The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book [Paperback]

Deborah Lipp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 17, 2006

The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book is a never-before compiled compendium of lists, facts, anecdotes, trivia, commentary, and much, much more, about the most successful franchise in movie history. Filled with minutiae culled from the far-reaches of the planet, The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book is your one-stop shop for all things Bond, including a detailed, encyclopedic listing of every Bond movie ever made, replete with the actors, the guns, the gadgets, the girls, the cars, and everything in-between. A must for even the casual Bond fan.

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Sterling & Ross Publishers; 1 edition (November 17, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0976637286
• ISBN-13: 978-0976637288
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,376,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fun and Informative Resource for all fans of 007., October 3, 2006

By 

Dutchdummy (Fountain Valley, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book (Paperback)

I've been a Bond fan for over 20 years now, and though my favorite Bond is Sean Connery, I can appreciate each subsequent actor's ability to play the role and to put his own personal stamp on the history of 007. Deborah Lipp's 'The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book' is an excellent reference source for all things 007; it's an absorbing history that examines the entire Bond film series and a fun read to boot.

First, I enjoyed the layout of the book; though a great deal of it deals with lists and rankings, it's not presented in a strictly encyclopedic format (which always struck me as too random and out of context to be enjoyed). Instead, each chapter deals with each film in order of release. Each film is summarized, and then critiqued in a refreshingly subjective manner. Though I didn't always agree with the author's conclusions (She ranks On Her Majesty's Secret Service 18th out of 21 films and Diamonds Are Forever at #5) I found myself agreeing with most of her observations and criticisms, which were both astute and amusing. She then bullet points the highlights of each film, the low points, quotable quotes, noteworthy trivia, and most interesting goofs. I have to admit, the inclusion of lists that detailed the number of deaths, explosions, and what Bond eats and drinks was a little more than I needed to know, but no doubt there are fans out there that will appreciate such minutiae.

Each chapter also contains randomly presented lists or rankings of various aspects of the series as a whole. Among the many include The Ten Best/Worst Chases, Best/Worst Allies, Best/Worst Villains, Best/Worst Fights, Best/Worst locations and Best/Worst Teasers. There are also entries that discuss physical deformities as character traits and best use of establishing shots. And in all my years of watching 007 films, I never did know why he liked his Vodka martinis shaken and not stirred (I'm not a drinker). Now I know, along with how to play Chemin-de-fer.

This is the best all around reference book for the Bond films that I've seen, and even better is that it's completely up-to-date (there's a short chapter regarding the upcoming Casino Royale, but I chose not to read it yet). The only element I missed seeing was a detailed review of the musical scores for each film, as I'm an aficionado of them (my favorite composers being Bernard Herrmann, John Barry and Thomas Newman).

I highly recommend this book to all Bond fans. Entertaining and readable for the casual fan, densely populated with facts and trivia for the hardcore fan, it can appeal to all readers. I found the book to be informative and thought-provoking, and the author's wry sense of humor made me laugh numerous times throughout. A great companion to one of the greatest film series of all time.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For what it is supposed to be it is very good., December 9, 2006

By 

Dr. Fred R. Eichelman "arous" (Salem,, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book (Paperback)

The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book is interesting, though not "ultimate" for people who have been reading books about Bond for years. I have a collection of books on both the James Bond films and the novels and this has perhaps prejudiced my view. If you love a repeat of plots, an analysis and critique of all the Bond characters in film and enjoy statistics this may be the book for you. There is certainly an ample supply of lists and enough ratings to fill a graduate textbook on statistics. Having experienced the latter I feel I can say that.

Where the book suffers, and author Deborah Lipp is very upfront on this, is the personal opinions. She is very honest about this and actually has two ratings for every aspect of each film. Ms. Lipp relies heavily upon fan websites and suveys that either she or others have made. Then she expresses her own feelings, sometimes in agreement and sometimes the opposite. She is very candid that Bond fans, like Trekkies and Sherlockians (I am in all three categories) will disagree on a number of points. My biggest problem is that once she gets into a film she goes off into lists and ratings of which there are many. I would have preferred the listings to have been at the latter part of the book. At times there is no apparent reason why a list will pop up at the end of a particular film being described.

I will also confess that I did not take the author's suggestion to refer to certain sections as I felt moved rather than reading it straight from cover to cover. By the end I felt very bogged down and wished that I had only read it in parts, with an interlude between. There are many excellent books of analysis out there on the Bond films, encyclopedias in some cases, many with great pictures from the films. I would suggest the reader of this review check out the listing on Amazon. If you enjoy this book you will likely find others that you will like even better. I have had to do this for years as I have used the Bond films in the classroom and written articles about some of them.

I don't regret that I bought this. I have had the good fortune as a teacher to have met a number of the main stars Ms. Lipp has named, three of which have become close personal friends of my wife and myself and who I will be asking to autograph this book as they have others in my collection.

I do appreciate the very strong feelings the author has about various Bond films, we all do. I did not rate this book on whether I agreed with the author on every film, but on its usefulness to a long time fan.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The title is not just hype: this really IS the ultimate, November 10, 2006

By 

Binx Bolling "Binx" (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book (Paperback)

The title is not just hype. This really is the ultimate book on James Bond movies; I can't imagine anything more authoritative or more entertaining. Whether you use it as a reference book, browse through it, or read it from cover to cover (as I did), it will reward you with a wealth of facts and informed opinion. This book is a great addition to anyone's movie bookshelf, and it's an absolute gotta-have for fans of James Bond - casual fans and super fans alike.

Deborah Lipp's strategy in organizing her material works extremely well. Each Bond movie gets its own chapter, which is divided into sections devoted to synopsis, analysis, and evaluation of the movie's strength and weaknesses, as well as a ranking of where the movie stands in the Bond canon. Interspersed with these discussions, you get irresistible nuggets of information: quotes, polls, rankings, milestones, facts & figures, high points & low points, cars & gadgets, goofs, awards, and more. I especially enjoyed the many Bond lists that Lipp compiled for the book, such as "Best Explosions in Bond Films," "Best Stunts," "Best Car Chases," and "Best Villains." Another highlight is an extensive survey of the actors who have portrayed Bond on screen, comparing the strengths and weaknesses of their performances.

Lipp's love of movies shines through every page. Her writing style is witty and literate, and her knowledge of 007 lore will blow you away. "The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book" is sure to become the standard work on 007 movies. Every Bond fan and every movie lover should put this book in their shopping carts.