Pamplona: Running the Bulls, Bars and Barrios in Fiesta de San Fermin [Paperback]

Ray Mouton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2002

This is the definitive book on Pamplona's fiesta and running of the bulls, praised by James Michener and other Pulitzer Prize winners. This chronicle and history has 256 pages and over 130 photographs taken by internationally acclaimed photographers. The volume also essays the American Experience from Hemingway to the present.

Editorial Reviews

Review

After this no one need read nor write anything of Pamplona again. -- ROBERT TROUT, Former Senior Correspondent for ABC

The photos and Ray Mouton’s words are richly evocative. Papa Hemingway himself would have loved this book. -- ROBERT OLEN BUTLER, Pulitzer winning author of A Good Scent From a Strange Mountain

This book is the next best thing to going to Pamplona itself. -- JAMES A. MICHENER, Pulitzer winning author of Iberia

This book will last as long as Hemingway’s and for the same reasons. -- JOHN FULTON, matador, artist, author of Bullfighting

With this book there is no longer any need to attend the fabled fiesta for it is all here. -- BARNABY CONRAD, author of Encyclopedia of Bullfighting

From the Inside Flap

In a city centuries old, an unbridled explosion of merriment takes center stage for nine days each year. Danger and death dance in the streets each morning as six fighting bulls race toward the bullring where they will die in the afternoon.

Champagne corks skyrocket as revelers celebrate a saint martyred hundreds of years ago. Bands play in the cobblestone streets all night, and barrooms swell with adventurous travelers from all corners of the globe.

Pamplona's Fiesta has been described as "the best week you can live on the planet," and this book takes you to the epicenter of the grand festival in Spain's Basque country.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Quinn Publishing (September 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0972122303
• ISBN-13: 978-0972122306
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #765,257 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At Last! The Essence of Fiesta, November 24, 2002

By 

Paul Bower (Peckham, London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pamplona: Running the Bulls, Bars and Barrios in Fiesta de San Fermin (Paperback)

I have been to the Fiesta of San Fermin every year since 1976. I studied and worked in the city, speak Spanish and know the place quite well. This is quite simply the best thing written on the fiesta of Pamplona in the English language since Mitchener put pen to paper. Why? There are three reasons.

It is accurate. Here you will find ancient history and modern day lore that is plainly written and true. Mouton has gone back to the historical sources and not relied on hearsay. Of course there are anecdotes about the lives of Americans known to him who have passed through fiesta, such as the legendary Philadelphia born bullfigher John Fulton. But in this book the City of Pamplona and its inhabitants are the stars of the show. He describes the Amercian influence as "a drop of Coca-Cola in a barrel of wine". Perfect.

It is beautifully written. The reader will find plain language but also subtle and moving prose poetry. He makes the whole experience come alive. Not just about the bullfight and the daily bull running but also the little things such as the booming of the drums and the way the dawn creeps up on the unsuspecting revellers. Page after page I smiled and thought.
" I wish I had written that".

It is superbly edited and designed. The photographs are world class.

My advice is simple. Don't buy a copy. Buy three. One for yourself, one for a friend who loves Spain and one for a friend who has never been.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Benchmark Has Been Set, January 9, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Pamplona: Running the Bulls, Bars and Barrios in Fiesta de San Fermin (Paperback)

"A Day in the Life of Fiesta" is another way to think of Mouton's account of the sometimes-overwhelming sensory experience of the Fiesta of San Fermin, a.k.a. the Running of the Bulls. The author's descriptive and literary talents allow one to vicariously experience both a day and the entire week of the infamous fiesta. It is perhaps cliché to say that Mouton has hit a home run or a bull's-eye with this book, but it is also highly accurate. I've attended fiesta many times over the past two decades and can confidently say that Mouton has brought this world-renowned fiesta to life with words - and as any veteran fiesta-goer will tell you, this is no easy accomplishment.

In reading this book you will come as close as possible to feeling the immense energy of fiesta, of smelling, tasting, dancing, hearing and rejoicing in the fiesta experience without actually being there. For veterans it will spark fiesta flashbacks and a longing to return. For potential fiesta goers it may just provide enough of a description to catalyze you into finally buying that plane ticket.

I first attended fiesta upon graduating college and those first few years were a blur of collegiate-style binging and revelry. Luckily I could remember enough about each year that I kept coming back. I had been infected with the fiesta spirit. In hindsight my only wish is that I had had a book like this one to read back then. What has taken so many years to learn and appreciate about the joys and beauty of fiesta would have been learned much faster with this account of and guide to the fiesta experience.

Most people who have attended fiesta will usually avoid trying to explain the experience to the potential traveler and will respond with "Just go and see for yourself. You will love it." At last there is an excellent piece of writing to do justice to the "what is it like?" question. Mouton's literary accomplishment is highly commendable. The benchmark has been set. Veteran fiesta goers will have many "ah-ha" moments as they read and potential newcomers now have a starting platform from which they can maximize their first fiesta experience.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Love Letter, November 23, 2002

By 

Larry Mazlack (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pamplona: Running the Bulls, Bars and Barrios in Fiesta de San Fermin (Paperback)

Some come to Pamplona in early July and fall in love with a festival, the Festival of San Fermin. Some poor souls go away without San Fermin capturing their heart. Many arrange their lives around their return to the eight days of Fiesta. This book is almost a love letter to Fiesta.

I recognize the feeling. I have not missed a day for over 25 years. Although slower, I still run with the bulls at every opportunity.

Ray Mouton enthusiastically came the first time and now returns time after time. Mouton presents a mix of factual and personal comments, reminiscences, and anecdotes about some of his friends. Through a personal prism, this book provides a good way to understand the attachment that someone can come to have to an annual event.