James Bond Dossier [Hardcover]

Kingsley Amis (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Dutton Adult
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0453000312
• ISBN-13: 978-0453000314
• Product Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 20 inches
• Shipping Weight: 20 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,996,111 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Study: Dissecting James Bond, July 7, 2002

By 

an Ian Fleming Collector (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The James Bond Dossier (Hardcover)

This book is very good to read after you have freshly finished the Ian Fleming's original 'James Bond' books (avaliable in a new edition from Viking and Penguin: order them now!). It allows readers to take a peak into the aspects of Bond they might have missed whilst reading. Amis has taken Fleming's original facts, ellaborated, and made his own humourous, sketchy, and facinating observations. As a literary master himself, and a long-time admirer of what he calls 'the Fleming affect', Amis expertly takes apart, not just the world, but the man, James Bond. Fleming veiwed the manuscript of this book shortly before he died, and approved every part save minor quibles of what James Bond ate, drove or drank.
As stated earlier, Amis was himself a bond-fan, and said to Fleming once: "Mr Fleming, You are the only author whom I can say 'I have read all your books, and have enjoyed them thouroughly'". A due credit.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bit of Literary Nostalgia devoted to Ian Fleming's Creation, November 22, 2006

By 

gobirds2 (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The James Bond Dossier (Hardcover)

There are two books I find to be superior on the subject of examining Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and short stories. The first and definitive is "Ian Fleming's James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming's Bond Stories" by John Griswold. It is an objective research and analysis of the highest order of Ian Fleming's total literary output that he devoted to his fictional hero who operated and existed in a factual and reality based world shaped for his hero's existence. The second book is Kingsley Amis' THE JAMES BOND DOSSIER, which for me was the first serious look of why many people were so enamored by Ian Fleming's James Bond books. Kingsley Amis states in the Preface to his THE JAMES BOND DOSSIER that he too was an Ian Fleming fan and that his book was a result of "a modest article of about 5,000 words" that grew into the essay that became his book. It is a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining book subjectively examined in segregated elements of Fleming's books broken down into chapters by Amis. Written during the same era as O.F. Snelliing's 007 JAMES BOND: A REPORT, Kingsley Amis' book remains an endearing bit of literary nostalgia devoted to Ian Fleming's creation.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Bit of Literary Nostalgia devoted to Ian Fleming's Creation, November 22, 2006

By 

gobirds2 (New England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: James Bond Dossier (Paperback)

There are two books I find to be superior on the subject of examining Ian Fleming's James Bond novels and short stories. The first and definitive is "Ian Fleming's James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming's Bond Stories" by John Griswold. It is an objective research and analysis of the highest order of Ian Fleming's total literary output that he devoted to his fictional hero who operated and existed in a factual and reality based world shaped for his hero's existence. The second book is Kingsley Amis' THE JAMES BOND DOSSIER, which for me was the first serious look of why many people were so enamored by Ian Fleming's James Bond books. Kingsley Amis states in the Preface to his THE JAMES BOND DOSSIER that he too was an Ian Fleming fan and that his book was a result of "a modest article of about 5,000 words" that grew into the essay that became his book. It is a thoroughly enjoyable and entertaining book subjectively examined in segregated elements of Fleming's books broken down into chapters by Amis. Written during the same era as O.F. Snelliing's 007 JAMES BOND: A REPORT, Kingsley Amis' book remains an endearing bit of literary nostalgia devoted to Ian Fleming's creation.