Appreciating Thrilling Cities

The cultural-observer website, When Falls the Coliseum, has posted today really terrific column by crime and espionage journalist, Paul Davis. In Through a Thriller Writers Eyes: The Life and Work of Ian Fleming, he celebrates Fleming’s two nonfiction books, Thrilling Cities and The Diamond Smugglers. The former volume, a collection of pieces on cities the [...]

For sale: some pricey 007 props

At the Heritage Auction Galleries Web site, there are some James Bond props up for sale by the Ian Fleming Founcation for the serious 007 collector:
For example, there’s:
–A temperature gauge from the Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5 with an opening bid of $600.
– A prop cell phone from Tomorrow Never Dies with an opening bid of [...]

The Man From U.N.C.L.E. turns 45

Forty-five years ago — Sept. 22, 1964 — a show debuted that had been pitched to NBC executives as “James Bond for television.”
The Man From U.N.C.L.E. turned out to be more than that. It ushered in an era where spies would be welcomed into U.S. living rooms and not just be seen on movie screens. [...]

Fleming’s Moonraker novel based on real-life events

Most James Bond fans know that 007 creator Ian Fleming served, during World War II, as special assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence for Britain. Fewer know that Fleming participated in concocting some real-life missions for the British during the war — missions which clearly reflected the capacity of his Bondian imagination.
One of these [...]

Goldfinger’s 45th anniversary: the car that changed everything

Almost 45 years ago, when Goldfinger came out, part of the attraction was James Bond’s super car, the Aston Martin DB 5. The 007 film series was never the same.
In Ian Fleming’s 1959 novel, Bond had a choice of two cars from MI6’s motor pool: an Aston Martin DB III or a Jaguar 3.4. He [...]

Ian Fleming & James Bond Timeline

The Times Online website has a very cool, internetty new plaything for the 007 fans: a 100 year timeline all about Ian Fleming and James Bond.
Ranging from 1908 through last year, this Flashy (pun intended) presentation covers every signature event in the author’s life; everything he wrote; and every film in the Bond canon. [...]

Ted Kennedy: 007 fan to the end

The Kennedy family has a history with James Bond. When President John F. Kennedy told Life magazine that From Russia, With Love was one of his ten favorite books, U.S. sales of Ian Fleming’s novels soared. It turns out his younger brother, Senator Edward M. “Ted” Kennedy, was also a fan.
Mark Leibovich of The New [...]

Geoffrey Jenkins stories back in print

From the Bawiseconsulting blog:
GEOFFREY JENKINS, one of the world’s greatest “adventure-thriller” writers, is coming to iUniverse this fall. The classics, “A Twist of Sand,” and “Hunter Killer,” featuring the famous Jenkins character, Commander Geoffrey Peace, will soon be returning, along with all the other sixteen classic Jenkins adventures, including “A Grue of Ice,” “The Unripe [...]

1966: U.N.C.L.E. tries to “extend the brand” with The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.

In the jaded 21st Century there’s a marketing phrase, “extend the brand,” where a company tries to take an existing brand name of a product and produce a similar, yet slightly different version. For example, Coke began Diet Coke, New Coke (oops), Cherry Coke, etc. So it was with The Girl From U.N.C.L.E.
The pilot for [...]

James Bond Vs. Matt Helm: a study

We found an academic paper online that compares the literary James Bond and the literary Matt Helm (each with significant differences than their movie counterparts).
Among the comparisons made by the author, Joseph Allegretti of Siena College, about the novels Casino Royale and Death Of a Citizen:
Both Bond and Helm are professionals who find their [...]