Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond (Hardcover)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Fleming was not James Bond, but even before his death in 1964 the character Fleming created had taken on a life of his own in books, films, and myth. Well educated, from a wealthy, upper-crust family, Fleming was a desk-bound naval intelligence officer, mediocre stock broker, and newspaper correspondent before writing Casino Royale at age 44, the same year he married and fathered a son. Thirteen more Bond books followed, two posthumously, and the 17th Bond film came out in 1995. Lycett, a British foreign correspondent for various newspapers, had access to more papers and people than did John Pearson in his Life of Ian Fleming (1966). He has produced a thoroughly researched, definitive portrayal of a complex man who was rarely at peace with himself, a man who had a worldwide network of friends and acquaintances but died at age 56 in self-imposed loneliness. Lycett has also succeeded in separating the author from the phenomenon while putting both in the context of their times. Recommended for biography, literature, and cultural history collections.?Roland Person, Southern Illinois Univ. Lib., Carbondale
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From AudioFile

A rich life story is matched with an ideal reader. Andrew Lycett's literate, well-researched biography of Ian Fleming--whose string of James Bond novels capped an exciting life that included wartime service, espionage and love affairs--is an absorbing account of one of the most fascinating figures of popular culture. Lycett's sure grasp of the Bond novels also allows him to refer to pertinent and familiar scenes that reflect Fleming's many travels and earlier experiences. Robert Whitfield narrates the text in clear, crisp BBC English. His brisk pace fits Lycett's trim, balanced sentences. Fleming loved privilege, and his life story is served well by a reader whose performance connotes a patrician equanimity and style. G.H. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 486 pages
• Publisher: Turner Pub; 1st edition (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570363439
• ISBN-13: 978-1570363436
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #865,983 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #59 in

  Books > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nicely done, June 20, 2000

By	Derek Leaberry (Bennett Point, MD) - See all my reviews

In a fashion, Mr. Lycett's biography is as detailed as Carlos Baker's biography of Ernest Hemingway. Nearly every movement of Ian Fleming's adulthood is covered. What is revealed is not a pleasant personality. Ian Fleming was a selfish, egocentric fellow who was very much a rake and a cad, especially in the years before World War Two. Scion of a wealthy family, he was a true-to-life example of England's decadent ruling class as much as the Marchmont family was in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited.(Interestingly, Fleming's wife, Ann, was friends with Waugh though Waugh did not know Fleming very well when Brideshead was written). Lycett paints an unflattering portrait of this ruling class. The ruling circle which Fleming was part specialized in divorce, arrogance, selfishness, the lapping up of assorted luxuries. They lacked fidelity and self-discipline. It is also noteworthy that in the middle of the Depression, Fleming was so set in society that he seemed to be able to vacation at a whim and not lose his job. Fleming would have died a spoiled cad if not for the discipline of war, in which he served well as an intelligence officer. Egocentric as always, Fleming later claimed to have drawn up the blueprint for the American O.S.S., later known as the C.I.A.. During the war, Fleming fell in love with Jamaica. This love led eventually to Fleming's routine of writing a James Bond novel each winter at his place, Goldeneye, in Jamaica during his ordinarilly 2-3 month winter vacations. The James Bond pop phenomenon was slow to take off and by the time that it did, Ian Fleming's health was in severe decline due to years of a diet of cigarettes, large amounts of alcohol and greasy foods. The Bond novels will never be known as great literature but they are tersely written in fine, spare prose. The plots are usually ridiculous but, after all, they were to be fun books, not serious literature. Sadism is laced within many for Fleming was a sexual sadist. What is most fascinating about the biography is the chummy relationships within the British ruling class where Fleming would have the homosexual Noel Coward as his best man, rent Goldeneye to Prime Minister Eden after the Suez fiasco and Fleming's wife, Ann, would carry on an affair with Labor Party boss Hugh Gaitskill with Fleming's acceptance.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Poor writing manages to make an interesting life boring, August 30, 2001

By	B. Rutledge "sjsdad" (Las Vegas, NV USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book covers an interesting life story and has great detail, but unfortunately much of that detail has nothing to do with Mr. Fleming's life, instead focusing on the bloodlines of every British person he ever met. A typical sentence would read "While at the party Ian met John Blankenship of Eddileshile, who would later become the Duke of Ipswitch and marry the Dutchess of Flem, whose mother, the Dame of Foppishnich, once had lunch with Sir Henry Handllberg" - and NONE of these people would have had anything to do with the story, the party, or Ian Flemming. It is as if a Flemming biography was inadvertantly been mixed with a "Complete Peerage of the Brittish Isles" and they went ahead and published it anyway. If you must, get the print version, so you can skim over the irrelevant stuff that pops up every other sentence - if you listen to the Audible audio version (like I did) you will find it had to follow and boring to boot.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars 007's creator revealed, April 8, 1998

By A Customer

This was an excellent book. The research was excellent, and Lycett's ability to portray characters from the early to mid 19th century should not be overlooked. My only gripe was there seemed to be two oft-repeated phrases: "In a letter to Evelyn Waugh, Ann..." and "En route to Jamaica in New York, Ian...." But all things considered, this is an essential read for any 007 fan - casual or the vodka-martini drinking type.