About this title: Hemingway's non-fiction account of bullfighting as an art form reflects his fascination with the ritual of it, and with death and violence.
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Description: Acceptable. May have wear or tear to spine, edges and or cover. Creases in spine. Bent/rounded corners. May have highlighting/notes. read more
Description: Good. 0684801450 Book could have a shelf wear, or a bump, or sunfade to edges. These are new unread books from the publisher with one of these conditions. See are feedback as customers are satisfied in how we grade our books. Has remainder mark. Fast shipping and customer service is our number 1 priority! read more
Edition: Edition Unstated
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Scribner, Old Tappan, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Date Published: 1960
ISBN-13:9780684717968ISBN:0684717964
Description: Very Good- As issued No Jacket. Spine lean, corner bumps, small stain on the bottom edge of the book, corner crease front cover, front cover curls up a bit, and other light shopwear. Text is clean. This is an older edition probably from the 1970's(2.95 cover price). read more
Edition: Reprint Edition
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: Charles Scribner's Sons
Date Published: 1960
ISBN-13:9780684717968ISBN:0684717964
Description: Very Good+ No Jacket Issued. This is the Reprint Edition of Hemingway's classic book. It is a later printing. This is a soft cover Trade Paperback book. The condition of the book is Very Good+, no jacket issued. This book is in wonderful shape. The cover is bright, and it is nice and clean. The binding is tight, and the spine is straight. This book has a great collection of B&W photos. The pages are very clean. No inscriptions, writing or marks. Great Book! 485 pages. read more
Edition: 1st Edition 12th Printing PB
Binding: Pictorial Trade PB
Publisher: Scribner, Old Tappan, New Jersey, U.S. A
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780684801452ISBN:0684801450
Description: NEW. No Jacket Issued. NEW. Book has slighest of shelf wear/flar. Delivery Confirmation included. read more
Edition: Paperback reprint
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: New York
Date Published: 1960
Description: Light rubbing to covers, mainly a fine clean copy. 8vo. paperback. Bullfighting/literature. With over 80 pages of photographs depicting bullfighting in Spain. read more
"This book is better in what it intends to do rather than what it achieves. One should think that of all writers, Hemingway would be the ideal person to delve into the beauty and majesty of bull-fighting, and he certainly was knowledgible. The issue for me comes for several angles.
First, the book is in desperate need of structuring, and the aid of a skillful editor to help guide Hemingway. Also, there is a lot of critiquing of specific fighters that are repetative and mean nothing to those nowadays. In fact this is an issue for any contemporary reader: much of the book is designed as a travel guide for Americans or ex-patriots at the time of its publication. The book would have been better and have had longevity if it was instead a poetic and heroic study of those who fight (human and animal) and the themes of why these acts are important. There are brief moments of such discussion but they come across as broad statements that are not investigated. As detailed as he gets about the elements of the fights, what he somehow misses is the feeling of the movements and (this is a big one) what it is about the fights that are so entrancing. He writes from that point of view that you must agree with him and if you don't than you aren't worth his time. In fact, he should be able to convert those who wouldn't expect to like the subject. He very briefly touches on such connections as how bull-fighting is a metaphor for art and Spain itself, though I wish he worked this more thoroughly
In addition to all the above there is the big issue of the narrator's voice, i.e. Hemingway himself. His voice is pompous, holier than thou, and extremely sexist. There were many times while reading it I felt certain I was reading a parody of Hemingway rather than the true article.
All this being said, the book did make me interested in seeing a bull fight, which is much of the point of it. The problem was that this interest started early and unfortunately started to dwindle as the book went along."
"Even though the bulls and matadors discussed by Hemmingway in this book are long gone, this is a must read before going to a bull fight in Spain. Hemmingway is quintessential Hemmingway--comparing the enjoyment of watching a bullfight to learning to drink wine. He also laments the loss of many a great matador to syphlis. He details the three acts of a bull fight and the stages a bull must pass through. Actually, he details a lot about the bull fight, from the breed characteristics of bulls from different areas of Spain to critiques of the crowds in various bullrings. Before reading this, I was not looking forward to seeing a bull slaughtered at my first bullfight, but I do think I'll appreciate the beauty and art involved in the ritual after finishing this book. I'm certainly looking forward to it now."
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