Winner Take Nothing

The title says everything. The stories prove it.

Ernest Hemingway's third collection of short stories is his darkest and most disillusioned—a book about loss, failure, and the cruel arithmetic of a world where winners take everything, and the rest take nothing.

A dying writer watches his wife fall in love with another man. A bullfighter returns to the ring long after his courage has left him. A waiter in a Spanish cafe contemplates the emptiness of "nothing" as he waits for a suicidal customer to leave. Across fourteen stories, Hemingway returns to his familiar themes—courage, grace under pressure, the brutality of love—but the light has gone out. These are stories written by a man who has seen too much, drunk too much, and lost too much. The famous Hemingway terseness is here, but so is something new: a weary acceptance that sometimes, no matter how hard you try, you lose.

This is Hemingway at his most raw and unsparing: a collection about the moments when grace fails, when courage is not enough, and when the only thing left to do is admit defeat. Winner Take Nothing is not for the faint of heart—but for those who can bear it, it is unforgettable.

• Hemingway's final short story collection published in his lifetime (1933)

• Includes the classic stories "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," "The Light of the World," and "The Gambler, the Nun, and the Radio"

• The title reflects Hemingway's deepening pessimism during the years between A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bell Tolls

Available in multiple formats:

• Paperback & Hardcover: Beautifully designed print editions presenting the complete, unabridged text made to last.

• Ebook: DRM-free EPUB compatible with Kindle, Kobo, Apple Books, and all major e-readers.

• Audiobook: Professionally narrated, complete and unabridged, available on all major audiobook platforms.

A beautifully crafted edition for your shelf, your device, or your ears—or the perfect gift for anyone who knows that sometimes, the only victory is admitting you have lost.

About the Author

Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) was an American novelist, short story writer, and journalist, widely regarded as one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. Born in Oak Park, Illinois, he served as an ambulance driver on the Italian front in World War I. Winner Take Nothing was published in 1933, following his celebrated collections In Our Time (1925) and Men Without Women(1927). The collection received mixed reviews at the time, with some critics finding it too bleak and repetitive. However, it contains some of his most enduring short fiction, including "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place," which remains a touchstone of modern American literature. His other major works include The Sun Also Rises (1926), A Farewell to Arms (1929), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940), and The Old Man and the Sea (1952). He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. Hemingway died by suicide in 1961.