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The Death of Manolete
On Thursday, August 28, 1947, in the bull ring at the Spanish town of Linares, a thirty-year-old millionaire called Manolete (Manuel Laureano Rodriguez) and a Miura bull named Islero killed each other. Conrad recounts Manolete’s extraordinary life in The Death of Manolete, for the first time in English. He shows the breeding that made the Spanish boy, the tempering that made the young torero, the sacrifice that made the man, the girl who brought him love, the acclaim that brought him incredible success and finally its price...the undoing that began slowly and ended in one last great afternoon and in an untimely death that put out the brightest flame in Spain. Manolete fired the Latin imagination as no one had done since El Cid. He was a symbol of Latin pride, valor, and chivalry. But the crowds owned him and he did their bidding...and they had bid him to die.
155 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1958
8 people are currently reading
83 people want to read
About the author
Barnaby Conrad
63 books11 followersBarnaby Conrad, Jr. was an American artist, author, nightclub proprietor, bullfighter and boxer.
NB: Father of writer Barnaby Conrad III.
Washington Post obituary:
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/20...
NB: Father of writer Barnaby Conrad III.
Washington Post obituary:
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/20...
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 21, 2023
Nov 7, 645am ~~ Review asap.
615pm ~~ One of my projects for 2023 was to read my collection of books about bullfighting. It is one of the lists that has been neglected thanks to so many other shiny objects demanding attention, so I will most likely be rolling over a good number of the titles for 2024.
The second book I read for this project was back in June, and was another Barnaby Conrad work, called Matador. But I recently read Conrad's memoir called Name Dropping, and in that book, besides all the tales of the rich and famous who visited his San Francisco saloon in the 1950's he slipped in a few stories about the bullring.
He mentioned this book and I knew I would have to read it soon and while going though the pile on my desk, I found two others by this same author so I will see if I can get them both read this year. Just because it feels nice and tidy that way.
Anyway, sorry. I am sort of thinking 'out loud' here. Let's get to this book, right? Right.
My copy is a 2007 reprint of the original 1958 edition. The cover is a painting of Manolete done by the author. They were friends, and that may be the reason the book feels like a homage to Manolete, it is not merely a dry report of a death in the afternoon.
Since BC had been in the bullring himself, he understood the emotions involved both in the ring and in the audience. You feel it in your gut. Conrad created an intimacy that made me feel I was with Manolete every step of the way, from the first disastrous fights as a youngster to the very end when he sat upright after his goring and asked if his eyes were open...."I can't see!"....and then fell back dead.
Of course I cried.
615pm ~~ One of my projects for 2023 was to read my collection of books about bullfighting. It is one of the lists that has been neglected thanks to so many other shiny objects demanding attention, so I will most likely be rolling over a good number of the titles for 2024.
The second book I read for this project was back in June, and was another Barnaby Conrad work, called Matador. But I recently read Conrad's memoir called Name Dropping, and in that book, besides all the tales of the rich and famous who visited his San Francisco saloon in the 1950's he slipped in a few stories about the bullring.
He mentioned this book and I knew I would have to read it soon and while going though the pile on my desk, I found two others by this same author so I will see if I can get them both read this year. Just because it feels nice and tidy that way.
Anyway, sorry. I am sort of thinking 'out loud' here. Let's get to this book, right? Right.
My copy is a 2007 reprint of the original 1958 edition. The cover is a painting of Manolete done by the author. They were friends, and that may be the reason the book feels like a homage to Manolete, it is not merely a dry report of a death in the afternoon.
Since BC had been in the bullring himself, he understood the emotions involved both in the ring and in the audience. You feel it in your gut. Conrad created an intimacy that made me feel I was with Manolete every step of the way, from the first disastrous fights as a youngster to the very end when he sat upright after his goring and asked if his eyes were open...."I can't see!"....and then fell back dead.
Of course I cried.
December 19, 2022
Manolete had nothing to prove to anyone: his legacy was written in the blood of the bulls he killed; staining the sand of many arenas. But Death often plays on the pride of individuals - and that is when you enter the arena of no return. A cautionary tale - how many times will Death be cheated?
February 20, 2021
I read this in about 1964-1965, when I was 12 years old. To say that it had quite an impact on me would be an understatement... I checked it out of my school library over and over, renewing it as often as I could, and finally one time when it was due to be returned I just... didn't return it. I kept it for over a year. Can't remember how much I had to pay in overdue fines, but I paid it. Then forgot about the book completely for about 20 years, when I happened to see it in a used bookstore, and I was immediately hooked all over again. This time I wrote to the author, Barnaby Conrad, not even sure if he was still alive -- this is still back in the days before Google and whitepages.com and spokeo, etc, --- and I ended up asking a reference librarian at the Hennepin County Library if there was a phone listing and/or address listing for Barnaby Conrad. I knew he had always been living in California, so I asked the librarian to start there. The librarian found an address and a phone number, and gave them to me with a caveat that they might be out of date, but it was the most recent info they had , so I went with it. I wrote Barnaby Conrad a long, demented letter effusing with my passion for his book The Death of Manolete. I had a whole list of questions about Manolete, and Spain in the 1940s, and bullfighting. I sounded like a complete basket case, I'm sure.
Long story short: He wrote back, and we embarked on a happy correspondence which led to a friendship which lasted from 1984 until his death in 2012 at the age of 90. He was my friend, my pen pal, my writing mentor, and my cheerleader when I eventually published short stories, humor pieces, and magazine articles. I treasure his memory in my heart always, as I still treasure that book, The Death of Manolete, that first thrilled and obsessed me so long ago. Que En Paz Descanse, mi querido amigo Bernabé.
Long story short: He wrote back, and we embarked on a happy correspondence which led to a friendship which lasted from 1984 until his death in 2012 at the age of 90. He was my friend, my pen pal, my writing mentor, and my cheerleader when I eventually published short stories, humor pieces, and magazine articles. I treasure his memory in my heart always, as I still treasure that book, The Death of Manolete, that first thrilled and obsessed me so long ago. Que En Paz Descanse, mi querido amigo Bernabé.
March 1, 2008
Bullfighting! What is that about? That culture is both disturbing and attractive at the same time. Sometime in the 40's a great handsome bullfighter by the name of Manolete died in the ring - and since then has become the James Dean of that world. I remember a good friend of my parents had a huge poster announcing a bullfight with Manolete in his game room. I was strangely attracted to the image...
This very unusual book is half pictures and half text that is sort of a biography on Manolete as well as a visual fetish object of sorts. The last five pages is devoted to his death in the ring.
This very unusual book is half pictures and half text that is sort of a biography on Manolete as well as a visual fetish object of sorts. The last five pages is devoted to his death in the ring.
June 3, 2021
Superbly written book about a Legend and Great Man who sadly his own fans lead him to his own demise always asking and asking and once he was the Best they grew tired of him. A book About Beautiful Spain, It's famous Hero and great bull fighting. Illustrated with black and white photos/reenactments until the incident. Better than any Hemmingway Book.
September 4, 2019
Short, but compelling image of the man held as Spain's greatest torero. It is a perfect companion piece to the film, "The Matador's Mistress" since it redresses and corrects the movie's hollywoodian fixation on sex and the wholesome whore.
February 10, 2016
I've had this book since I was a child, it originally belonged to my father...and although I detest bull fighting, I really like this book. I like it so much, that I reread it every few years.
It is about the Torero, Manolete (Manuel Laureano Rodrigues de Sanchez), who was killed in the arena Linares, August 28, 1947 at the age of 30 by the Muira toro (that he killed) Islero.
The narrative is storylike in that it is a tale of both Islero, Manolete, and the fateful day they met and killed each other.
It is about the Torero, Manolete (Manuel Laureano Rodrigues de Sanchez), who was killed in the arena Linares, August 28, 1947 at the age of 30 by the Muira toro (that he killed) Islero.
The narrative is storylike in that it is a tale of both Islero, Manolete, and the fateful day they met and killed each other.
October 12, 2014
This is a succinct and personal biography of the great bullfighter, Manolete. It covers his life and career. However, it should not have been narrated by the author, who I am sure is a better writer.
September 15, 2018
Everything is here regarding this mythic event.
June 18, 2023
Manuel Laureano Rodríguez Sánchez, known as Manolete... 'El Monstruo' (the monster of matadors), is a fascinating biography filled with actual photographs of our subject in action. We learn of the inadequacies of Manolete along with his youthful determination. A 'retired' fighter, José Flores Camará, watched Manolete in the arena one day and signed him up. Camará became Manolete's manager and began to remold him, teaching him about the art and skills of fighting bulls from scratch. Manolete eventually became extremely popular. "People had simply never seen a man stand there with such dignity and serenity while half a ton of bull charged." Manolete became a "symbol of Spanish pride, valor, and chivalry."
Manolete went from: “He has a face that’s as dreary as a third-class funeral on a rainy day,” said one critic, “and his body is like an undriven nail” to... "Never has there been such a torero—never has there been such elegance and dignified grace in the history of bullfighting!” He was awarded ears at first, then ears and tail, and finally they had to create a new award for him—a hoof... Camará had made a genius out of a clown." Manolete ascended to the top of his trade and remained there for eight years. He became the most popular and highest paid matador in the world at that time.
Some find they accept Tauromachy as art, sport, entertainment, etc., others simply oppose it. It is said that this is a more honorable way for the great creature, the bull, to die rather than in a tiny stall with a pistol to the head. I suppose if you look at it that way, it does appear in a slightly different perspective.
The final fast-paced pages of this life story of our brave toreador will certainly keep you on your toes!
- Excerpts:
"“And they try to say there’s nothing to superstition! On the 21st of August Balañá arranged the fight, number 21 was the hotel room number in Linares, Manolete had fought 21 fights already this season, and 21 was the brand on Islero, the assassin of poor Manolo. These are forewarnings that never leave one."
"Bull breeders say that while a bull inherits its size and strength from his father, he gets his fighting heart from his mother."
"Manolete sat bolt upright. 'Doctor, are my eyes open? I can’t see!' He fell back dead... 'He killed dying, and he died killing,' said one newspaper... ... Manolete’s funeral was the largest ever witnessed in Spain. People came from all over the country to attend it... Now came the honors accorded departed royalty: from the death mask there followed heroic, glorified busts, full length statues, and hundreds of paintings."
“They kept demanding more and more of him, and more was his life, so he gave it to them.”
- Other works that may be of interest:
1. Death of a Matador by Barnaby Conrad
2. My Life as a Matador: The Autobiography of Carlos Arruza
- Note: Carlos Arruza and Manolete, "the greatest of rivals in the ring in the years of 1944 and 1946, had been enemies out of it. But one day in Valencia in 1945 they became the best of friends. Arruza tells about it in his autobiography My Life as a Matador."
Manolete went from: “He has a face that’s as dreary as a third-class funeral on a rainy day,” said one critic, “and his body is like an undriven nail” to... "Never has there been such a torero—never has there been such elegance and dignified grace in the history of bullfighting!” He was awarded ears at first, then ears and tail, and finally they had to create a new award for him—a hoof... Camará had made a genius out of a clown." Manolete ascended to the top of his trade and remained there for eight years. He became the most popular and highest paid matador in the world at that time.
Some find they accept Tauromachy as art, sport, entertainment, etc., others simply oppose it. It is said that this is a more honorable way for the great creature, the bull, to die rather than in a tiny stall with a pistol to the head. I suppose if you look at it that way, it does appear in a slightly different perspective.
The final fast-paced pages of this life story of our brave toreador will certainly keep you on your toes!
- Excerpts:
"“And they try to say there’s nothing to superstition! On the 21st of August Balañá arranged the fight, number 21 was the hotel room number in Linares, Manolete had fought 21 fights already this season, and 21 was the brand on Islero, the assassin of poor Manolo. These are forewarnings that never leave one."
"Bull breeders say that while a bull inherits its size and strength from his father, he gets his fighting heart from his mother."
"Manolete sat bolt upright. 'Doctor, are my eyes open? I can’t see!' He fell back dead... 'He killed dying, and he died killing,' said one newspaper... ... Manolete’s funeral was the largest ever witnessed in Spain. People came from all over the country to attend it... Now came the honors accorded departed royalty: from the death mask there followed heroic, glorified busts, full length statues, and hundreds of paintings."
“They kept demanding more and more of him, and more was his life, so he gave it to them.”
- Other works that may be of interest:
1. Death of a Matador by Barnaby Conrad
2. My Life as a Matador: The Autobiography of Carlos Arruza
- Note: Carlos Arruza and Manolete, "the greatest of rivals in the ring in the years of 1944 and 1946, had been enemies out of it. But one day in Valencia in 1945 they became the best of friends. Arruza tells about it in his autobiography My Life as a Matador."
June 17, 2023
A page-turning tale, details abound. A day in the life of a Matador. Controversy has always plagued this event of Tauromachy (bull-fighting - from the Greek 'tauromakhia'), and one finds they accept it as art, sport, entertainment, etc., or they oppose it. with a ticket to the 'tauromachy' event for the most inexpensive seats, as mentioned in this work, costing a person the equivalent to a month food for an entire family, we can see that it was the activity of the more well-off to observe than for those of lesser means. As we read: Tauromachy... is a ballet, "But if you make a mistake, you pay for it with an autopsy."
- Other works that may be of interest:
The Death of Manolete by Barnaby Conrad
My Life as a Matador: The Autobiography of Carlos Arruza
- Other works that may be of interest:
The Death of Manolete by Barnaby Conrad
My Life as a Matador: The Autobiography of Carlos Arruza
May 28, 2012
I decided to read this book because Pat Conroy raved about it so much in his "My Reading Life." I suspect this would have been better read as a real book rather than a kindle book because there are so many photos in it, and the regular Kindle doesn't do photos all that well. But the story is fascinating. I knew nothing about bull fighting (and have no desire to see one) but I learned a lot about bull fights and the world around bull fighting. I liked that the reader gets an opportunity to know not only the background of Manolete, but also of Isolo, the bull that killed him.
January 22, 2020
A flowery, reverential epitaph for a larger-than-life hero from the bullring's golden age. The effusive praise of Manolete's skill in the ring, in contrast with his awkwardness and melancholy outside of it, is very much a Spanish cliche, but the generous, dramatic use of real footage makes this short book an honest keepsake of the spectacle that is bullfighting.
September 8, 2011
The finest book I have ever read on the subject of bullfighting and on Manolete in particular. It is one of those books you will read through in one sitting because of the quality of the writing and the poetry of the subject matter.
April 27, 2020
Je suis tombé amoureux de ce livre ! 💖
August 23, 2023
A really enjoyable and vibrant read although I sort of wish the tittle hadn’t spoiled the ending haha
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews