Author Profile: David Leigh

The James Bond Bedside Companion by Raymond Benson was first published in 1984 and covers all aspects of the Bond phenomenon. From Ian Fleming’s life to the writing of the books and the film series, The James Bond Bedside Companion also includes sections on the character of James Bond, weapons used and injuries sustained. Although […]

The Book of Bond was written by Kingsley Amis under the pseudonym of Lt-Col-William (“Bill”) Tanner, the name of the Chief of Staff in the British Secret Service and one of James Bond’s best friends. Firmly tongue-in-cheek it claims to be manual to become a 007, hence the subtitle “Every Man His Own 007” and is […]

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was written by Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond books, for his son Caspar. Inspired by a series of racing cars built by Count Louis Zborowski in the 1920s powered by aero engines, the story features an inventor – Commander Caractacus Pott – who renovates an old car, which starts […]

Thrilling Cities comprises of a series of articles written by Ian Fleming on two trips in 1959 and 1960 for the Sunday Times and published in book form in 1963. The articles were written with the aim of helping the reader find the type of excitement absent from more traditional travel writing, written from the […]

The Diamond Smugglers is an investigation by Ian Fleming of diamond smuggling operations out of South Africa. Originally written as a series of articles in the Sunday Times, the book expanded upon the original material and was first published in 1957.

All Ian Fleming’s short stories are collected on one volume, entitled Quantum of Solace. For the first time the stories from For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy & The Living Daylights are found within the covers of a single volume. You can order it from the outlets below: Amazon UK Amazon US

With no more unfinished Ian Fleming manuscripts to publish, Glidrose Productions collected a couple of previously published short stories for a second posthumous book, first nearly two years after the author’s death. Author: Ian Fleming Publication date: 23rd June 1966 Publisher: Jonathan Cape Cover artist: Richard Chopping Search for first edition copies on Abebooks The first story, Octopussy, […]

Ian Fleming’s last full-length novel was published the year after his death. As was his custom he wrote the first draft while in Jamaica but cut down on his daily word count because of increasing ill health. Author: Ian Fleming Publication date: 1st April 1965 Publisher: Jonathan Cape Cover artist: Richard Chopping Search for first edition copies on […]

Best read after Thunderball and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the reader finds Bond with a personal score to settle with Blofeld after being widowed on his wedding day. Author: Ian Fleming Publication date: 26th March 1964 Publisher: Jonathan Cape Cover artist: Richard Chopping Search for first edition copies on Abebooks With his life in tatters after Tracy […]

This time not only does Bond get the girl, but he marries her too. The second book in a trilogy, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service is best read after Thunderball. Author: Ian Fleming Publication date: 1st April 1963 Publisher: Jonathan Cape Cover artist: Richard Chopping Search for first edition copies on Abebooks The story starts in Royale-les-Eaux with […]

Ian Fleming experimented radically with The Spy Who Loved Me. The story is told in the first person by the heroine, Vivienne Michel, and James Bond only appears in the last third of the book. Author: Ian Fleming Publication date: 16th April 1962 Publisher: Jonathan Cape Cover artist: Richard Chopping Search for first edition copies on Abebooks The […]

Based on the screenplay for an aborted film project, Thunderball is notable for introducing SPECTRE to the series. The book is the first in what is sometimes known as the “Blofeld trilogy”. Author: Ian Fleming Publication date: 26th March 1956 Publisher: Jonathan Cape Cover artist: Richard Chopping Search for first edition copies on Abebooks Fleming had been […]

With For Your Eyes Only Ian Fleming broke with tradition. Rather than the regular annual novel his fans had become used to expecting he used the plotlines from an abandoned TV show for four of the stories and added a fifth. Author: Ian Fleming Publication date: 11th April 1960 Publisher: Jonathan Cape Cover artist: Richard Chopping Search for […]

Auric Goldfinger is a man who loves gold so much that he only makes love to women painted in gold, drives a gold Rolls Royce and hatches a scheme to rob America’s gold reserves at Fort Knox in order to corner the world bullion market. Author: Ian Fleming Publication date: 23rd March 1959 Publisher: Jonathan Cape Cover […]

At the beginning of Dr No we find Bond being chastised by M for having nearly being killed at the end of From Russia, With Love. Author: Ian Fleming Publication date: 31st March 1958 Publisher: Jonathan Cape Cover artist: Pat Marriott Search for first edition copies on Abebooks His solution is to re-equip Bond with more a […]

It has been remarked that From Russia, With Love is Fleming’s most traditional novel, and it is sometimes suggested that this is the reason for the success of the film, which is faithful to its source. Author: Ian Fleming Publication date: 8th April 1957 Publisher: Jonathan Cape Cover artist: Richard Chopping Search for first edition copies on Abebooks Bond […]

James Bond is sent to the United States to infiltrate and stop a diamond smuggling operation run by the Spangled Mob.

Moonraker sees James Bond on assignment in the UK, where strictly he is not supposed to operate. The book again features the thrilling card games of Casino Royale and has to be noted as the only book where 007 does not get the girl. Author: Ian Fleming Publication date: 5th April 1955 Publisher: Jonathan Cape Cover artist: […]

The new James Bond book, previously known simply as Project X, was formally unveiled today at at a press conference in Dubai where part of the book will be set. The book is entitled Carte Blanche and will reboot James Bond to the present day. It is written by Jeffery Deaver, author of The Bone […]

While the release date of Bond 23 was announced last week by EON Productions and MGM, there is one part of the jigsaw still to be decided. MGM stated back in November that it aims to release a James Bond film every two years from November 2012. It went on to say that while it […]