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Daniel Pratt Mannix
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Those About to Die Hardcover – January 1, 2001

by Daniel P. Mannix (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 265 ratings
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A historical book with information about the true story of the life of Roman Gladiators, based on known research and the facts. A must have book for any gladiator fan.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    228 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    I Books
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2001
  5. ISBN-10
    0739415514
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0739415511
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ I Books; Not Indicated edition (January 1, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 228 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0739415514
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0739415511
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 265 ratings

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Daniel Pratt Mannix

Daniel Pratt Mannix

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
265 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Stephen
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent and Entertaining
Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2020
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I have been trying to read more in this time of covid quarantine and decided to read this book because I knew the author from his nonfiction hunting stories in "A Sporting Chance". I was not disappointed and he did a great job in this book by combining non fiction, factual information about the Roman circuses with some historical fiction short stories that made for an interesting and fast read. I didn't know much about the circuses beyond the movie "the gladiator" and this book does an excellent job explaining the horrors that went on in the arena. He does a particularly good job describing the animals involved in the shows (as I would expect a naturalist like Mannix to do). Excellent book, would highly recommend if you are interested in the Romans.
3 people found this helpful
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Earnest Sludge
4.0 out of 5 stars Kind of dry
Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2015
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The worst thing about this was the typos in the ibooks edition. This is a new typeset that they, in all likelihood, produced using OCR. This is a common problem with new typesets of old classics. This book only has a few but they can be pretty disrupting to your reading. The most common mistake is using a period instead of a comma. This is otherwise an excellent edition. It boggles my mind that they can't spend a few bucks to get a literate person to read the book for meaning in order to proofread it. I won't be buying any more ibooks editions of books if I can help it.

As for the basic text, it's quite good. Just a bit dry. But the fact that it was carefully researched from original text really gave it a lot of life and substance.

The author tries a little too hard to maintain a middle-brow tone in that he makes reference and analogy to contemporary (circa 1958) life. Who remembers Leo Durocher anymore? It comes off as slightly patronizing, too.

The author tries to distance himself from the lurid and prurient content toward the end of the book, which is really pretty hypocritical. That's one of the big selling points of the book, as he well knows. And in the very last sentence of the book he virtually calls the reader a pathetic, perverted wimp if he enjoyed the blood and guts and kinky sex.

The new foreword is two pages long and is quite amusing. It unabashedly promotes the lurid aspects. Thank God.
10 people found this helpful
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David Wurawa
5.0 out of 5 stars Everybody should read this book.
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2023
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Those about to die is an incredible insight into Roman history. Everybody should read it. It will change your view on Roman history.
2 people found this helpful
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DJC
3.0 out of 5 stars Not too much new here, but readable.
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2015
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Doesn't break much new ground, but a good summary/overview.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful read
Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2018
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This book dates from the 1950's, and is written in a fluent and highly entertaining style you don't see much anymore. All the nasty details are presented unflinchingly, and while some of them are dubious or apocryphal, they make for a great read nonetheless. Out of the many, many books I've read, there are few that I just devour again and again. This is one of them. If you're interested in ancient Rome and aren't shy of its prurient, brutal underbelly, this will be a great way to spend a few hours.
5 people found this helpful
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Ralph S.
4.0 out of 5 stars Nothing not to like, a great read
Reviewed in the United States on February 6, 2018
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The historical data dug up to support the events of the days were unbelievable!
Nothing not to like, a great read. Makes today's world appear tameless in comparison.
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Ken Hassen
5.0 out of 5 stars The True Gladiator Story
Reviewed in the United States on September 29, 2019
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Gritty realism; this book is said to be the basis for the Russell Crowe & Joachim Phoenix version of "Gladiator". Author (Daniel Mannix) was a well known and well travelled member of my previous Eastern PA community. His wide interests once put to pen relied heavily on his unique brand of frank realism and typically centered around the underbelly of various cultures. A must read!
5 people found this helpful
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P. R. Brumlik
2.0 out of 5 stars peter brumlik
Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2015
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As an overview the book stands a fair chance of passing. As a book of history, it fails because it is neither objective nor well written.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Celso de Jesus Júnior
5.0 out of 5 stars Roma nua e crua
Reviewed in Brazil on February 3, 2024
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O livro conta a história dos bastidores do coliseu e a verdade nua e crua sobre o lado sombrio da civilização da Roma antiga. Não aconselhável para os fracos de estômago.
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Samuel Grégoire
5.0 out of 5 stars Tel qu'indiqué
Reviewed in Canada on December 26, 2018
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Tel qu'indiqué
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Don Simpson
5.0 out of 5 stars Unusual use of fact and fiction
Reviewed in Australia on August 16, 2018
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I read this years ago and loved it. Just as good on this reading. Where there is no exact fact he uses story based on the facts we know which makes the telling very interesting. There is no deception when he does this as he'll point it out each time. The known facts are well worth reading and he goes on to point out some of the locations that are still standing today. Some of the parallels with today's society are a little disturbing and we should learn from them
One person found this helpful
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Ali Mac
5.0 out of 5 stars Those About To Die
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2015
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I have been after this book for many years and at long last I pick it up at a bargain price. I can imagine a fair bit of research went into this book and it was a real eye-opener of what went on inside the public spectacles in the arena. Some specialists could get lazy lions to attack by the use of scents to induce an attack. It was a science applied to spill blood. The book explains how not everyone who perished were Christians or Gladiators at the start of the show they would have criminals executed in public and as the killings went on new ways of dispatching the criminals was thought up, each one more gruesome than the last. When I first read this book it was done in one sitting as I couldn't put it down an easy read and an insight into the murderous rulers of Rome who fed the public with their fix for blood.
3 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in Canada on January 21, 2017
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Downloaded to my kindle immediately and is a great read!
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