Synopses & Reviews
A riveting look into the world of James Bond and his creator, published on the centenary of Ian Flemings birth.
In For Your Eyes Only, Ben Macintyre reveals where the world of Ian Fleming ends and the world of James Bond begins. Macintyre looks at the actual people on whom the writer based his fictional creations—friends, colleagues, lovers, and, of course, the notorious villains. Exploring the tradition of spy fiction past and present, with specific attention to the Cold War, Macintyre explains how Bond was based on the realities—and fantasies—of Flemings life as a wartime spymaster and peacetime bon vivant.
Stylishly illustrated, For Your Eyes Only features a collectors dream of gadgets, costumes, props, and storyboards from the films—Daniel Craigs bloodstained shirt from Casino Royale, the Aston Martin DB5, complete with weaponry—as well as memorabilia from Flemings personal archive: his smoking jacket, the manuscript for Casino Royale, his golden typewriter, his guns, and much more.
Review
“[A] marvelous tribute…He examines, among other things, the probable genesis of Bond's name (an ornithologist) and his spycraft (a number of exotic and intrepid agents, entertainingly described). He looks at the sources for Bond's taste in women (Fleming) and attitude toward them (Fleming) and at the effect of the Bond-of-the-movies on the Bond-of-the-books (significant).” —Katherine A. Powers, Boston Globe
Synopsis
Published on the centenary of Ian Fleming's birth, this volume presents a riveting look into the world of James Bond and his creator. Macintyre looks at the actual people on whom the writer based his fictional creations and explores the tradition of spy fiction.
About the Author
Ben Macintyre is a columnist and associate editor at the London Times. He has worked as the newspapers correspondent in New York, Paris, and Washington. He now lives in London with his wife and three children. Agent Zigzag, the true story of a WWI double agent, was a recent Sunday Times bestseller.