219 replies to this topic

[Qwerty]

Now on the CBn main page...

'The Battle For Bond: The Genesis of Cinema's Greatest Hero'

Preview of a new book by Robert Sellers

-----UPDATE-----

'The Battle For Bond: The Genesis of Cinema's Greatest Hero' Coming In July

Details and extracts from the upcoming book by Robert Sellers

-----UPDATE-----

Len Deighton Praises 'The Battle for Bond'

Due for release on 1 July 2007

-----UPDATE-----

Exclusive Photographs From 'The Battle For Bond'

Eagerly awaited book by Robert Sellers; due for release on 18 June

-----UPDATE-----

Pre-order 'The Battle For Bond' In The US

New book by Robert Sellers; due in October 2007

-----UPDATE-----

'The Battle For Bond' Now Available In US

Order online at amazon.com

[author]

I am the author of BATTLE FOR BOND, I'd be happy to take any questions you may wish to ask about this book.

R

[TheSaint]

Is there a release date yet? I'm chomping at the bit to read this book!

[Bon-san]

I am the author of BATTLE FOR BOND, I'd be happy to take any questions you may wish to ask about this book.

R

Welcome to CBn. I've sent you a PM (Personal Message).

[MarcAngeDraco]

Is there a release date yet? I'm chomping at the bit to read this book!

Me too!...

[Tiin007]

I don't think I've ever been more excited for a Bond book, and I do get pretty excited when it comes to Bond books.

[author]

Really glad to hear such enthusiasm for my book. I'm sure a lot of you are going to be surprised by its contents. There's a lot more to the McClory/Thunderball story than meets the eye and I've unearthed the REAL truth, thanks to private letters and documents written by the men who were there at the time (Fleming, McClory, Bryce and others).

For almost two years these men corresponded to one another on a weekly basis, sometimes behind each other's backs; these letters reveal what really happened, how close Thunderball came to being made in early 1960, what Fleming really thought of the project and of McClory, why the whole enterprise fell apart and bitter rivalry began, plus much more.

The book is scheduled for publication towards the end of the year or possibly very early in 2007. Will keep you informed, or check out Tomahawk's web site.

Best

R

[TheSaint]

Looking forward to it. Hoping it sees print sooner than later.

[MarcAngeDraco]

FYI- I emailed Tomahawk asking when they expected the book to be available, and this is the reply I got:

We hope to release this title in Spring of 2007, and will email you again when it is available. You will be able to purchase the book directly from our website.


Regards,


Tomahawk Sales

[TheSaint]

Spring of '07? Disappointing. Quite a wait.

[MarcAngeDraco]

Hopefully it'll be worth the wait...

[Qwerty]

Hopefully it'll be worth the wait...

It certainly sounds like it will be to me.

[spectre37]

Believe me Rob has sent me the book already and it will be well worth the wait.

[Qwerty]

Thanks to doublenoughtspy and 007 Magazine...

-----UPDATE-----

'The Battle For Bond: The Genesis of Cinema's Greatest Hero' Coming In July

Details and extracts from the upcoming book by Robert Sellers

This is shaping up to be the literary 007 release of 2007.

[stamper]

So the key seems to be one of these guys was gay, in a time it wasn't good to reveal so.
Looks like some great fodder to another thread on this board !

[K1Bond007]

This looks to be an interesting read. I'll probably pick this up at some point.

[zencat]

Looking forward to this.

[ACE]

I'm sure this book is going to be well researched and accomplished.
Robert Sellars' other work is excellent and this seems obviously a real a labour of love. Good James Bond Journalism is always wonderful stuff.

[dodge]

I could've sworn I'd seen copies of this in Barnes & Noble, Portland, Or, last fall. Is it the U.K. edition that's to be released this spring? U.S. publication was slated for October last year in one listing.

Update: just phoned Borders Books. They couldn't find the title or the author in their data base?

Someone, please, tell me. What is going on!

[doublenoughtspy]

I could've sworn I'd seen copies of this in Barnes & Noble, Portland, Or, last fall.

You saw a book about Bond's cinematic genesis - flipped through it and didn't buy it?

WHY?

Or did you see a book about Bond with a similar picture and are confusing the two?

The book does not have a US publisher. Tomahawk is a UK only outfit and the only people Sellers has been dealing with.

[dodge]

I could've sworn I'd seen copies of this in Barnes & Noble, Portland, Or, last fall.

You saw a book about Bond's cinematic genesis - flipped through it and didn't buy it?

WHY?
Or did you see a book about Bond with a similar picture and are confusing the two?

The book does not have a US publisher. Tomahawk is a UK only outfit and the only people Sellers has been dealing with.

Ah, yes, why, why! Generally, my memory does serve me well. Barnes & Noble, as a mighty chain, has been known to get advance copies of books that nobody else gets...or books that they start selling before their official release dates. In either case, it would have been before I joined this forum and you guys turned me into a full-time Bond fanatic! I'll drop by Barnes and Noble tomorrow and see what else I can learn.

[Simon]

Unless my laptop is playing games, there doesn't appear to be a link from one of Graham's pages to the next in the List of 10 Things article. From point 4 to 5 is the problem page.

However, if you replace the number 2 after _bond instead of 1 in the address bar and return, you can continue forward and links are provided to go through the rest.

http://www.007magazi...e_for_bond2.htm

[007 Magazine]

The page works now! Sorry for that slight technical hitch

[superado]

I am the author of BATTLE FOR BOND, I'd be happy to take any questions you may wish to ask about this book.

R

Hi there, Robert! Thank you in advance for taking on the research you did and for adding to the intriguing world of Ian Fleming/James Bond history.

I have a question: Will you cover the "genesis" of Bond's Bentley in Thunderball and the background story of Ivar Bryce's own Bentley that's theorized to have inspired Fleming? I'd like to know about the real Continental, since Fleming supposedly drove it for some time prior to shipping it to Bryce's home in the Bahamas.

Edited by superado, 04 May 2007 - 06:12 PM.

[bang bang]

Hi,

The book really doesn't delve into detail of that sort, it focuses purely on the attempts back in 1959/60 by McClory, Fleming and Bryce to make the first Bond film and all the resulting chaos and controversy that resulted.

[blackjack60]

I am the author of BATTLE FOR BOND, I'd be happy to take any questions you may wish to ask about this book.

I remember seeing a newspaper article on your book that quoted Fleming's letter about how how he thought Richard Burton would make an excellent Bond. This marks the first time Fleming has ever quoted on his preferred actors for the role. I've always been skeptical about David Niven being Fleming's first choice, and would like to ask if Niven features in your book, and whom you think Fleming most wanted for the part (if not Burton).

[bang bang]

Hi,

Yes, during my research I came across a letter from Fleming in which he wrote, "Richard Burton would be by far the best James Bond." This was August 1959 and, I believe, the first documented proof of who Fleming wanted as Bond.

My book also quotes more letters in which Fleming talks of other actors. When Hitchcock was involved for a short time in the Bond project the famed director wanted James Stewart as 007. Fleming, incredulously didn't seem to mind the choice. Ivar Bryce was against it. Other Fleming choices included Peter Finch and James Mason, who had then been cast in an American TV version of From Russia With Love. Fleming wrote, "If the worst comes to the worst, we might have to settle for him." Meaning Mason.

One of the most amazing things writing and researching this book were the letters I had access to, literally 100s from Fleming, McClory, Bryce, Ernest Cuneo, Jonathan Cape etc. Reading them was like going back in time to 1959/1960, listening to them argue and gossip with each other. For most of the book I've tried to tell the story through the letters as much as I could.

Robert

[Qwerty]

Brand new update today from doublenoughtspy...

Len Deighton Praises 'The Battle for Bond'

Due for release on 1 July 2007

[doublenoughtspy]

Thanks Devin.

If people aren't chomping at the bit for this book, then you need to get the defibrillator out of the glove box because you have no pulse.

[Doctor Shatterhand]

Thanks Devin.

If people aren't chomping at the bit for this book, then you need to get the defibrillator out of the glove box because you have no pulse.

This is by far the biggest Bond book I am looking forward to reading in years. I have been facinated by this story since I first read about Bond in 1972. At least now we can realize where the rumor of actor James Stewart as OO7 came from, Hitch himself.