02-21-2008, 02:40 AM
I first read this book in 1960. It was part of a Ballantine series on lurid subjects. In fact, I learned of it because it was advertised on the back of another book in the series, another one by Mannix about Aleister Crowley, the fin-de-siecle occultist. So naturally I went looking for it. I was fascinated by gladiators and the games and could find very little decent material about them. I finally tracked it down in a bookshop in Pasadena, CA. As far as I know, it was the first book in English to have the Games as its exclusive subject.
Mannix was a veteran writer for the "Men's Adventure" magazines of the 50s and wrote countless articles on deep-sea diving, big game hunting, boxing, bullfighting, and other hairy-chested subjects. TATD is an interesting mishmash of scholarship, fiction, and down-and-dirty luridness. Wherever the facts left a gap, Mannix filled it with his feverish imagination. He was also a competent observer. For instance, this was the first place I saw mentioned that the secutor wore a helmet that was smooth and without projections to catch the net. I had always pictured the secutor in a murmillo helmet a la Hollywood. After that I noticed that in every deptiction of a secutor his helmet was, indeed, without projections or angles.
All in all, a fascinating if somewhat dated book.
Mannix was a veteran writer for the "Men's Adventure" magazines of the 50s and wrote countless articles on deep-sea diving, big game hunting, boxing, bullfighting, and other hairy-chested subjects. TATD is an interesting mishmash of scholarship, fiction, and down-and-dirty luridness. Wherever the facts left a gap, Mannix filled it with his feverish imagination. He was also a competent observer. For instance, this was the first place I saw mentioned that the secutor wore a helmet that was smooth and without projections to catch the net. I had always pictured the secutor in a murmillo helmet a la Hollywood. After that I noticed that in every deptiction of a secutor his helmet was, indeed, without projections or angles.
All in all, a fascinating if somewhat dated book.
Pecunia non olet