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Rating: 
Summary: if you like arrogance
Review: i bought this book to learn a little more about bullfighting. you get that but you have to wade through the author's view of the world to get to it. for every sentence that will help you understand the toreo you have to read 5 pages of the author's view on life, art and other. i don't really care about his views and wanted more professional insight. their is no glossary to help with the hundreds of terms. he defines the word one time and if you get confused on the word later, you have to flip back to find the definition. he gives the reason for this by saying he is writing for an educated audience. he then proceeds through the rest of the book to look down his nose at the reader as though their is no way the reader is as smart as him. he bashes Hemingway which i did not like. to hear him tell it he is smarter and a better writer than Hemingway. i am more interested in this subject as a hobby right now than any other and i had to force my way through this one. still looking for a good one
Rating: 
Summary: BULLFIGHTING -- PAGEANTRY & BRAVERY
Review: I love bullfighting. This book gives an excellent overview of the history, the creation and the techniques matadors use in the deadly art of bullfighting. Famous matadors such as Manolete, Joselito and Belmonte are made familiar to the lay audience. Bullfighting is an art. Some people like ballet, I like BULLFIGHTING! There are many players in the arena. The picador (the "picker") sits on a large horse with a spear in hand. The horse wears a padded cover so as to be protected from the bull when the picador stabs him. The bandillieros are the men who stick darts in the raging bull. The bull's neck tendons are severed so that the injured animal runs with his head at a lower angle. The matador (literally, the "killer") dons a traje de luces (suit of lights) and, in a deft show of bravery and fancy footwork, uses several cape manuevers (all of which are described in this book) before ultimately killing the bull with his sword. The more cape manuevers the matador can display, the braver he is regarded and the more exciting and intense the bullfight. Papa Hemingway's book, "A Death in the Afternoon" is a nice lay effort, but he clearly does not have the underlying information about bullfighting nor does he appear to understand the rationale for it. He appreciates this sport. Many people feel bullfighting is cruel to the bull. Bullfight aficionados feel that what takes place in a slaughter house is far more gory than anything that takes place in the arena. After all, a bull is just steak and leather. Ole! I love bullfighting!
Rating:
Summary: BALLET OF BRAVERY
Review: I love bullfighting. This excellent book provides the lay audience with good factual material about the history of the fine art of bullfighting. The best parts of the book are the parts covering the matador's manuevers with the cape. The more the matador is able to demonstrate his bravery in the arena, the higher the matador is regarded by the public. Bullfighting is really a show of bravery and the pageantry is beautiful. A picador ("picker") sits on a padded horse and impales the bull with the spear. The bandilleros are a group of men who precede the matador into the arena and they impale the bull with darts. The bull's neck tendons are severed so that when he charges, his head will be at a much lower angle. The matador is the last to enter into the arena. He must show his bravery by the number of cape manuevers he is able to demonstrate during his time with the bull. The more dangerous the showmanship and the closer the bull gets to the matador, the braver the matador appears. The bull is stabbed to death by the matador's sword. This final act ends the bullfight. The matador represents virility and power and many people vicariously enjoy his show of bravery. Many people who have not been exposed to bullfights feel that the sport is cruel and in one case someone called it "sado-masochistic." What happens in a slaughter house is much more gruesome than what happens in the arena. Bulls are just steak and leather. Bullfighting is a wonderful way to applaud bravery and let off steam. Bullfighting is a series of deft motions and conquering death by killing the lethal enemy, i.e., the bull. Many people like ballet and many others love bullfighting and even more enjoy both. I enjoy a good bullfight.
Rating:
Summary: Beginners Guide to the Corrida
Review: Mr McCormick has updated his classic guide to bullfighting from the 1960's. As a beginner's guide it is indispensible, giving a full history of the corrida, and putting the traditions in their true social perspective, which will probably come as a shock to the animal rights people. The author collaborated with a celebrated matador in compiling the book, and even learned toreo, so there is great authority behind what he says. The illustrations, by a talented Colombian artist, are clear, and all the terms are explained. There is surely no better introduction to this noble art.
Rating: 
Summary: Snobish
Review: There are two major flaws that make this book at times unreadable, and at times unbearable. The first problem is a conscious decision by the author not to include a glossary of terms in the back. The word is defined only once, "From that point on, we use that phrase in Spanish in a missionary effort to encourage the non-Spanish speaker to associate the word with the concept." In other words, the author is going to make the reader learn Spanish bullfight terms. But oh so many terms, every possible term ever that ever applied to the bullfight, a staggering number of terms. The first 180 pages is a minefield of Spanish terms. What is so maddening, is that if you find a term on page 60 that hasn't been used since page 20, you look up the term in the index, find it is referenced to page 20, turn to page 20, and maybe it is defined in the footnote, or maybe you have to reread the entire page to find the definition, or maybe you find that, as I did several times, that although page 20 is the first use of the term, it is not defined anywhere. The author is not so much trying to teach as he is trying to show off, and the author's ego is the real theme of this book. That covers the first 180 pages; the last 90 pages are worse, because of the second major flaw in the book: The author's snobish and elitsit attitude that no one can enjoy a bullfigt unless they know as much as he does, and anyone enjoying a bullfight who does not know as much is a simple peon or one of the easily duped masses; furthermore just about everybody who ever wrote anything about bullfighting was wrong. McCormick tries to list every book and author and what was wrong and how it could have been better if they had only known as much as McCormick. If you notice the book review section above, the name Hemingway is mentioned is mentioned 4 times. That is because McCormick has an obsession to prove that Hemingway's work about bullfighting was not really that good after all. It is apparent that McCormick wants to be the new Boss of Bullfighting, it becomes comical how he goes out of is way to knock down Hemingway in this book constantly. If you see at least 4 or 5 bullfights a year, this book may have some value to you. There is technical information on bulls and bull breading, the exact names of passes and styles, but it is buried far below the authors ego; you'll have to work to make it useful. I have read Hemingway's Death In The Afternoon, it's the best book so far for understanding bullfighting; unless you live in Spain or Mexico, don't bother with this one.
Rating:
Summary: Snobish
Review: There are two major flaws that make this book at times unreadable, and at times unbearable. The first problem is a conscious decision by the author not to include a glossary of terms in the back. The word is defined only once, "From that point on, we use that phrase in Spanish in a missionary effort to encourage the non-Spanish speaker to associate the word with the concept." In other words, the author is going to make the reader learn Spanish bullfight terms. But oh so many terms, every possible term ever that ever applied to the bullfight, a staggering number of terms. The first 180 pages is a minefield of Spanish terms. What is so maddening, is that if you find a term on page 60 that hasn't been used since page 20, you look up the term in the index, find it is referenced to page 20, turn to page 20, and maybe it is defined in the footnote, or maybe you have to reread the entire page to find the definition, or maybe you find that, as I did several times, that although page 20 is the first use of the term, it is not defined anywhere. The author is not so much trying to teach as he is trying to show off, and the author's ego is the real theme of this book. That covers the first 180 pages; the last 90 pages are worse, because of the second major flaw in the book: The author's snobish and elitsit attitude that no one can enjoy a bullfigt unless they know as much as he does, and anyone enjoying a bullfight who does not know as much is a simple peon or one of the easily duped masses; furthermore just about everybody who ever wrote anything about bullfighting was wrong. McCormick tries to list every book and author and what was wrong and how it could have been better if they had only known as much as McCormick. If you notice the book review section above, the name Hemingway is mentioned is mentioned 4 times. That is because McCormick has an obsession to prove that Hemingway's work about bullfighting was not really that good after all. It is apparent that McCormick wants to be the new Boss of Bullfighting, it becomes comical how he goes out of is way to knock down Hemingway in this book constantly. If you see at least 4 or 5 bullfights a year, this book may have some value to you. There is technical information on bulls and bull breading, the exact names of passes and styles, but it is buried far below the authors ego; you'll have to work to make it useful. I have read Hemingway's Death In The Afternoon, it's the best book so far for understanding bullfighting; unless you live in Spain or Mexico, don't bother with this one.
Rating:
Summary: if you like arrogance
Review: This book was written because the author wanted a book credit to his name, not to inform the public. There is a lot of valuable information that one has to dig for among the literary mish mash.
Rating:
Summary: Toreo arrogance
Review: This book was written because the author wanted a book credit to his name, not to inform the public. There is a lot of valuable information that one has to dig for among the literary mish mash.
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