Men Without Women

"MEN WITHOUT WOMEN" WAS A MILESTONE IN HEMINGWAY S CAREER. "FIESTA" HAD ALREADY ESTABLISHED HIM AS A NOVELIST OF EXCEPTIONAL POWER, BUT WITH THESE SHORT STORIES, HIS SECOND COLLECTION, HE SHOWED THAT IT IS POSSIBLE, WITHIN THE SPACE OF A FEW PAGES, TO RECREATE A SCENE WITH ABSOLUTE TRUTH, BRINGING TO LIFE DETAILS OBSERVED ONLY BY THE EYE OF A UNIQUELY GIFTED ARTIST. HEMINGWAY S MEN ARE BULLFIGHTERS AND BOXERS, HIRED HANDS AND HARD DRINKERS, GANGSTERS AND GUNMEN. EACH OF THEIR STORIES DEALS WITH MASCULINE TOUGHNESS UNSOFTENED BY WOMAN S HAND. INCISIVE, HARD-EDGED, PARED DOWN TO THE BARE MINIMUM, THEY ARE CLASSIC HEMINGWAY TERRITORY.