Originally published: New York : Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1995, c1980. 1st Scribner Paperback Fiction ed.

[This novel] is one of [the author's] most enduring works. Told in language of great simplicity and power, it is the story of an old Cuban fisherman, down on his luck, and his supreme ordeal -- a relentless, agonizing battle with a giant marlin far out in the Gulf Stream. Here [the author] recasts, in ... contemporary style, the classic theme of courage in the face of defeat, of personal triumph won from loss. Written in 1952, this ... successful novella confirmed his power and presence in the literary world and played a large part in his winning the 1954 Nobel Prize for literature.-Back cover.