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For Whom the Bell Tolls  By  cover art

For Whom the Bell Tolls

By: Ernest Hemingway
Narrated by: Campbell Scott
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Publisher's summary

In 1937, Ernest Hemingway traveled to Spain to cover the civil war there for the North American Newspaper Alliance. Three years later he completed the greatest novel to emerge from "the good fight", For Whom the Bell Tolls.

The story of Robert Jordan, a young American in the International Brigades attached to an antifascist guerilla unit in the mountains of Spain, it tells of loyalty and courage, love and defeat, and the tragic death of an ideal. In his portrayal of Jordan's love for the beautiful Maria and his superb account of El Sordo's last stand, in his brilliant travesty of La Pasionaria and his unwillingness to believe in blind faith, Hemingway surpasses his achievement in The Sun Also Rises and A Farewell to Arms to create a work at once rare and beautiful, strong and brutal, compassionate, moving, and wise.

"If the function of a writer is to reveal reality," Maxwell Perkins wrote Hemingway after reading the manuscript, "no one ever so completely performed it." Greater in power, broader in scope, and more intensely emotional than any of the author's previous works, it stands as one of the best war novels of all time.

©1952 Ernest Hemingway (P)2006 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This is the best book Ernest Hemingway has written, the fullest, the deepest, the truest. It will, I think, be one of the major novels in American literature." (The New York Times Book Review)

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What listeners say about For Whom the Bell Tolls

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Much easier to listen to

I read FWTBT years ago. Hemingway’s stilted, repetitive writing style/dialogue was difficult for me to get through (I do like it, but it was just strange and different). Campbell Scott’s reading of the story allowed me to escape into the story and just experience it— the fear of situations, the emotions of the characters. A great story.

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23 yr old and still loved the book

Definitely had a little slower style which us gen x might not have the attention span for. But as a book to listen to overtime it was really worthwhile and interesting. Wasn’t the most thought provoking piece by Hemingway imo but I still really enjoyed the character development and story telling

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Riveting

Brilliant, happy, sad, hopeful, idealistic, historical! So utterly descriptive like watching a movie! I loved every word!

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Whoa !

What a story…
That Hemingway sure can write.
A wild adventure story with thoughtful analysis of the Spanish people during very challenging times.

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great book

this is the second time I've been through this book, and it was nice to have the story read to me this time. the narrator did a phenomenal job bringing the characters to life. and Hemingway, it's amazing how much he was able to pack in for a story that only lasted a few days in the book. Brilliant character development.

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a classic

This classic remain relevant today from one of the greatest writers over the past 100 years.

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Very enjoyable book.

t
This was truly Ernest Hemingway at his best. The reader was excellent with clear diction.

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Excellent Read. Great narrator

Would you consider the audio edition of For Whom the Bell Tolls to be better than the print version?

Not sure. I do not have the time to "read" many books so audio works best for me.

What other book might you compare For Whom the Bell Tolls to and why?

As the Sun Also Rises

What does Campbell Scott bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Great voice.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

no.

Any additional comments?

none

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Wow. one of my favorites

I read this book in high school and it didn't mean very much to me. Now at the age of 67I read it again and it is definitely one of my favorites of all time. The audio book recording is extremely high quality

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    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect blend of heart and action

It is true this is a "man's man's" book, but the emotions are deep and the writing very tight. It is nice to see Hemingway not "trying to hard" but yet still knocking it out of the park.

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