myself confused as to situations and connections due to my lack of Hemingway history. Certain liberties of familiarity were taken. Hemingway buffs would no doubt understand all and be quickly fascinated with many of Mr Nuffer's revelations. ( )

At least a billion words have been written by or about Ernest Hemingway, there are books about pretty much everywhere he ever lived or visited. While it would seem that there is no more to be written about the man or his work, new books continue to be written; among them is The Best Friend I Ever Had: Revelations about Ernest Hemingway from those who knew him by David Nuffer. Mr. Nuffer has a fascination with Mr. Hemingway; of the billion words he owns about 24 million of them and he has visited most, if not all of Mr. Hemingway’s former homes. In his book, Mr. Nuffer documents discussions, interviews, meetings, and letters from and with ten people who knew Mr. Hemingway at one point or another during his life. They include family and friends, including his last wife, Mary Hemingway, and one of his sons, Patrick Hemingway. The book is divided into eight chapters, each one devoted to one of the ten people, with two being married couples who share a chapter. Most of the people had a seemingly limited amount of contact with Mr. Hemingway and could only shed light on the small part of his life they were involved in.

I have read a few of Mr. Hemingway’s novels and short stories but I know very little about him. I know the basic things that I assume everyone knows about him. He committed suicide in Idaho, and he lived in Cuba and Key West (I’ve been to the Key West house), he hunted big game in Africa, and he had some involvement in the Spanish Civil War; other that that I don’t know much about him. While that does not present a problem in my day to day life, it did when reading this book. Most of what’s in it could probably best be defined as minutiae, of possible interest to those with great interest in Mr. Hemingway’s life but not to the common reading.

The Best Friend I Ever Had was really the story of Mr. Nuffer’s fascination with Mr. Hemingway rather then a story about the man himself. Mr. Nuffer has an obvious passion for the subject, but to quote Mr. Hemingway, “[I] did not have enough background knowledge to appreciate the book.” ( )

I have been reading Hemingway, indeed studying his work, sense well before his death. I have been collecting and reading Hemingway biographies for well over forty years now. You can imagine my delight when I heard about this work. Every bit of information I can collect adds something to my knowledge and adds to what my family refers to as my hobby. I was not disappointed with this work.
David Nuffer has spent quite a number of years now collecting the works of Hemingway, memorabilia, such as photographs and items of interest, and most importantly, seeking out and interviewing people who actually knew this complex writer and American icon. I received Nuffer’s book, sat down and read it from cover to cover nonstop. It was well worth the read!
The author has interviewed a number of characters that are often overlooked by his biographers, i.e. those common folk who knew him on a daily basis, worked, hunted, fished and socialized with him. These people are not the usual pack of literary giants, publishers, movie actors and actresses, etc. we normally find in such work; but rather, for the most part, just simply people. By recoding these conversations we are allowed a peek into the life of Earnest Hemingway that is not often seen nor even considered. The author has also spent years traveling the globe visiting the places Hemingway lived, traveled, played and worked.
I was particularly interested in several previously unpublished letters, which are actually pseudo-medical records, from the Mayo Clinic which I was unaware of. Having spent much of my professional life in medical risk management I have reviewed and analyzed literally thousands and thousands of medical records over the years and am able to smell a dead carp at five miles. These documents are important as they do shed some light on Hemingway’s ultimate tragic death. I only wish we had access to all the records. The letters this author does publish tell us much, in particular if we read between the lines.
This little book is well put together, written in a very articulate style and is full of unique pictures, some never published before.
Like many, even though I love Earnest Hemingway’s writing, I must admit to being even more fascinated with Hemingway the man even more than Hemingway the writer. This book is a wonderful addition to my collection and has added to my knowledge. The author has done some fine work here.
I do highly recommend this one. ( )