My old pal Ric Polanksy’s latest book, “Ole! Capturing the Passion of Bullfighters and Aficionados in the 21st Century” is out and available on Amazon.
Ric tells me that: Within it’s pages you’ll find the best photos on this planet concerning “the bulls” along with some very erudite writings on the subject. Hemingway’s grandson has contributed along with Jim Merys who did the biography on the English matador Henry Higgins and many more. Well worth owning such an item to show your friends. I’ve helped on this book and made a considerable contribution in writing and photos.
Now, I’m no bull fighting apologist, but this book isn’t about bulllfighting, it’s about the passion and the colour and the life that makes the Spanish so defensive of this.
How can I put this? If you can´t understand why people love bullfighting, you’ll never be able to disentangle them from it. After all, nobody goes to a bullfight just to see an abattoir, they go for event. And this book may be the closest thing to understanding that event you´ll find without actually immersing yourself into that culture.
This book isn’t about bullfighting, it’s about tauromaquia. And España. And life and death. And, just possibly, about capturing the spirit of a more innocent age, before the modern world finally sweeps it away, and turns us all into bland Euro-citizens.
‘This book isn’t about bullfighting, it’s about tauromaquia. And España. And life and death. And, just possibly, about capturing the spirit of a more innocent age, before the modern world finally sweeps it away, and turns us all into bland Euro-citizens’…
Well said, David.