Daniel P. Mannix – författare

The book that inspired the stories of Gladiator & Gladiator II: Step into the ring with this classic, in-depth account of the ancient Romans’ obsession with the bloody and brutal games.“[The Way of the Gladiator is] this crazy, tawdry, wild book about the Coliseum. . . . It hardwired in my brain the absolute similarities between who we are and who we were.” —David Franzoni, Academy Award–nominated screenwriter of Gladiator and producer of Gladiator IIOriginally published under the title Those About to Die. “If you can imagine a superior American sports writer suddenly being transported back in time to cover the ancient Roman games, you will have some idea of the flavor and zest of The Way of the Gladiator,” said the Los Angeles Times about Daniel P. Mannix’s century-by-century—and nearly moment-by-moment—narrative of the Roman Empire’s national institution. Putting the games in the context of Rome’s rise and dramatic fall, Mannix captures all the history, planning, and savage pageantry that went into creating the first spectator sports. The games began in 238 BC as nearly county fair–like entertainment, with trick riding, acrobats, trained animals, chariot racing, and athletic events. The contests then evolved into slave fights thanks to wealthy patricians Marcus and Decimus Brutus, who wanted to give their father an unforgettable funeral by reviving an old tradition. What the brothers wrought, Rome devoured, demanding even greater violence to satisfy the bloodlust of the crowd. Architectural wonders in themselves, massive arenas like Circus Maximus and the Colosseum were built, able to host sea battle reenactments on actual water. Successful gladiators found fame, fortune—and freedom. But as Rome began to fall in the fifth century, so did the games, devolving into nothing more than pointless massacres. In the end, millions of humans and animals were sacrificed in barbaric displays. What were once ceremonies given in honor of gods met an inglorious fate, yet they still captivate—in book and in film—the imagination of people today.

The basis for the new Peacock television series: The classic, in-depth account of the ancient Romans’ obsession with the bloody and brutal gladiatorial games. “If you can imagine a superior American sports writer suddenly being transported back in time to cover the ancient Roman games, you will have some idea of the flavor and zest of [Those About to Die],” said the Los Angeles Times about Daniel P. Mannix’s century-by-century—and nearly moment-by-moment—narrative of the Roman Empire’s national institution. Putting the games in the context of Rome’s rise and dramatic fall, Mannix captures all the history, planning, and savage pageantry that went into creating the first spectator sports. The games began in 238 BC as nearly county fair–like entertainment, with trick riding, acrobats, trained animals, chariot racing, and athletic events. The contests then evolved into slave fights thanks to wealthy patricians Marcus and Decimus Brutus, who wanted to give their father an unforgettable funeral by reviving an old tradition. What the brothers wrought, Rome devoured, demanding even greater violence to satisfy the bloodlust of the crowd. Architectural wonders in themselves, massive arenas like Circus Maximus and the Colosseum were built, able to host sea battle reenactments on actual water. Successful gladiators found fame, fortune—and freedom. But as Rome began to fall in the fifth century, so did the games, devolving into nothing more than pointless massacres. In the end, millions of humans and animals were sacrificed in barbaric displays. What were once ceremonies given in honor of gods met an inglorious fate, yet they still captivate the imagination of people today.

The author of The Way of the Gladiator continues his exploration of the dark side of history with this grisly account of pain and punishment through the ages. Human beings have a deep-seated instinct for cruelty, and, so far, have not evolved much past it. History is rife with examples of the infliction of pain used as penalty or execution. In The History of Torture, Daniel P. Mannix takes you from the crucifixions of ancient Rome, to the hanging of women during the Salem witch trials, to the atrocities discovered at Nazi concentration camps. The act of torture has shifted from simple barbarism to advanced psychological techniques thanks to science and technology. Now it’s not just an actual flogging that will have a prisoner spilling his guts, but law enforcement’s coercive tactics that might prompt a confession. Follow Mannix as he: leads you into the chambers of Inquisitors, who elevated torture to an art form; illuminates the myriad miseries of the slave trade, America’s greatest contribution to the torture hall of fame; and explains the most terrible and famous of all Chinese tortures, the Ling-chez or “death of a thousand cuts.” No country or culture is spared in this wide-reaching survey of suffering.

The author of The Way of the Gladiator turns from the arenas of ancient Rome to the center of debauchery and impiety in eighteenth-century England. “Stranger, refuse, if you can, what we have to offer.” These words, engraved in Latin, welcomed visitors to a rebuilt medieval abbey on the banks of the Thames. Adorned with stained-glass windows featuring the twelve apostles in indecent poses and a pornographic fresco on the ceiling, the abbey was the brainchild of Sir Francis Dashwood, a baronet and heir to a great fortune. There, Dashwood’s Hellfire Club was born, including among its members some of the most influential figures of the time, including the prime minister of England, the mayor of London, several of England’s greatest artists and poets, the Prince of Wales, and even Benjamin Franklin. And it was dedicated to the practice of black magic, sexual orgies, and political conspiracies. Placing the Hellfire Club in the context of the turbulent era that spawned it, Daniel P. Mannix chronicles the club’s heady glory days to its ultimate demise. Placed far above the law, the society’s wealthy, noble rakes and rogues surrendered to their basest urges and set out to ridicule and destroy moral conventions—respect for the monarchy, religion, and decency—and to a large extent, they succeeded, and even changed the course of history . . .

The award-winning author of The Way of the Gladiator shares his experiences hunting with strange devices—and animals—in this classic book. Falcons, boomerangs, spears. . . In the mid-twentieth century, hunters of all shapes and sizes were in favor of giving their quarry a fighting chance. A revival of ancient sporting techniques was taking the hunting world by storm. The old ways required more skill and were, therefore, a greater challenge. They also brought people closer to nature. Among those embracing this philosophy was author Daniel P. Mannix, who was more interested in learning an antique skill than shooting a new gun. In these pages, he delves into the history of hunting and gives readers firsthand accounts of his attempts at bagging pigeons with a feral cat (an ocelot named Tiba), using a blowgun with poisoned darts for deer in Mexico, teaching an otter to retrieve downed ducks, tracking—and trapping—humans, and other odd, old-school techniques.“A gripping compendium of hunting devices and trained animals that give the prey a sporting chance, this is easily the best hunting book in years.” —Kirkus Reviews

The award-winning author of The Way of the Gladiator brings to life medieval Paris and the wolves who held it hostage, in this novel based on real events. Praised as “nature writing at its best,” The Wolves of Paris takes readers to fifteenth-century France, a country so decimated by the Hundred Years’ War that its people became prey for marauding wolf packs (Hartford Courant). With France split among the English, the Burgundians, and the forces of the weak Charles VII, a wolf-dog rises to ensure the existence of his pack by any means necessary . . . Courtaud begins his life as the possession of a count until an attack on the castle leaves him to fend for himself. To survive, the huge, russet-colored beast ingratiates himself into a pack of wolves he will soon lead, with his mate, Silver, at his side. Without the wild wolf’s innate fear of man—and driven to starvation by vicious winters—Courtaud turns his pack to hunting livestock on its way to Paris. Battles and the plague leave corpses in their path, stoking the wolves’ lust for human flesh. Soon, Courtaud’s howl alone will strike fear into the hearts of Parisians, prompting a king to put a price on his head—and history to remember his name.“Daniel Mannix gets right inside any animal skin. . . . His hero Courtaud is the most feared and celebrated of all wolves, and this story of his life and times, based on medieval archives, should add to the fistful of awards already garnered by Mannix. . . . It will haunt almost anyone.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

A showdown ensues between a bird of prey and a barnyard rooster in this masterpiece of nature fiction from the author of The Fox and the Hound. Whitehackle comes from a long line of fighting cocks, but exceeds expectations as he rises to the top of the pecking order. His reputation grows when he chases off a fox and attacks a hawk in gallant defense of one his hens. The arrogant rooster is now king of the barnyard, but the hawk still circles above . . . A female Cooper’s hawk, Ishmael, has few natural enemies. Life itself is her greatest foe—and survive she must, to mate and nest and raise her young. Even a gunshot can’t stop this courageous bird—yet she may have met her match in Whitehackle . . . The day-to-day life of hawk and rooster collide in a fragile environment encroached upon by modern forces in a story of predation—both animal and human.“A very compelling tale. . . . Mannix, who has spent most of his life near and with animals, treads it with a sure foot and a clear-eyed unsentimental approach. Like the nature he writes about, he makes no apologies and asks no special indulgence—and he writes a very readable book.” —Sports Illustrated “Mannix shifts back and forth between natural enemies, dramatizing but not fictionalizing their life experiences in thoroughly entertaining information writing. . . . He’s combined a mass of wild bird lore with a coopful of material on the complex social structure and behavior patterns of domestic poultry. Bet your nestegg on it.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the adventurer and author of The Fox and the Hound, “a memoir of his travels as a photo-journalist specialising in animal stories” (The Telegraph). His historical work Those About to Die inspired the Gladiator movies. His novel, The Fox and the Hound, became a timeless classic—and a Disney movie. And his youthful obsession with magic resulted in Memoirs of a Sword Swallower. Few people have lived life more fully and colorfully than author Daniel P. Mannix. Throughout all his adventures and accomplishments, his love of nature and animals sustained him. In All Creatures Great and Small, he shares tales of his “Mannix Menagerie.” From his childhood in Pennsylvania, which included his first pets (and his first odoriferous experience with a skunk), to his myriad encounters with wildlife as an adult, Mannix details—in captivating prose and fascinating photos—the amazing personalities and innate traits of the animals he’s loved: Rani the cheetah, Jupo the spider monkey, Ottie the otter, Águila the bald eagle, vampire bats, kinkajous, and more from the wild kingdom of his life.

This classic, award-winning novel and the basis for the animated Disney movie is “a masterpiece, it is tops in the field of animal books” (Omaha World-Herald).Winner of the Dutton Animal Book AwardWinner of the Athenaeum Literary AwardReader’s Digest Book Club Two animals on opposites sides of the hunt—one a loyal, domesticated companion, the other a wily, solitary trickster. Copper is a large bloodhound mix, prized for his scenting ability. He longs for the thrill of the chase and for his human’s praise. Yet he could lose his place in the pack to any of the younger, faster dogs around him . . . Tod the fox is familiar with the ways of men and hounds; he had been raised by and lived among them as a pup—but not for long. Instinct drives him back into the wilderness, where he learns to spring the traps set for him, catch the attention of vixens, and survive the seasons. In the natural order of things, Copper and Tod are enemies, but it’s the changing world around them that could prove to be the greatest threat of all . . . “No one who has the slightest interest in animals should miss reading The Fox and the Hound.” —The Plain Dealer “A lively and engrossing animal book . . . a really exciting story.” —Associated Press “A story of a hunt told in a way it seldom is, completely from the viewpoint of the animals. . . . It is wonderful how Mannix has entered so completely into the animals’ way of looking at life.” —Publishers Weekly

“A carefully understated but chilling account of the whole 3 ½ centuries during which 15 million Africans were snatched from their homes and delivered into slavery in the New World.” —Time In 1518, the Atlantic slave trade began with the landing in the West Indies of the first enslaved people directly from Africa. These were the victims of a forced migration that was more callous and immensely larger, in the end, than any other such movement of modern or ancient times. Written in 1962, Black Cargoes attempts to tell where these exploited people came from, how they were enslaved in Africa, how they were purchased by sea captains, how they were packed into the hold like merchandise (although with greater losses in transit), and how the survivors were sold in West Indian and American markets. Author Daniel P. Mannix brings the horrifying spectacle to life, devoting attention to the engrossing and often fatal adventures of sea captains, smugglers, African agents, and sailors. But he never wavers from delivering “a clear and frightening record of man’s ability to allow the lust for money to deaden his sensibilities” (The Journal of African American History). “Both fascinating and horrifying. . . . It embodies the most careful research, and it also possesses literary charm.” —Allan Nevins, Pulitzer Prize–winning author “A sound book on a rich subject . . . it is the long-needed single volume covering all the salient angles of the evil, old trade.” —The New York Times Book Review “It translates the slave trade from statistics and conclusions into the sum total of individual human experiences.” —Los Angeles Times