Part sports writing, part travelogue, this is a portrait of Spain, its people, and their passion for a beautiful yet deadly spectacle. A brilliant observer in the tradition of Adam Gopnik and Paul Theroux, Edward Lewine reveals a Spain few outsiders have seen. There's nothing more Spanish than bullfighting, and nothing less like its stereotype. For matadors and aficionados, it is not a blood sport but an art, an ancient subculture steeped in ritual, machismo, and the feverish attentions of fans and the press. Lewine explains Spain and the art of the bulls by spending a bullfighting season traveling Spanish highways with the celebrated matador Francisco Rivera Ordónez, following Fran, as he’s known, through every region and social stratum. Fran’s great-grandfather was a famous bullfighter and the inspiration for Hemingway’s matador in The Sun Also Rises. Fran’s father was also a star matador, until a bull took his life shortly before Fran’s eleventh birthday. Fran is blessed and haunted by his family history. Formerly a top performer himself, Fran’s reputation has slipped, and as the season opens he feels intense pressure to live up to his legacy amid tabloid scrutiny in the wake of his separation from his wife, a duchess. But Fran perseveres through an eventful season of early triumph, serious injury, and an unlikely return to glory. A New York Times Editor’s Choice Praise for Death and the Sun “May be the most in-depth, incisively written guide to bullfighting available in English. Every drunken sophomore riding the rails to Pamplona this summer ought to keep a volume in his backpack.” —New York Times Book Review “Lewine demonstrates knowledge of and respect for the matador’s dangerous profession. E also explores the history of Spaine and the charms and contradictions evident within the country’s exceptionally varied cultures and people.” —Boston Globe

'Whether or not the artistic quality of the bullfight outweighs the moral question of the animals' suffering is something that each person must decide for themselves - as they must decide whether the taste of a steak justifies the death of a cow. But if we ignore the possibility that one does outweigh the other, we fall foul of the charge of self-deceit and incoherence in our dealings with animals.' Alexander Fiske-Harrison In a remarkable and controversial book Fiske-Harrison follows the tracks of a whole bullfighting year in Spain. He trains and takes part in the sport himself. He gives us memorable portraits of bull-fighters and bulls, of owners, trainers and fans - of a whole country. Fiske-Harrison offers a fully rounded and involving portrait of an art as performed for centuries and of the arguments that dog it today.

Ernest Hemingway, best-known to layman and aficionado alike, in his fiction described bullfighting, or "toreo, "as a cross between romantic risk and a drunken party, or as an elaborate substitute for war, ending in wounds or death. Although his descriptions of the "beauty"in "toreo "are lyrical, they are short on imaginative creation of how such beauty, through techniques and discipline, comes about. Hemingway may have sculpted a personal mystique of "toreo "but, in the opinion of some, he ignored or slighted the full, unique nature of the subject. In "Bullfighting: Art, Technique, and Spanish Society "John McCormick sorts through the complexities of "toreo, "to suggest the aesthetic, social, and moral dimensions of an art that is geographically limited, but universal when seen in round. While having felt the attraction of Hemingway's approach, McCormick knew that he was being seduced by elements that had little to do with "toreo. "To try to right Hemingway's distortions, he named the first edition of this book "The Complete Aficionado, "but then realized that the volume was directed at more than just the spectator: "BullFighting "is written from the point of view of the "torerro, "as opposed to the usual spectator's impressions and enthusiasm. With the help of a retired "matador de toros, "Mario Sevilla Mascarenas, who taught McCormick the rudiments of "toreo "as well as the emotions and discipline essential to survival, the authors rescue "'toreo "from romantic cliches. They probe the anatomy of the matador's training and technique, provide a past-and-present survey of the traditions of the "corrida, "and furnish dramatic portraits of such famous figures as Manolete, Joselito, Belmonte, and Ordonez. Here then is an informed analysis and critique of the origins and myths of "toreo "and a survey of the novels it has inspired. Defending the faith in a lively as well as clear and discerning manner, this volume provides a committed and vivid approach to the rich history, ritual, and symbolism of the bullfight as it currently exists.

The matador flourishes his cape, the bull charges, the crowd cheers: this is the image of Spain best known to the world. But while the bull has long been a symbol of Spanish culture, it carries more meaning than has previously been recognized. In this book, anthropologist Carrie B. Douglass views bulls and bullfighting as a means of discussing fundamental oppositions in Spanish society and explains the political significance of those issues for one of Europe's most regionalized countries. In talking about bulls and bullfighting, observes Douglass, one ends up talking not only about differences in region, class, and politics in Spain but also about that country's ongoing struggle between modernity and tradition. She relates how Spaniards and outsiders see bullfighting as representative of a traditional, irrational Spain contrasted with a more civilized Europe, and she shows how Spaniards' ambivalence about bullfighting is actually a way of expressing ambivalence about the loss of traditional culture in a modern world. To fully explore the symbolism of bulls and bullfighting, Douglass offers an overview of Spain's fiesta cycle, in which the bull is central. She broadly and meticulously details three different fiestas through ethnographic fieldwork conducted over a number of years, delineating the differences in festivals held in different regions. She also shows how a cycle of these fiestas may hold the key to resolving some of Spain's fundamental political contradictions by uniting the different regions of Spain and reconciling opposing political camps--the right, which holds that there is one Spain, and the left, which contends that there are many. Bulls, Bullfighting, and Spanish Identities is an intriguing study of symbolism used to examine the broader anthropological issues of identity and nationhood. Through its focus on the political discourse of bulls and bullfighting, it makes an original contribution to understanding not only Spanish politics but also Spain's place in the modern world.

Maia Wojciechowska's 1965 Newbery Medal winner about a young boy struggling with his father's legacy. Manolo was only three when his father, the great bullfighter Juan Olivar, died. But Juan is never far from Manolo's consciousness--how could he be, with the entire town of Arcangel waiting for the day Manolo will fulfill his father's legacy? But Manolo has a secret he dares to share with no one--he is a coward, without afición, the love of the sport that enables a bullfighter to rise above his fear and face a raging bull. As the day when he must enter the ring approaches, Manolo finds himself questioning which requires more courage: to follow in his father's legendary footsteps or to pursue his own destiny?

This is the story of an unlikely heroa gay man in the most masculine of worlds who triumphed over prejudice and adversity as he achieved what no American had ever accomplished, teaching even Hemingway lessons in grace, machismo, and respect.

An invitation too irresistible to refuse from the Museum of Cadiz leads archaeologist Annja Creed to the sun-drenched southern coast of Andalucia, Spain. In a region rich in Moorish and Roman ruins, she leaps at the chance to join a dig across the Bay of Cadiz, where she unearths a bronze bull statue that makes the entire trip worth every minute. Until the day after her discovery, when she sees the same artifact beside the body of a dead Spaniard, killed by the estocada, the final sword thrust used by bullfighters to bring down the bull. Whoever killed the man left clear signs of having taken something. And yet the bronze bull remained. What was so valuable the murderer chose it over a priceless artifact? How had her find come into this dead man's hands? With few leads and a growing body count, Annja's investigation takes her through a colorful world of flamenco and bullfighting to a renowned matador and an illegal—and deadly—collection of Visigoth votive crowns.