19 replies to this topic

[MarcAngeDraco]

Inspired by Byron's question in another thread...

Here's his original question and my answer, please post your favs and comments.

What would be your top 5 Bond related books MarcAnge? Aside from all the novels.

Now that's a really tough one, Byron. Tough because there are just so many books, and so many different ways to evaluate them (how informative, how readable, layout, photos, etc).

I won't attempt to rank these, but here are some of my current favs:

Benson's Bedside Companion
Cork's James Bond: The Legacy
Griswold's Ian Fleming's James Bond: Annotations and Chronologies...
Rubin's The James Bond Films: A Behind The Scenes History
Nourmand's James Bond Movie Posters

[Major Tallon]

I agree with your selections of Benson, Cork, and Griswold, but I'd add Kingsley Amis's The James Bond Dossier and Sellers' The Battle For Bond.

[sharpshooter]

I have only read 2 or so Fleming books, and I am keeping it that way for a little while.

I have read the Young Bond series more currently. I am planning to read them in continuity.

[MarcAngeDraco]

I agree with your selections of Benson, Cork, and Griswold, but I'd add Kingsley Amis's The James Bond Dossier and Sellers' The Battle For Bond.

Also great choices, Major Tallon!

Anyone else care to list their current and/or all-time favs?...

[Judo chop]

Birds of the West Indies is an absorbing read. I literally flew through it.

[Kara Milovy]

Well, obviously setting aside my own...

I have a linked list of my favorite Bond non-fiction on my website.

The Complete James Bond Encyclopedia (Stephen Jay Rubin)

[DLibrasnow]

[quote name='Kara Milovy' post='767723' date='30 August 2007 - 13:54']The Complete James Bond Encyclopedia (Stephen Jay Rubin)

[OmarB]

I've got the Griswold book, otherwise I'm not really interested.

[Byron]

Hi MarcAnge, glad you started this thread.

Here is an older one you may find informative. Hope more people give us their faves.

http://debrief.comma...showtopic=22679

[Kara Milovy]

[quote name='DLibrasnow' post='767768' date='30 August 2007 - 14:51'][quote name='Kara Milovy' post='767723' date='30 August 2007 - 13:54']The Complete James Bond Encyclopedia (Stephen Jay Rubin)

[MHazard]

I'm going to put in a plug for "Ian Fleming's James Bond Annotations and Chronologies for Ian Fleming's Bond Stories" by John Griswold. The glossary is great and he provides a lot of useful background on Fleming's stories. My biggest criticism of it is that I think he thinks more about some things than Fleming did and I do not believe that Fleming intended the FRWL take place in 1954. But, an incredibly useful reference.

[Bwanito]

Here is my top five:

1- "The James Bond Bedside Companion" by Raymond Benson
2- "The James Bond Dossier" by Kinglsey Amis
3- "The Complete James Bond Movie Encyclop

[MarcAngeDraco]

5- "James Bond and Indiana Jones: Action Figures" by Nicolas Fleurier

Now that's a slightly unexpected choice. Bwanito, if you're interested in sharing, I'm curious what makes that one stand out to you.

Anyone else care to post their list?...

[Bwanito]

5- "James Bond and Indiana Jones: Action Figures" by Nicolas Fleurier

Now that's a slightly unexpected choice. Bwanito, if you're interested in sharing, I'm curious what makes that one stand out to you.

It's a subject that take part of my focuses concerning the Bond's collection. And there are few books about the Bond's action-figures (at the best it's only a part of it like in "the incredible world of 007"). I think that it's the first one that cover the whole production from 1965 to 2007 (from AC Gilbert to Sideshow).
Besides i have to tell you that i'm not totally impartial. I participated to it (some of the items shown come from my own collection).

Don't hesitate to check The Nicolas Fleurier Interview (from Cbn) to get further informations.

Edited by Bwanito, 10 September 2007 - 08:34 AM.

[freemo]

Kiss Kiss Bang! Bang!: The Unoffical James Bond 007 Film Companion. All time numereo uno! Very, very, good. I'm suprised no-one else has mentioned it.

"Bond Films" from the Virgin Film series. The reviews are better than you'd expect.

Greg Williams' "Bond on Set" photo book for Die Another Day is very nice, even if it is full of Die Another Day.

James Bond: The Man and His World by Henry Chancellor.

I can't say I like a lot of the others. There's something tired and insufferably conventional about them, toeing the "semi-offical" line: "Golden Gun is the weakest, Spy Who Loved Me saved the series, Brosnan is the second coming", blah, blah, blah, yawn. If someone told me that the authors of "The Essential Bond". hadn't actually seen the movies I'd believe them. It's all the same old slogans that don't actually mean anything. The same old words. I actually think the Bond reference book industry is all a dodge; That the same guy writes them all and he just uses different names.

If I hear / read one more time about how For Your Eyes Only "brought Bond back down to earth" in those exact words then I'll, well, I probably won't do anything, but really, enough of the old cliches. Let's have some new cliches.

[Kara Milovy]

freemo, I agree about that Virgin book, it's excellent.

I also agree about tired old clich

[Byron]

I followed Major Tallon's, MarcAngeDraco's and Bwanito's recommendation and splurged on a first edition JAMES BOND DOSSIER. It was more expensive than i expected but it fits in nicely with the other Cape 1sts.

Considering i know nothing about this book, i hope its going to be an interesting read.

[Major Tallon]

I hope you enjoy it. It's a novella-length essay on the many aspects of the literary Bond. I've gone back to it numerous times, as I think it's a well written, extremely insightful analysis of who Bond is and why he's become such an iconic figure.

[Barbershop Quartet]

Kazzam! This is a tough choice.

I enjoyed so many of them, and they're good fun to dip into:

John Glen's autobiography, "For My Eyes Only" had a big Bond chunk that was Bond related and interesting.

"Bond Girls Are Forever" and Casino Royale's "Bond On Set" sheerly for its pictorial content ;-)

For the intellectual Bond fan: "James Bond Culture and Politics"

[Byron]

I hope you enjoy it. It's a novella-length essay on the many aspects of the literary Bond. I've gone back to it numerous times, as I think it's a well written, extremely insightful analysis of who Bond is and why he's become such an iconic figure.

Thanks M T. I'll post my thoughts on it once i've read it.