Patrick Powell
asked
Amanda Vaill:
Hi. I've just finished your book Hotel Florida, which I have to say is not only entertaining and informative, but the sheer effort you put into researching it impressed me greatly. I have one question: given his background supporting the Loyalists and his often slavish support for Stalin, was Hemingway in anyway troubled by the House Un-American Committee? PP
Amanda Vaill
I'm so sorry not to have answered this earlier; I've been working on a new book and I guess I fell further down the rabbit hole than I thought! In response to your question, since I wasn't looking closely at material after 1940, I didn't poke around very much in the HUAC or FBI records. I never found that he was troubled by HUAC, though, and I must say I found this puzzling, as, apparently, did Hemingway himself, who feared they might make an issue of his "premature antifascism" or his agreement to act as an agent (code-named ARGO) of the NKVD. Nicholas Reynolds has written a book about Hemingway's "intelligence" career that might be of interest to you; but Reynolds never got a hit on HUAC either. Curious.
More Answered Questions
Ross McRonald
asked
Amanda Vaill:
Enjoyed Hotel Florida. You mentioned Gerda Taro had a boy friend Will Chardack. I worked with a Dr. William Chardack at the Buffalo VA. He was famous as the first person to implant a permanent pacemaker in a human. He was the right age. I'm trying to find out more about him. His obit didn't mention anything about his background. Any sources? Thank you. Ross McRonald MD
Katelyn Turner
asked
Amanda Vaill:
Dear Amanda Vaill, I am writing from Rowman & Littlefield because we’ll soon be publishing Dateline—Liberated Paris: The Hotel Scribe and the Invasion of the Press, by Ronald Weber. Might you consider providing an endorsement that we could use on the back cover? If you are interested in more information, please contact me at kturner@rowman.com. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538118511 Best, Katelyn
Nick Goulding
asked
Amanda Vaill:
Hello, Ms. Vaill. I loved your book Everybody Was So Young: Gerald and Sara Murphy. I'm putting together a weekly podcast on 1920's Paris, and I would really like to have you on as a guest to discuss the Murphys. I've had trouble finding an email address for you, so I thought I'd give Goodreads a try. Is there a way I can contact you to discuss? Cheers, Nick Goulding
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