some highlights: the swahili word "m'uzuri" meaning good or well reminds hemingway of missouri. such classical hemingway wry humor. also, "simba" is another swahili word that i had the pleasure of learning in this book, which reminds ME of the disney beloved character, of course. (and jason raize, who played the adult simba on broadway who died tragically too young--look him up, people!)

the few pages in chapter one where hemingway met a guy in africa who has heard of hemingway from a lit magazine were excellent. it's hemingway pointing to the sources of great american writings. mark twain's huck topped this chart. moby-dick was mentioned, of course. and henry james (the "two most beautiful words in the english language" as the great--yet not really well known--american poet jim crenner says).

having stated all this, i think this is one of hemingway's weakest books i've ever read. his occasional incredibly long sentences that he does so breathtakingly, magnificently well in other books don't seem to live up to the golden standard that i've seen. the details of the hunt are bloody. bloody boring, that is, at some points.

this is hemingway's second attempt at non-fiction so i'd be interested in checking out his tome of a book on bull-fighting. tho, as any lover of hemingway's writings would know, my lukewarm reaction to "green hills" doesn't even put a tiny dent on my great admiration for this remarkable american writer.

p.s: i finished this book on friday the 13th, june 2008. and how many chapters are there? i love coincidences like this.

this book is annoying. hemmingway's ego is out of control as he tries to make a big man of himself by shooting his way through an array of animals that of course mean him no harm at all. though i love much of his early work, this book makes him seem a truly horrible person. no wonder he had a long string of failed relationships and ultimatley killed himself. who could live with a jackass like this. in the end, he couldn't even stand to live with himself. this is an almost worthless book.