Ken Burns and Lynn Novick's six-hour documentary series, HEMINGWAY, examines the visionary work and turbulent life of one of the greatest and most influential American writers – Ernest Hemingway. Intimate and insightful, the series weaves together Hemingway's biography with excerpts from his work. The film penetrates the myth of Hemingway to reveal a deeply troubled and ultimately tragic figure.

Episode One – "A Writer" (1899-1929) Hemingway enjoys an idyllic childhood in Oak Park, Illinois but, yearning for adventure, volunteers for the Red Cross during World War I. He marries Hadley Richardson, moves to Paris and begins his life as a writer, publishing In Our Time and The Sun Also Rises. He finds critical and commercial success with his second novel, A Farewell to Arms.

Episode Two – "The Avatar" (1929-1944) Hemingway, having achieved a level of fame rarely seen in the literary world, settles in Key West with Pauline Pfeiffer and spends his time seeking new conquests in the natural world – marlin fishing in the Gulf Stream and hunting in Africa. Inspired by the fight against Fascism, he reports on the Spanish Civil War and begins a tempestuous romance with Martha Gellhorn.

Episode Three – "The Blank Page" (1944-1961) Hemingway, reeling from his split with Martha, attaches himself to the U.S. Army as it moves through Normandy and liberates Paris. After the war he tries to start a new life with Mary Welsh but is beset with personal tragedies and professional mishaps. He publishes The Old Man and the Sea and wins the Nobel Prize but eventually is overcome by addiction, physical trauma and depression.