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The Life of Ian Fleming [Hardcover]

John Pearson
4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Oct 1966
It is now 50 years since the premiere of Dr No, the very first Bond film, with Sean Connery introducting 007 as the glamorous secret agent who would become the single most profitable movie character in the history of cinema. But James Bond was invented by one man, Ian Fleming, a wartime intelligence officer and Sunday Times newspaper man who lived to see only the very beginning of the Bond cult.

John Pearson's famous biography remains the definitive account of how only Ian Fleming could have dreamed up James Bond, for he led a life as colourful as anything in his fiction, which in turn became a covert autobiography. Charming, debonair and a ruthless womaniser, globetrotting from wartime Algiers to beachside Jamaica, Fleming was as elusive and opaque as his imaginary creation.

In his new introduction, John Pearson examines the extent to which Fleming's character informs even the most recent movie portrayals of his hero, and how Bond himself has achieved immortality beyond his creator's wildest dreams.
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.


Product details

  • Hardcover: 352 pages
  • Publisher: Jonathan Cape Ltd; First Edition edition (Oct 1966)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0224611364
  • ISBN-13: 978-0224611367
  • Product Dimensions: 21.6 x 15 x 3.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,003,647 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Product Description

About the Author

John Pearson was born in 1930, and educated at King's College School, Wimbledon and Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he read history. He has worked on various newspapers, including the Economist, The Times, and the Sunday Times where for a time he wrote the Atticus column. After the success of his Life of Ian Fleming, he decamped with wife and family to Rome, where he lived for some years. Mr Pearson returned to England to research and write the life and times of the Kray brothers, and is now at work on a full-scale biography of the Sitwells. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A good book 9 Nov 2010
By Rowan
Format:Paperback
This is a good book. What I like about it is that Pearson seems to have done his homework. He draws a lot of connections between Fleming, the boy, son and brother and husband, the Secret Service man, the writer, the playboy, the athlete and the alcohol drinking and cigarette smoking socialite, and the subject of his books - James Bond (named after an ornithologist writing of birds of Caribbean - one of Fleming's favourite books). Pearson selects and renders his anecdotes well, and I really got a sense of the development of Bond and Flemming - the character and the man - each bleeding into the other.
There's a great emotional aspect to the book also - Pearson gets beneath the cool facade, delving into Flemming's insecurities and inner motivations - in a very human and humane manner. In many respects, this is quite a moving book. It was six months ago that I read it, and I still think about it, frequently, and refer to it from time to time in conversations with friends; yes, it's full of interesting facts that when shared with others never fail to impress!
I recommend it, for the Bond enthusiast, and those interested in Flemming, and for those interested in the relationship between authors and their characters - authorship - the way in which authors sometimes live their life, by chance and/or intentionally, in a manner that seems to facilitate and feed into their written subject.
Enjoy!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Kindle users beware. 22 Nov 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
I am 66% through this book - no page numbers - and enjoying it, but the download is seriously irritating. There are so many spelling mistakes as to make my teeth stand on edge every time I come across one. This book must never have been proof read or simple things like 'bis' instead of 'his' or 'ber' instead of 'her', 'bidethir' instead of 'their', T' instead of 'I' would not occur so many, many times and oooh so many, many more errors would have been spotted. It is a wonderful account of Ian Fleming's life and very interesting but totally spoilt. If anyone else intends to download this book to their kindle please be prepared for the poor quality. I can rate the book quite highly as I am enjoying it and it is a fascinating account about an extraordinary person. I would recommend anyone to read this but not in digital form.
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5.0 out of 5 stars The Life of Ian Fleming 22 July 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
A fascinating account of Fleming's life: bit like a Bond Novel. Fleming attended Eton with his elder brother but developed something of an attitude, excelling at athletics and truancy, finally leaving under a cloud. No University yet, but a spell at Sandhurst where he hated the discipline and resigned after a year. Private tuition in Austria followed, where he learned to ski, had a good time and treated the local girls with the same casualness as James Bond.
Ian flunked a Foreign Office exam but did report freelance for Reuters on the mid 30's Moscow industrial spy trials. Then a period in London when the club life developed and finally his contacts allowed him entry to the Intelligence Service at the start of the war. After WWII he write the Bond books.
Well written and researched, easy to read, holds your interest.
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