Or I'll Dress You in Mourning Mass Market Paperback – September 1, 1969

The book is well written. Good research. I saw El Cordobe's in Madrid Spain in the mid 60's.He was an outstanding matador, with a long and glorious career.

I never knew much about El Cordobes. This book gives one a true feeling of what it’s like to be poor and always hungry. How lucky and privileged many of us are in the USA.

I read a hardback copy of this book in 1970 and enjoyed it so I purchased the the kindle edition to reread it. It is a very good and well written book with a couple of minor flaws. The authors try to put Manuel Benitez in the context of the changes Spain was undergoing during his formative years. They do a good job of this but occasionally they lose the main character. If you want modern Spanish history and culture there is a fair amount here and it seems to be accurate. I was in Spain in the 60s and saw El Codobes bullfight. The scenes of his youth and the description of his fighting are excellent. Another minor flaw is the pictures that were in the original book have been removed and are missed.However, if you are a fan or want to know more about the corrida then read this book. It is enjoyable. Be aware that the authors, for all their history and cultural scenes, never really address the changes in bullfighting from the classic style of Manolete to the modern style that evolved in the 50s and beyond.

If you like a great story. Want to learn a little history without having to take notes or blow up your brain. Are you going to Spain? Read this book. Do you believe that anything is possible and need life affirmation? Read this book. Everyperson I've given this book to has said the same things, "Amazing and Thnak You." You may not like bull fighting but you will understand it a little better. It's one thing to be in the audience and another to be in the bull ring looking at 1400lb of fury. Does courage enter into this dislogue? Does culture enter into this conversaton? This now is my prejudice when I have to ask " What is more savage and brutal? People paying to see humans beating themselves bloody in a cage or people paying to see a ritual where a bull is killed and it's flesh is donated to an orphanage. Fighting bulls are bred for ferocity and are only fought once. One man or woman dancing a dance of courage and death. It's pretty bloody and brutal no doubt. So read the book and have a strong opinion either pro or con. But you'll love the book.

Collins and Lapierre have structured an excellent and inspiring book which follows the career of Manuel Benitez as he sets out to become the premier bullfighter in Spain, pitting his courage, ambition and self-belief against overwhelming odds .It opens in Madrid where Benitez, "El Cordorbes", prepares for his acceptance as a fully fledged bullfighter in the Plaza de Torres. A, s the day unfolds the story is interspersed with the various events which have led him to this appointment with his destiny. From his birth and family, prior to the Spanish revolution, through that and the impact it has on subsequent events. The chapters are interspersed with the reflections of those who were intimately involved with Matador at each stage in his career.Unfortunately, I found the proof-reading lacking, such as words containing "r" followed by "n" invariably being printed as "m" which was distracting.

Reminds me of great bullfight I saw with El Cordobes in Nogales, Sonora, about 71-72. Fearless. Sat on bull's nose, bull raised head quickly, Cordobes did flip over bull's back. Another bull Cordobes waived off picador, fought bull with great passes, some on his knees. Appealed to crowd to spare the bull's life which it did. Crowd went crazy. Last bull neatly killed with one sword stroke.

I read this book 40 years ago while I was stationed in the US air force in Spain. I recently ordered it to read again and it still is such a wonderful powerful book of Spain. El Cordobes was the Joe Namath of bull fighting with a flamboyant style that just outraged the old traditionalists of this sport. This books' about much more than his exploits in the ring. It's about the Spanish civil war a horrible tragedy in the 1930's in that beleaguered country. Also the aftermath of the war and the depression that followed. His first love and those dangerous nights under the moonlight learning to fight the bulls as his only apprenticeship into the ring. I was there in Spain during some of his era and he was a true superstar who could stop the entire country gathered around TV sets when he hit the ring. You'll have to get this book and read for yourself. You'll never forget it ever.

I bought this as a used book but the font was so small that I was straining my eyes trying to read it. So I ended up buying the e-book and now I can increase the font size with that feature on my Kindle app on my iPad. This is a great book and I wonder why it has never been something more popular as with other books. If I were a high school administrator I would put this on the list with other books I read in high school such as The Tale of Two Cities, the Sun Also Rises, and the Old Man and the Sea. Unless you are old fashioned and like to have the hard copy book in your hands, buy the e-book because it is so much easier to read and takes up no room on your bookshelf - except that I now put my iPad on my bookshelf!

Delivered promptly and efficiently. A great read.

I enjoyed this many years after its publication. That Manuel is still alive is amazing. I read Death in the Afternoon many years ago and this emphasized, in a way that Hemingway did not, the raw courage of Spaniards.

One of the most inspirational stories ive ever read.

I borrowed this book from a friend years ago. It was an incredible story and I just had to own it.

Almost unbelievable story about an almost unbelievable person. Whatever one's views on bull-fighting, this is the one book that actually explains how modern bull-fighting works, from the low-point just after the Spanish Civil War, to the high point of the triumph of El Cordobés. If a few bulls get hurt along the way, the book also covers the terrible wounds and deaths of many humans, in a tragedy that is trumpeted in the title.As a work of research and literary history, this is also a remarkable work, stringing the threads of a family narrative into the development of the local and national sport without losing any of the emotional intensity that was El Cordobés' life.