Those About To Die

Written by Daniel P. Mannix

Narrated by Brian P. Craig

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 begin 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.



Contains mature themes.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Aug 27, 2024
• ISBN: 9798331900748

Daniel P. Mannix

Daniel P. Mannix was an award-winning American author and journalist, as well as a magician and filmmaker. Mannix’s magazine articles about his experiences in the carnival, where he performed under the stage name “The Great Zadma,” became popular in the mid-1940s and were compiled with the assistance of his wife in the book Step Right Up! His dozens of books and extensive essays range in subject from children’s animal stories, environmental issues, and hunting accounts to historical examinations of the Hellfire Club, the Atlantic slave trade, and the Roman gladiatorial games. Mannix was particularly interested in the Wizard of Oz canon and composed a biography of L. Frank Baum for American Heritage magazine in the 1960s.  

Reviews for Those About To Die

[Alexander Anderson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The author applies the novelist’s art to the long and varied history of the Gladiatorial Games. Mixing fact, imagination and experience as a circus performer, private zoo owner, autodidact and keen observer of both animal and human nature to produce a fascinating and entertaining account.

[ritaer_1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Intriguing stores but overall subject matter is repulsive.

[sarahashwood · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow. To appreciate the scope, the cruelty, and the sadism of the games, one must read this book. I was hoping there would be more insight into the gladiatorial aspects of the games, as I'm gathering info for my next novel and need more background on the gladiator schools, way of life, etc. If anybody can recommend some good books on that subject, I'd appreciate it. Thanks!

[leonardgmokos · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

You can't review a Mannix book without first highlighting Mannix, the King of Cool - a true master of the lost art of living.

The son of a U.S. navy officer (Commodore), he follows his own tune, joining the circus, mastering sword swallowing, travelling extensively, pursuing a love for animals, writing about them with interest and a light touch. His fiction is just bad. It must be said. Come closer though, here's the gold: his nonfiction is deeply researched, bullet proof accurate yet reads like populist pulp. Gobble it! It's great! We can say more about Mannix, like he wrote the Disney classic "the fox and the hound" and so on, but let's on to the review of "The way of the Gladiator".

Surprise, it's about gladiators. You think you know but you don't. Not like this. The depth, the detail, the variety. It's staggering stuff. His knowledge, historical veracity and structure of presentation are artworks of informed and informing.

Get down in the guts and the sand and prepare to go "whaaa...? I did not know that." This is his very best work, The One. For lovers of action, of history, of Mannix, or crazy sh*t that's 100% true and 105% outrageous.

[nickhowes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Even if you've read extensively on the Roman Empire...its people, its conquests, its trade network, its road-building, the Games...you'll still be amazed and sickened at the cult of brutal death Daniel P. Mannix describes in this book. Usually, only the bare bones (pun not intended) of the games are detailed in other accounts, but here the author details the broad range of imaginative executions condemned criminals and gladiatorial contests arranged for the Romans mob. With the games reduced over the years from the Spartacan duels between trained gladiators to the wholesale slaughter of huge numbers of amateurs armed with swords in arenas awash with blood, women in the stands scratched their cheeks in their ecstatic bloodlust and men pounded their seats. If you get too romantic a view of Rome, this will set you straight. Highly recommended.

[cindybytes · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I wasn't aware gladiator games had spectator shows of animals (from drunken chimpanzees, zebras, baboons to wild boars) raping condemned women as part of their entertainment in the arena, until I read this book. There were actually men (the bestiarii) who trained wild beast to not only kill and eat people, but sexually violate them as well! Author Daniel P. Mannix offers up plenty of shocking events in this absorbing read, which you probably never learnt about in ancient history class. Example: condemned men were put on seesaws in the arena and then hungry lions & other wild beast were let loose. The men seesawed desperately back and forth trying to stay on the up-side, so that they wouldn't be eaten. Can you imagine? It must have been the quickest seesawing one had ever seen. This provided great amusement for the arena crowd as did other countless sadistic pre-game shows.

Of course the principal focus is on the gladiators themselves. There is a lot of fascinating information about the day to day lives of the gladiators, Romans, and the political power houses behind the scenes, however some of the additional spectacles going on during the games were just as interesting, if not more fascinating. I couldn't put the book down.