Picturing Hemingway's Michigan

A compilation of personal photographs, historical images, and written excerpts illuminating Ernest Hemingway's significant ties to northern Michigan.

In the early 1900s, the Little Traverse Bay area in northern Michigan was transitioning from a sparsely populated lumber region to a hotspot for tourists. Looking to enhance dwindling freight business, the region's railroad and steamship companies mounted elaborate and effective marketing campaigns to lure tourists from as far away as St. Louis, Kansas City, and Louisville to experience the area's pristine natural beauty and abundant leisure activities. Ernest Hemingway's family was among those who vacationed "up north" in this era; his parents built a cottage on Walloon Lake near Petoskey to summer away from their home near Chicago. In Picturing Hemingway's Michigan, author Michael R. Federspiel introduces readers to the Hemingway family. With more than 250 images, and archival excerpts from Hemingway's letters, journals, and stories, this work leads readers on a tour of the people, places, and activities that deeply influenced one of America's most famous authors during his twenty-two summers in northern Michigan. Anyone interested in Michigan history, the life of Ernest Hemingway, or the culture of the early twentieth century will enjoy this beautiful volume.