For Whom the Bell Tolls is a novel written by Ernest
Hemingway, first
published in 1940. It
tells the story of the young Robert Jordan, an American in the International Brigades attached to a communist guerilla unit during the time of the Spanish Civil War. The character is an expert in the use of explosives, and is assigned to blow up a bridge during an attack on the city of Segovia. This novel is widely regarded to be among
Hemingway's greatest works. The character is considered to be inspired by Hemingway's own experiences as an ambulance driver in the Spanish Civil War. The novel graphically describes the brutality of war and the lives of the men who fight. The book also touches on the issues of the war, including the struggle against facism.