Blood Sport: A Social History of Spanish Bullfighting

In "Blood Sport", Timothy Mitchell describes how public animal slaughter came to occupy a central place in the world view of one Western nation. Unlike books that romanticize matadors or mystify their "art", "Blood Sport" restores bullfighting to its social and historical context. It explores both the primitive passions of rural fiestas and the harsh process of selection that lies behind the urban bullfight as we know it today. The text attempts to unravel the strands of religion, class conflict, nationalism, political corruption and machismo that make bullfighting a microcosm of Spanish society. The physical and psychological trauma of matadors are also probed, and an engrossing discussion of blood sport in ancient Rome enables the reader to grasp the "pornographic" fascination that bullfighting holds for masses of spectators.