219 replies to this topic

[stamper]

Is there any place where we can pay via paypal ? I'm dying to get my hands on this one.
They should have made a hardback with dustjacket ltd edition, I would have snapped that one in a minute.

[triviachamp]

Ugh Amazon.ca is now delaying it to November! I decided to get it airmailed directly from Tomahawk. Waiting five months or more to save 20 bucks was getting to be a bit too much for me.

Hope it gets here soon!

[Qwerty]

Not seeing on eBay yet either.

[TheSaint]

Show of hands-besides ACE & Royal Dalton, who has received their copy of this book?

[SecretAgentFan]

Got mine very quickly through Amazon.co.uk marketplace! And the book is simply amazing and well worth its price. Go for it!

[David Schofield]

Show of hands-besides ACE & Royal Dalton, who has received their copy of this book?

Got mine about two weeks ago from Tomahawk direct (see my posts of that time for my praise of their service).

Really excellent stuff. About two thirds the way through. Will give final judgement when I finish.

[SecretAgentFan]

Especially the chapters on NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN help to clear up why that film never achieved its potential.

[triviachamp]

Well Mine got shipped a few hours ago. Hope it'll get here soon!

[Qwerty]

Mine was finally dispatched a few days ago, so it should be here in a week or so.

[TheSaint]

That brings the total to 4 of us who have received their copies.

[Qwerty]

Oddly enough, this arrived much earlier than I expected--today!

Finally.

[TheSaint]

I got mine Thursday so, that brings the total to 6.

[RazorBlade]

I just went on amazon.com in the US and it didn't come up. Guess I'll try barnes and noble.

[Qwerty]

I just went on amazon.com in the US and it didn't come up. Guess I'll try barnes and noble.

Not out in the US yet: http://debrief.comma...p...st&p=748974

[triviachamp]

Got mine today.

[King and Country]

Not sure if this is a great deal or not, but Waterstones in the UK have the book for

[K1Bond007]

I finally got mine today. Looks pretty good. Can't wait to dig into it.. though it would have worked out better for me had it come last week. Oh well. Should be good read for sure.

[Major Tallon]

Mine arrived today. I'm not in a position to write a full review, but on first "Blush" it easily lives up to its billing. There's a full background of the efforts to bring Bond to the screen, extracts from the correspondence between the principals, a look at the McClory-Fleming lawsuit, tales of the production of Thunderball and NSNA, photos and storyboards, and more. Particularly interesting are the appendices, with summaries of the various screen treatments, including two by Fleming. In the world of Bond literature, the last few years have belonged to Young Bond and the Moneypenny Diaries, and next year belongs to Sebastian Faulks. Looks to me, though, that this year belongs to "The Battle For Bond."

[TheSaint]

Finished it last night. Great book!

I caught one mistake, though-he writes that, after Bond tells Fiona "My dear girl, don't flatter yourself. What I did tonight was for King & country. You don't think it gave me any pleasure, do you?" in Thunderball, she slaps him. Didn't happen.

[Qwerty]

I'll hopefully be able to get into this sometime this upcoming weekend.

[Double-Oh Agent]

Finished the book yesterday. Absolutely a great read. A must for all Bond fans. It really fills in the details and answers a lot of questions regarding the Thunderball saga. Robert Sellers should be commended for his research and dedication to this topic. It's a story that had to be told and he did it well.

None of the principal players (Ian Fleming, Kevin McClory, Ivar Bryce, and Jack Whittingham) come out smelling like a rose in this thing save for Whittingham. Personally, I don't begrudge McClory for anything he did up through the release of Never Say Never Again as it was within his rights to do them (and he did contribute some very meaning stuff to the 007 legend). However, it's his actions post NSNA that irritate me and make me less inclined to want to like him. I'll discuss more when there are more reactions to the book.

In the meantime, thank you Mr. Sellers for a wonderful and insightful book on a very important segment of Bond history.

[Qwerty]

Definitely thought I'd be able to have finished it by now, but I've yet to even start! Must get into it this upcoming Monday.

[Navy007Fan]

Looks like it is available for pre-order on the US Amazon.

[Qwerty]

-----UPDATE-----

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

New book by Robert Sellers; due in October 2007

[the other fellow]

Received my copy today(Friday).

I ordered it from Amazon UK two weeks ago for 11.99GBP.

[zencat]

Took a while for me to get this (had it tied in with another book on Amazon) but now I have it and I'm reading it and it's AMAZING! This may be the most fascinating book about Bond ever written.

I'm not yet 100 pages into it, but from what I've read up to this point about the development of the aborted Thunderball movie, I'm even more stunned that Kevin McClory could later make such sweeping claims of ownership of Bond. I was worried this book might have a pro McClory slant, but it's clearly neutral. I didn't realize just how much work Fleming did, writing nurmous treatments, etc. Thus far, McClory is simply a participant in brainstorming sessions, giving Fleming notes, as were Ivar Bryce and Jack Whittingham (who, if anyone, deserves more credit than he's ever been given). Throwing out ideas in a room is NOTHING compared to having to go off and face a blank piece of paper. And a producer trying to claim writing credit because the writer incorporated his notes is as old as the movie business. Having been through the development process myself, I see exactly where everyone is coming from.

Fascinating!

(It's also clear to me Fleming should have never used this material for a book.)

[MarkA]

It's also clear to me Fleming should have never used this material for a book.

On reading the book it appears to me that Fleming was either incredible naive or incredible arrogant. I suspect the later and I also suspect it was a class thing. I think he thought he was above these other people. Kevin McClory to me comes out of it a very sad individual. He spent his whole life since THUNDERBALL chasing the same dream. He really should have got on with something else, though I can understand his anguish. He was so near that pot of gold that Broccoli and Saltzman reaped.

[zencat]

Done.

What an AMAZING book. Thank you Robert Sellers. This is not only a gift for Bond fans, but also a gift to the families of Jack Whittingham, Ian Fleming, and Cubby Broccoli to have the facts laid out here. I'm thrilled that we have the real story behind Kevin McClory -- who is clearly one of the greatest pricks to have ever walked this earth.

[zencat]

Kevin McClory to me comes out of it a very sad individual. He spent his whole life since THUNDERBALL chasing the same dream. He really should have got on with something else, though I can understand his anguish. He was so near that pot of gold that Broccoli and Saltzman reaped.

But McClory made MILLIONS from Thunderball. Millions. And all he did to earn it was have a few story meetings with Ian Fleming in the 1950s, he didn't even need to actually produce the movie. Heck, he then made more untold millions from NSNA (while, again, someone else produced the movie). And he pulled in another 2 million selling rights he didn't own to Sony in the 90s. How much did McClory make off James Bond in his lifetime? Ten, twenty, fifty million? I'd call that a pot of gold. And unlike everyone else who made gold from Bond, McClory didn't do an honest day's work. He just sued people, and screwed people, and took credit for other people's work.

It's also clear to me Fleming should have never used this material for a book.

On reading the book it appears to me that Fleming was either incredible naive or incredible arrogant. I suspect the later and I also suspect it was a class thing. I think he thought he was above these other people.

But on that, we agree.

[[dark]]

I have got to get me this book!