Into the Arena

Alexander Fiske-Harrison has spent a year travelling with bullfighters to watch them work in the bullrings and ranches of Spain. Along the way he has entered the ring and ran with the bulls in Pamplona and trained with world famous matador Eduardo Davila Miura and is on a personal quest to fight a bull in the ring with the aim of winning. 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 a sport as played for centuries and of the arguments that dog it today.

ISBN 1846683351   Pages 256 ISBN13 9781846683350 (What's this?)   Weight (grammes) 363 Publisher Profile Books Ltd   Published in London Imprint Profile Books Ltd   Height (mm) 216 Format Paperback   Width (mm) 135 Publication date 26 May 2011   Spine width (mm) 25 DEWEY 791.820946   Academic level General DEWEY edition DC22

"'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"

The central deceit of this book is that the author was embroiled in a 'philosophical' ethical battle over the rights and wrongs of this ritual killing circus. That is transparently nothing more than a ruse to allow him to propagandise on behalf of something that deeply, deeply turns him on, while maintaining a sanctimonious air of detached enquiry.ltbrgt A book full of sophistry emphasising 'culture' 'art' 'theatre' and 'bravery' does nothing conceal the central question - can it ever be acceptable to torment and torture a captive animal with a spear, harpoons, swords and daggers for pleasure? Does anyone really need Fiske Harrison to answer THAT?ltbrgt Please don't think of buying until you've read this, definitive review in the Times Literary Supplement.ltbrgthttp//www.the-tls.co.uk/tls/public/article786066.eceltbrgt Truly a nasty work of egomania and solipsism.ltbrgtPS. The bull he manages to mutilate but can't quite kill - is infact a waist high baby - with its horns cut blunt. - Robert Pittam

The central deceit of this book is that the author was embroiled in a 'philosophical' ethical battle over the rights and wrongs of this ritual killing circus. That transparently nothing more than a ruse to allow him to propagandise on behalf of something that deeply, deeply turns him on, while maintaining a sanctimonious air of detached enquiry.ltbrgt A book full of sophistry emphasising 'culture' 'art' 'theatre' and 'bravery' does nothing conceal the central question - can it ever be acceptable to torment and torture a captive animal with a spear, harpoons, swords and daggers for pleasure? Does anyone really need Fiske Harrison to answer THAT?ltbrgt Please don't think of buying until you've read this, definitive review in the Times Literary Supplement.ltbrgt Truly a nasty work of egomania and solipsism.ltbrgtPS. The bull he manages to mutilate but can't quite kill - is infact a waist high baby - with its horns cut blunt. - Robert Pittam



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