The one here. I thought this an appropriate topic relating to the most overrated and overpriced vacation spot in the country (in my humble opinion, of course).

Ernest Hemingway, who lived for a time in Key West as a trophy husband (and yes, he did have polydactyl cats, many of whose descendants remain there, both at his house which is now a museum, and on the island), was the most overrated writer in American literature. Note that I'm not saying the worst writer, just the most overrated one.

Discuss.

Why didn't you stay at the scuba-divers-only underwater hotel in the keys: http://www.jul.com/

Meh, whenever I am leafing through some Conrad I find myself thinking "If this were Hemingway I'd be done by now".

Fair enough, although it's hard to say how much was literary reputation per se and how much was his parallel roles as celebrity and icon for a version of masculinity that the culture liked in those years: "Look, a creative artist and a hard-drinkin' fist-fightin' huntin' & fishin' kinda guy."

...it's hard to say how much was literary reputation per se and how much was his parallel roles as celebrity and icon for a version of masculinity that the culture liked in those years:

OK, well, it's obviously not that hard for me to say...

I think that is a significant factor, along with a backlash against the florid writing of others of the era.

Did the great Simberg contend with any giant fish?

Did the great Simberg contend with any giant fish?

Depends on your definition of "contend."

We saw at least two, and maybe three (not sure whether it was the same one twice, on our second dive) bull sharks. They didn't bother us, but one of them circled us a couple times while we were snorkeling out at Dry Tortugas.

One more thing to dislike about the place. The only sharks I've seen on previous dives in other places were nurse sharks, which are generally harmless (with the notable exception of a school of hammerheads we saw diving off Molokai, which was actually pretty cool).

I have said for years (okay, decades) that the styles of Hemingway and Alastair MacLean were similar, with MacLean by far the superior writer. Sober, Hemingway could have been an American MacLean, instead of descending to tripe about an old man pissing off the side of a boat. Maybe the heat and alcohol pickled his brain. I'd stack "Where Eagles Dare" or "The Guns of Navarone" against anything Hemingway ever wrote.

Confucius say, "Writer paid by the word write too much."

Regards
BBB