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

by Ray Mouton (Author)

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

Product Description
PAMPLONA is the definitive book on this ancient fiesta. James Michener and other authorities and literary figures have echoed the sentiments of Senior ABC Correspondent Robert Trout, a forty year fiesta veteran, who wrote, "After this no one need read nor write anything of Pamplona again."

At 256 pages with over 130 images taken by extraordinary photographers, the work is a chronicle in a contemporary setting, presented in a historical context, providing the history, customs, and traditions of fiesta. An exposition on the running of the bulls compliments an essay on bullfighting, and a portion of the volume is devoted to tracing the American experience from Hemingway's first fiesta in 1923 to the present.

Michener wrote "This is the next best thing to going to Pamplona itself." Barnaby Conrad who has written more books on bullfighting than anyone, stated that "With this book there is no longer any need to attend the fabled fiesta for it is all in these pages."

Ray Mouton, first attended fiesta in 1970, and he worked ten years on this book that writer Curtis Wilkie describes as "a rollicking dance in anarchy as well as a thoughtful meditation of life and death." Pulitzer winners Tyler Bridges and Robert Olen Butler endorsed the book with Butler adding, "Papa Hemingway himself would have loved this book." Writer Eammon O'Neill says "this book conveys fiesta in a way that no other book has ever done, including Hemingway's."

Renowned novelist Ernest Gaines says he could not put the book down and that it "puts one in the encierro so immediately that he becomes one of the runners."

A fan and friend of Hemingway's who fought bulls over forty years, Matador and artist John Fulton wrote that "This book will last as long as Hemingway's and for the same reasons."

See all Editorial Reviews

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.com Sales Rank: #370,446 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

"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.

4 of 4 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

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 Ray Mouton's Pamplona is--Pamplona, October 15, 2002

By A Customer

To say that I merely enjoyed the book is an understatement of epic proportions. Everything about the fiesta is in the pages of Mouton's book and the wonderful photographs that illustrate the work are as beautiful as the author's prose.

For those who have celebrated this fiesta, this book will be a treasured memento of their experience - the book truly explains things that we have seen, thought and felt in Pamplona in a way in which we have not been able to explain them to others, or even to ourselves.

For those who have not been to Pamplona but have an interest in attending the fiesta, this book will enhance their fiesta experience immeasurably. One should not consider planning a trip to Pamplona without first buying and reading this book.

This book is difficult to describe and impossible to categorize. To me, it is at the same time - documentary, fiction, essay, travel, adventure, and philosophy. The photographs could stand alone as a photo essay of fiesta. The writing is excellent.

Anonymous
Los Angeles, CA