If you’re a writer, a dedicated fiction reader, or have otherwise enjoyed the work from one of America’s finest writers, then you’ll probably really enjoy watching Ken Burns’ latest documentary, Hemingway.

I felt I knew his work and life fairly well (one of my favorite books on authors in my library is Hemingway In Cuba). Ken Burns’ style and extensive research, however, showed a LOT that was new to me.

Always enjoy a Burns documentary, even when it’s a subject I don’t care that much about. His style makes most any topic interesting and after it’s like you just sat through an advanced course on the subject. The new documentary Hemingway is no exception, although a familiar subject to me. Excellent narration and deep research, archival materials, and interesting interviews make Hemingway one of his best documentaries (at least, I think so). Obviously Burns’ reputation and body of work earn him extraordinary access to archives and people, and it really shows in this Hemingway documentary.

The three-part, six-hour series airs on PBS and began two nights ago on April 4, with the finale tonight. But in a pandemic-influenced manner, it debuted with all three episodes bingable at this link. I took the old-school approach, watching each episode over three nights as they aired on PBS.

If you do watch it, let me know in the comments how you liked it.