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For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond by Ben Macintyre | 224 pages I've heard Ben Macintyre's name before on lists of good biographers and nonfiction writers, so I decided to give one of his books a try. This was one about the crossover between the life of author Ian Fleming, and the life of his most famous character, super-spy James Bond. I already knew that Fleming had spent some time working in the military and foreign service and that his experiences informed the Bond character, but I don't think I realized just how much, or how many other sources of inspiration for his novels were taken from real life. James Bond apparently wasn't just a wish-fulfillment character; Ian Fleming was quite the the ladies' man himself. He didn't actually serve on the front lines of the clandestine service, but he worked in government long enough to be able to add authenticity and realism to his stories. One of the things I didn't know was that the modern-day inclination to "geek out" over make and manufacture of guns, cars, tech, etc. was largely first developed by Ian Fleming. It's hard to find a spy novel these days that doesn't detail what kind of sniper rifle or pistol is being used, what kind of sports car is being driven, etc. Overall, this was an interesting book and it was brief enough that it didn't feel bloated or full of a lot of filler. It was concise and to the point in emphasizing the similarities between Fleming and Bond, and where Fleming got many of his inspirations. Definitely worth a read for anyone who is a fan of the genre (or the character) and is interested in reading about where the lines between fiction and reality blur. |
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