“Focusing on the years 1934 to 1961 – from Hemingway’s pinnacle as the reigning monarch of American letters until his suicide – Paul Hendrickson traces the writer’s exultations and despair around the one constant in his life during this time: his beloved boat, Pilar. Drawing on previously unpublished material, Hendrickson shows that for all the writer’s boorishness, depression, and alcoholism, and despite his choleric anger, he was capable of remarkable generosity. Hemingway’s Boat is both stunningly original and deeply gripping, an invaluable contribution to our understanding of this great American writer.”