Bond Girls are Forever: The Women of James Bond [Hardcover]

Maryam d'Abo (Author), Maryam D'Abo (Author), John Cork (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2003

"Before Bond, the parts I used to play in films were demure, sweet, antiseptic and antisex. I wasn't even allowed to think like a woman. Pussy Galore and 007 worked wonders for me."-Honor Blackman, Pussy Galore, Goldfinger

Sexy, stunning, bold, and brazen, the women in James Bond movies are among the most interesting females in films. Attacked by some feminists in the 1960s and 1970s as sex objects, the Bond women today are seen as self-con?dent, sexually assured role models. Teeming with anecdote, first-person testimony, intelligent commentary, and a wealth of visual material, from film stills to memorabilia, Bond Girls Are Forever explores the mystery and mystique behind the Bond women-as heroes and villains, as actors and characters, as love objects and mother figures, as steely bureau-crats and trained killers.

From Honey Ryder (Ursula Andress) rising from the sea in her sexy bikini in Dr. No to secret agent Jinx (Halle Berry) in Die Another Day, the Bond women have had a lasting impact on 007, on the lives of the actresses who played them, and on pop culture. Looking at these icons from both the male and female perspective, this elegant book shows us that no matter how they have changed over time, Bond girls are forever-in the fantasy lives of us all.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Since Ian Fleming wrote Casino Royale in 1953, Bond girls have been quintessential American sex symbols. Sexy, dazzling and self-assured, the character has been ogled by men and lambasted by feminists in all of its incarnations. D'Abo, who played Kira Milovy in the James Bond film The Living Daylights, and Cork (co-author of James Bond: The Legacy) walk readers through over 50 years of Bond girl history in this alluring volume, which celebrates the character as a role model and as a groundbreaking achievement in film. As Cork explains, "women like this had simply never been seen in films before." The authors offer summaries and studies of every Bond film, emphasizing the Bond girl's role in each one, and share quotes from Bond girls such as Ursula Andress, Halle Berry, Honor Blackman and Jane Seymour. Using fantastic photos, analytical discussion and primary source material, the authors show how far the Bond girl has come since the world became enamored with the first iconic image of her rising out of the sea wearing a bikini with a knife strapped on to it.
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About the Author

John Cork is the coauthor of Abrams' James Bond: The Legacy. An award-winning screenwriter, he penned the civil rights drama The Long Walk Home, starring Sissy Spacek and Whoopi Goldberg, and has written screenplays for many major film studios. He lives in Los Angeles. Maryam D'Abo played Kira Milovy in the James Bond film The Living Daylights. She has played in more than 15 feature films, and is frequently seen on TV. She was born in London and lives in Hollywood.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (November 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810943026
• ISBN-13: 978-0810943025
• Product Dimensions: 14.6 x 10.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,031 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Oh, James." Another GREAT book..., November 28, 2003

By 

John Cox (Studio City, CA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Bond Girls are Forever: The Women of James Bond (Hardcover)

BOND GIRLS ARE FOREVER is an excellent -- and I'd even say essential -- companion book to John Cork and Bruce Scivally's THE JAMES BOND LEGACY. This time Cork (who is probably THE authority on all things James Bond) writes with former Bond Girl Maryam d'Abo, and her insights are interesting and welcome. Far from being just a picture book, BOND GIRLS ARE FOREVER traces the evolution of the Bond Girl through the 50 year history of James Bond. In reading this book it struck me how worthy a topic this is. There is a misconception that the Bond Girl is superficial sexpot in a bikini. Not true. Cork and D'Abo point out how, from the beginning, Bond Girls have been strong independent women and professionals of many kinds (spies, astronauts, scientists, pilots, etc.). If anyone is superficial it's the character of James Bond. While Bond never changes, the Bond Girls have evolved from decade to decade and have reflected their times (and predicted trends) in fascinating ways. We are reminded that 007 started out as a literary hero, and Cork first introduces us to the women who populated the novels of Ian Fleming. He correctly shows us that it was Fleming who laid out the template for what would become the phenomenon of the cinematic Bond Girl. (I find it's ironic that the foundation of Halle Berry's Jinx in 2002 was born of a middle-aged racially insensitive Englishman in the 1950s.) Too bad the book doesn't go into the female characters created by later Bond authors like John Gardner and Raymond Benson, but perhaps only hardcore Bond fans like me would find that interesting.

Like LEGACY, BOND GIRLS doesn't fixate on the Connery era of the '60s, but gives us the whole history of the Bond phenomenon in equal measures. In many ways, I found the chapter on the Bond Girls of the '80s to be the most fascinating because of the changing attitudes toward promiscuity due to the AIDS crisis. In this regard, d'Abo's Kara Milovy (The Living Daylights) was every bit as trailblazing as Ursula Andress' Honey Rider in Dr. No. And the photos in the book, many of which I've never seen, are as stunning as the women they depict (many are full page).

Like I said, if you have THE JAMES BOND LEGACY this is a must companion piece. Or if you just have an interest in beautiful, strong, independent women...well...you can't go wrong with bringing home a Bond Girl.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quality Text, Lacking Photos, December 7, 2003

By 

Daniel Dykes (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bond Girls are Forever: The Women of James Bond (Hardcover)

For author John Cork the hardest book to follow on from must have been James Bond: The Legacy. And with Maryam d'Abo as co-writer he has done that with Bond Girls Are Forever, but only to an extent. `Legacy' was such a brilliant work that it is almost impossible to follow on from, especially when trying to generate the same sort of impact.

Now, it may seem unfair to compare `Legacy' to 'Bond Girls', perhaps even unprofessional. They are, admittedly, two separate works. Yet, I couldn't help but compare the two as soon as I picked up `Bond Girls'. And it isn't just for John Cork's name on the cover, but rather the size. The first thing you'll notice is that this book is in the same coffee table size as `Legacy', the second thing you'll notice is that it is a lot thinner and lighter. I couldn't help be disappointed by that difference and it seems apparent that the publishers wanted `Bond Girls' to evoke the memory of `Legacy' and it does, but not in the positive sense they had hoped for.

However, that's not to say that the book itself is bad. Much like `Legacy', there I go comparing the two again - sorry but I shan't stop, the textual content is of a high standard. I'm not really sure who wrote what in the book, I got the feeling that d'Abo wrote a lot less of the content than Cork, but what's written is quite interesting. While interesting facts can be found throughout, it's the social analysis that comes across as the most appealing and unique. `Bond Girls' moves beyond the world of 007 to show how women as a whole were portrayed across time, using figures such as Marylin Monroe to contrast the end of the frigid fifties and the beginning of the sexually charged sixties. In drawing on wider social issues the book aids the reader, and I believe this would be particularly true of the younger one, in their understanding of the world that Ian Fleming introduced the Bond Girl too.

Sadly, the visual content is not of the same calibre as the textual content. While the pictures are produced in brilliant quality, there are too few that haven't been seen before. The majority of the images are common, and the use of images from Greg William's Bond On Set: The Making Of Die Another Day borders on the repetitive. Furthermore, while it is nice to see the 50's Pan paperback artwork created by Sam Peffer reproduced in such a large format, it again harks back to the notion that these images are not new to Bond fans and as such, the reproduction of three covers across three full pages feels like overkill.

Despite the lack of photographic gems, the visual layout of `Bond Girls' is to be commended. The formatting and printing and both clear and crisp and this is particularly evident where large quotes have been included.

This review may have come across as far too negative as `Bond Girls' is still of high quality. But its replication of `Legacy' in its size, and it's lack of photographic gems sadly let it down. But at the same time, textual content is still of a high standard. It's up to the reader to nominate what they prefer. Personally, I favour a coffee table sized book with stunning visuals.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like Thumbing Through James Bond's Little Black Book!, October 31, 2003

By 

Bruce Scivally "Author, Superman On Film, Tel... (Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bond Girls are Forever: The Women of James Bond (Hardcover)

Beginning with the 007 novels of Ian Fleming, d'Abo and Cork delineate the archetypes and trace the evolution of Bond girls from the 1953 novel 'Casino Royale' to the 2002 film 'Die Another Day.' Along the way, the reader is treated to insights from the actresses who so brilliantly brought these fantasy sex-symbols to life.
The book is also a feast for the eyes, with page after stunning page of color and black-and-white photos of the world's most glamorous and alluring women - many of them rarely, if ever, seen before. All in all, it is a must-have addition to any James Bond fan's library - and just in time for Christmas!