For Whom the Bell Tolls cover art

For Whom the Bell Tolls

 Preview
Try for $0.00
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo + applicable taxes after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Written by: Ernest Hemingway
Narrated by: Campbell Scott
Try for $0.00

$14.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $29.64

Buy Now for $29.64

About this listen

 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. Classics Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction War Civil War Military American Literature

What the critics say

"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)
All stars
Most relevant  
excellent story, very well narrated, keeps you engaged, gives a good account of a page in Spanish civil war

excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
description of a small partisan effort critical for the success of a larger operation critical in an effort to prevent the spread of facism in Spain. Without brushing up on my early 20th century history I want to say the Republic had just won the election but the facists with an assist from Hitler and Mousillini overthrew that government in an ominous precurser to the attempt to spread facism throughout the world. Though partisan, or guerrilla, warfare will always play a part as people defend their homelands, it would not have been necessary to this extent if the major North American and European powers had gotten off their duffs and went to war in Spain, which may have prevented WWII, but I digress. Wonderfully written, I enjoyed the narration which is more or less sullen without much variation in tone. I found that an effective way to impart the mood on the reader as those were not happy times in Spain. I enjoyed this book very much and would certainly recommend it to a wide audience.

Sublime

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
When the story of the takeover of the fascist town was told by Pilar in the book, I was totally immersed in the story. Although it is wordy at times I loved the book untill it's last line. This is a classic for a reason

Great story, masterful reading by Campbell Scott

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is the book that shows Hemingway as a master of restraint—every sentence feels like it’s doing ten times the work of an ordinary one. His prose is stripped down, but it hums with tension and meaning. There’s a kind of brutal grace in how he writes about war, love, and death—like he’s staring directly into the hardest parts of being human and refusing to flinch. This novel, in particular, is staggering. Few authors can make stillness feel electric or turn fatalism into something noble. Hemingway does it all here, and he does it effortlessly.

Hemingway’s “sharpened stillness”

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Incredible story, incredible writing. There is only one Ernest Hemingway. Gripping, emotional and riveting. Absolutely Fantastic listening

Incredible

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Hemingway’s style is minimalistic yet powerful. The narrator did an excellent job voicing the dialogue of multiple characters.
This novel shows the cruel and mechanical nature of war and how it is navigated by people with great courage, strength and vulnerability while surrounded by nature in the mountains of Spain.

Moving and gripping story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
marvelous book, fantastic narrator. it is kne of the Hemmingway's best, one can't go wrong with it.

great!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This is my first book by Hemingway and I wasn't sure what to expect. His style is extremely efficient and clear, choosing his words with precision. this makes the story very clear, and gives it an emotional resonance that lands like a gut punch. Also extremely tender and often funny. The internal dialogue Jordan has throughout lends great Insight to his character, and the supporting cast is well thought out and distinct. If you are looking for classic military fiction this is a great choice.

Guerilla Warfare Goodness

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
My first reading of this Hemingway classic. I love his writing. This tale takes place within a few days of war in Spain. Rather than spanning a long period of time, this focus allows the characters to develop and for the reader to feel the emotions, which are heightened. I could appreciate the elements of bullfighting and the running of the bulls in Pamplona, presented here is stories and memories, from Hemingway’s experiences (and which first appeared in The Sun Also Rises). I was a little surprised and confused by the ending… but as with previous Hemingway books, I will probably appreciate it more once I’ve had time to digest it and discuss in a book club.

Classic Hemingway

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
finished in 2 days, warning: end is very emotional but it is a very good book

hated the ending

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews