Ernest Hemingway was born (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) in Oak Park, Illinois. After leaving school, he worked as a journalist for the Kansas City City Star. He later writing was influenced by the style guide of the paper. “Use short sentences. Use short first paragraphs. Use vigorous English. Be positive, not negative.” Ernest Hemingway was an American author and journalist whose unique, understated writing style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction and culture. Hemingway lived through the major conflicts of Europe during the first half of the Twentieth-Century. His war experiences led to powerful accounts, which described the horrors of modern war. Two major books include; A Farewell to Arms (1929) – about the First World War, and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940) – about the Spanish Civil War. Many of his books are considered classics of American literature.