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The Bourne Identity (Paperback)

by Robert Ludlum (Author) "Paris, 10 July - France expelled three high-ranking Cuban diplomats today in connection with the world-wide search for a man called Carlos, who is believed..." (more)
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 544 pages
  • Publisher: Orion; New edition edition (6 May 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0752858548
  • ISBN-13: 978-0752858548
  • Product Dimensions: 17 x 11.2 x 4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 3,167 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #4 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Authors, A-Z > L > Ludlum, Robert
    #8 in  Books > Crime, Thrillers & Mystery > Thrillers > Spy Stories
    #94 in  Books > Fiction > Genre > Adventure Stories

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Product Description

Time Magazine
‘Always absorbing … His characters are complex and credible, his sleight of plot as cunning as any terrorist conspiracy … ’ --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"Probably the best modern spy thriller I have ever read. I love Ludlum's stuff because he challenges you from the first page." -- Pete Waterman (DAILY EXPRESS )

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Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
Paris, 10 July - France expelled three high-ranking Cuban diplomats today in connection with the world-wide search for a man called Carlos, who is believed to be an important link in an international terrorist network. Read the first page
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The Bourne Identity
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The Bourne Identity 4.3 out of 5 stars (37)
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Customer Reviews

37 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (37 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Bourne Identity, 23 Feb 2006
By A Customer
This review is from: The Bourne Identity (Audio Cassette)
Gripping and thought-provoking thriller, but only if you like to think! Mindless readers should not attempt this intricate story of an amnesiac who tracks down his own history from clues he doesn't even realise he's picked up, efficiently surviving asassination attempts without knowing why "they" are out to get him, or how he acquired these deadly skills. Those who found the film differing wildly from the plot of the book should track down the original film starring Richard Chamberlain and Jaclyn Smith, far superior to the latest Matt Damon scramble.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars This is how a thriller should read, 5 Jan 2003
This review is from: The Bourne Identity (Paperback)
There is a cliché that says a book is a real page turner and it certainly applies to this book. I picked it up because I loved the film and I imagined the book would be just as good. The novel, however, leaves the film standing. Don't expect a movie tie-in because this is certainly not that. Jason Bourne is found floating in the ocean and that's about where the similarity starts and finishes. Some great scenes in Zurich and Paris are the only other resemblances to the film.

I'd never read a Robert Ludlum book before but this has me searching for the next. It's written at a pace that keeps you hooked, the story is much more complex than the film and the characterisation and plot is a joy to read. I was hooked to the very last page.

On the downside, if you have seen the film one of the crucial story twists is known to you. If you haven't seen the movie - read the book first for this is how a thriller should read.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars This book makes the film a painful experience..., 1 Aug 2005
By A Customer
I too, like many people have offered reviews, saw the film before i read the book. After being pleasantly satisfied with what hollywood had to offer i was sceptical as to what the book could offer that the film hadn't already...

It took only the first few chapters for that scepticism to wash away, much like Bourne's limp body in the opening of both book and film. This book offer's more depth, twists, morale dilemmas, teasing questions, and surprising answers than the film could ever have done, even if it were to run for abother 10 hours. I ask you, in dilluded confusion, where was Carlos in the film? The most gripping, intriguing and heartwarming elements of the story are elated from the film for absolutely no reason!
"Bourne's" history is, in itself an intruguin story of loss and dealing with it, and the knock on effect leading to the pier in Marsaille is just bewildering.
The depth and detail of which Ludlum presents for Carlos' army of old men, and the tedious encounters around the analyst's conference room in the 'mighty' USA CIA headquarters, lend a delightful and delicate intricacy to a world unknown to all that read. Every strategic decision Bourne makes, based on his training, lends a new dimension to the stereotpyically 'Muscle-bound' world, that we so readily associate (through hollywood, i presume) to a spy.

Now for my complaints, of which i only have one:
Ludlum hints at the identity of a 'certain character' to be significant and, at the very least, surprising... Why was this abandoned?
Ludlum is, without doubt, the most accomplished Spy thriller writer of this century, and The Bourne Identity is his finest work.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars One off the assembly-line
Man with amnesia and bullet holes, bobs around the Med before English doctor in south of France spends months nursing him back to physical health. Who is he? What's his past? Read more
Published 16 days ago by Officer Dibble

2.0 out of 5 stars Plod, plod, plod
Oh dear, this one dragged! Stilted dialogue, dopey love thread, and about 50 too many punch-ups and narrow escapes. And yes, like the films, Bourne is indestructible. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Eric Ambleside

1.0 out of 5 stars The Yawn Identity
How they made such exciting, interesting and modern films from such a plodding dated book is a miracle. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mr. Bj Chambers

5.0 out of 5 stars Bournes beginning
Superb. Be prepared to buy the next two Bourne books also. Your brain wont let you go!
Published 5 months ago by Robin Walker

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for me
I am probably one of the few people in the entire world that didn't like this book. I found the first part really well paced and exciting although it was tedious at times and over... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Mr. D. J. Sutton

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is essential if you love espionage novels
I think that the book is superior to the film and am AMAZED that some other reviewers have commented otherwise (notably those I see who saw the film first and thus perhaps read... Read more
Published 16 months ago by jules

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent thriller for a holiday read

This is a great book from the start, it is by far the best of the trilogy. The next book is a bit slow but the third one better. Read more
Published 20 months ago by M. Wilkinson

5.0 out of 5 stars What a great read
What a great read, it had me hooked from the out set. it did drag a little part way through but plenty of action to follow was kept in going. A well written book, thank you.
Published 22 months ago by jammy person

5.0 out of 5 stars The Master at his peak........
Robert Ludlum had been writing successful thrillers for 9 years by the time he published 'The Bourne Identity' in 1980 and this was the book that propelled him to the top of the... Read more
Published 23 months ago by richard Brown

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than the film
I read the book first then saw the movie and was disappointed.The film seemed to be the same story but the book is more detailed and much better and i would listen to the others... Read more
Published on by vic

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