Royale’s 007 Reference Book Depository

royale65

The Battle for Bond – The Genesis of Cinema's Greatest Hero
by Robert Sellers (2007)

-acidie, recommended

The Bond Files: The Unofficial Guide to Ian Fleming's James Bond: The Unofficial Guide to the World's Greatest Secret Agent
by Andy Lane (1998 & 2002)

-acidie, recommended

Bond on Bond
by Sir Roger Moore (2012)

-royale65, recommended

Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan
by Mark O’ Connell (2012)

- royale65,vzok, highly recommended

A Close Look at “A View to a Kill”
by Andrew McNess (2015)

-royale65, recommended

Den Store Boken Om James Bond 007
by Morten Cruys Magnus Sagen and Morten Andreas Steingrimsen (2015)

-Thunderfinger, recommended

James Bond Archives
by Paul Duncan (2012 & 2015)

-Max_The_Parrot, highly recommended

The James Bond Dossier
by Kingsley Amis (1966)

The James Bond Encyclopedia
by John Cork and Collin Stutz (2007, reprinted 2008, revised 2009, 2014)

-PropertyOfALady, royale65, recommended

James Bond Unmasked
by Bill Desowitz (2012)

-royale65, recommended

The Man With the Golden Typewriter
by Ian and Fergus Fleming (2015)

-acidie, recommended

The Many Lives of James Bond
by Mark Edlitz

-w2bond, recommended

Martinis, Girls and Guns. 50 Years of 007
by Martin Sterling and Gary Morecambe (revised edition 2002)

- royale65, highly recommended

The Music Of James Bond
by John Burlingame (2012 & 2014)

-w2bond, royale65, highly recommended

The Rough Guide to James Bond
by various (2002)

- royale65, recommended

When Harry Met Cubby
by Robert Sellers (2019)

-royale65, highly recommenced

My Word is My Bond
by Sir Roger Moore (2008)

- royale65, highly recommended

James Bond in the Cinema, John Brosnan, 1972. (Updated 1981.)

The James Bond Films: A Behind the Scenes History, Steven Jay Rubin, 1981. (Updated 1985.)

The James Bond Bedside Companion, Raymond Benson, 1984. [Updated 1988. Republished 2012 as an e-book.]

- recommended, RichardTheBruce

royale65

Welcome dear reader! I’d thought it would be rather neat to have a bibliography on Bond reference books, complied by the users of this site. So, if you’re looking to purchase a book, head in here, and see if it’s been recommended. And if you’ve got a favourite “Bond bible”, be sure to mention on this thread.

I’ve got a few reference books, and I’ll be adding those in the coming weeks or months. Feel free to add your ones as well. Please give it a brief review, whether you'd recommend it, and I’ll update the list on the first page.

This thread is meant for any academic works on our beloved secret agent, including biographies from Bond alumni.


Let’s kick this list of a with a doozy shall we?

Martinis, Girls and Guns. 50 Years of 007.
by Martin Sterling and Gary Morecambe

Covering the first 50 years of Bond, from 1952 to 2002. Includes biographies of all the major players in the Bond universe; reviews on each of Ian Fleming novels; the continuation novels; the EoN films up to TWINE, including CR 54 & 67 and NSNA, whilst placing them amongst the general, wider zeitgeist.

One maybe disagrees with the authors opinion on, say, the merits of the filmic TB, but one can never dispute the care and craft that has gone into this book – funny, touching and informative. Highly recommended.


(I’ll be adding to the list periodically. Please feel free to chip in!)

royale65

Catching Bullets: Memoirs of a Bond Fan
by Mark O’ Connell

What was it like being a Bond fan in the 1980’s? The answer is both funny and poignant, as told by our very own Mark, a’ka, @CatchingBullets. Mark’s grandfather, Jimmy, took a job as a chauffeur… to Eon Productions. So, take a wonderful ride with Jimmy, Sir Rog and Maud Adams, as Mark guides us through his Bond infused memoirs. Superbly written. Highly recommended. (Released in 2012)


My Word is My Bond
by Sir Roger Moore

An auto biography of the third 007. As warm hearted and self effacing as you’d expect from the great man himself. Honest and frank, with the trademark Moore wit thrown in there, naturally. I adore this book. Plenty of gossip on his seven Bond films. Highly recommended.

(If the Mods want me to edit my post in future, I will)

vzok

Just finished Catching Bullets today. A lovely light hearted look at the movies.

royale65

vzok wrote: »

Just finished Catching Bullets today. A lovely light hearted look at the movies.

With such a glut of reference materials out there, I thought Catching Bullets was a breath of fresh air with it's sheer personality.

royale65

James Bond Unmasked
by Bill Desowitz (released 2012)

Published by a certain chap called Charles Helfenstein, writer of two worthy tomes that we will be getting into later, namely The Making of OHMSS and TLD, respectively.

Bill’s book takes in all the Bond films however, up till Quantum of Solace, with a look forward to Skyfall. The book itself has a good, albeit brief, analysis of the Bond actors and the Bond movies, with a detailed synopsis of each film. More noteworthy is the interviews the author has conducted with each actor, yup Connery is interviewed as well. Recommended.

A Close Look at “A View to a Kill”
by Andrew McNess (released 2015)

In an unashamed love letter to AVTAK, the author has a very close look at the 14th Bondian adventure, claiming that the film itself subverts the tried and tested formula. No matter what one’s own views on AVTAK are, the author writes with such great passion and verve, that one overlooks ones prejudiced concerning the film in question. As an AVTAK sympathiser myself, I found this book a treat. Recommended. (Even if you are not a sympathiser)

@vzok, would you recommend Catching Bullets to the forum?

vzok

Yes I would recommend Catching Bullets. It’s a good bit different from other Bond reference books. Plenty of funny moments and reminders of being a fan in the 80s.

royale65

Thank you @vzok. You're the first recommender in this thread!

vzok

No problem. I've a stack of Bond reference books to get round to reading, with more on their way at Christmas. I might try the Battle For Bond next.

Max_The_Parrot

I do have a soft spot for A View to a Kill and Roger is my favourite Bond, so I’ve been eyeing ‘A Close Look at A View to a Kill’ for a while - on the back of your thoughts @royale65 I’ll take the plunge and grab a copy! Thanks.

I do enjoy a good reference book - one of my favourites is The James Bond Archives - Paul Duncan - a gorgeous looking landscape hardback book, choc full of glossy pages full of photographs and commentary on each film up to Skyfall (original edition) in the form of interviews/running commentaries. Loads of behind the scenes information on the films, but it’s the photographs that shine through here - exceptionally well presented and a great book to pick up, open at a random page and enjoy. I have the original version which is frankly too big and heavy to handle comfortably - I’d suggest going for the revised Spectre edition which is much easier to handle and includes an extra chapter on Spectre.

royale65

Thanks @Max_The_Parrot. The James Bond Archives is such a massive tome, worthy of being displayed on any coffee table! (and it's bloody hard to read, as it's so weighty!)

Interestingly, the interviews for the archive are, mainly, transcripted from the fabulous "Making of" documentaries narrated by Patrick Macnee. (Well up until GoldenEye that is)

I must admit I've never read the Battle for Bond @vzok. After reading copious amounts on the McClory/Fleming disputes, I'm a little burnt out by the whole affair.

acidie

My "bibles" are, and in no particular order The Battle for Bond (i have the banned version), The Man With The Golden Typewriter, Some Kind of Hero, The Bond Archives, The making of OHMSS and the Living Daylights books, The Bond Files *this was a early 2000s book that had loads of information. I also religiously subscribe to mi6 confidential magazine.

Max_The_Parrot

@acidie yes The Bond Files is great for such a small paperbook book, my copy is very well thumbed through.

Thunderfinger

I have this one (Norwegian)

mattjoes

I read the Amazon preview of A Close Look at “A View to a Kill”, and it is highly enjoyable and interesting.

royale65

The list has been updated to include your suggestions chaps.

royale65

The Rough Guide to James Bond
by various (2002)

Looking for a brief, nay rough guide to all things Bondian? I recommend The Rough Guide to James Bond, including brief reviews on all of the novels, the Bond’s, the movies, the gadgets, the villains, the girls. Useful if one is getting into Bond. Slightly snarky, but enjoyable.

royale65

Bond on Bond
by Sir Roger Moore (2012)

Sir Rog guides us through all the elements of a classic 007 adventure, including the villains, the girls, the gadgets, the locations and the cars, all presented with Sir Rog’s inimitable charm and wit. Plenty of personal anecdotes as well!

w2bond

The Music Of James Bond
By John Burlingame

A not often covered topic. Has some great stories about how the music and soundtracks came to be, and covers a few controversial sound editing choices (you know which ones)

royale65

w2bond wrote: »

The Music Of James Bond
By John Burlingame

A not often covered topic. Has some great stories about how the music and soundtracks came to be, and covers a few controversial sound editing choices (you know which ones)

I quite agree @w2bond! Music is such a big part of the Bondian experience, I'm surprised no one has attempted telling the story of Bond, solely from the music.

zebrafish

Dr. No
By Cinema Retro Special Edition Magazine

I bought this when it came out for £ 9.95, the remaining copies cost £ 39.95 (!)
Fantastic issue, full of a million details about the making of Dr. No, with many pictures I had not seen before and printed in very good quality. Highly recommended (if you can spare the high price). (link)

royale65

When Harry Met Cubby
by Robert Sellers (2019)

Told from the viewpoint of the original producers, Harry Saltzman and Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli.

Fans of the Bond series will be familiar with much of this book, but it's real selling point is the relationship between the two men, and it really is told from the viewpoint of them.

A few good titbits. Entertaining, informative and surprisingly emotional.

BT3366

Re the previous 2 posts above:

I also got multiple copies of the Dr. No Cinema Retro special above when it was released. In light of there not being a full-length Charles Helfenstein-written book or something similar on the film it pretty much fills the gap with a wealth of great content. I'd buy further such tributes to other Bond films if our Cinema Retro friends would be willing to put in the work. They've done tributes to YOLT and OHMSS in subsequent issues and other great Bond articles. Maybe even a compilation of their Bond content to date.

I want to get When Harry Met Cubby. I've said for years that Saltzman lived a colorful life and not just his association with Bond and have long wanted a full-length bio of his life and hopefully this will fill in some of those gaps.

royale65

BT3366 wrote: »

Re the previous 2 posts above:

I also got multiple copies of the Dr. No Cinema Retro special above when it was released. In light of there not being a full-length Charles Helfenstein-written book or something similar on the film it pretty much fills the gap with a wealth of great content. I'd buy further such tributes to other Bond films if our Cinema Retro friends would be willing to put in the work. They've done tributes to YOLT and OHMSS in subsequent issues and other great Bond articles. Maybe even a compilation of their Bond content to date.

I want to get When Harry Met Cubby. I've said for years that Saltzman lived a colorful life and not just his association with Bond and have long wanted a full-length bio of his life and hopefully this will fill in some of those gaps.

R.E. Saltzman, Seller's only gives a brief biography after he left EoN. Though, Harry, bless him, was rather a recluse during and after Jacqueline's battle with cancer, and subsequent death. It's very sad to see Harry down on his luck after that. A few films as producer, but he disappeared from public life, virtually.

Edit - The book is concerned with Cubby and Harry's involvement with the Bond series, ending with the infamous break up. Not too much after that, for both men.

PropertyOfALady

The James Bond Encyclopedia by John Cork and Collin Stutz is good. Last I read it, I remember thinking that I was surprised by how many minor characters were mentioned, even.

Gerard

Bought this one when doing my military service in Trier :



Mine covered the movies to FYEO (minus CR)

And in France :



Covers the movies from DN to TLD, plus NSNA (CR gets only one line).

And of course, there's that one, dedicated to the food in the world of James Bond :



Interesting, but difficult to read (text on pics doesn't really work) and with mistakes tha(t would make Ian Fleming roll in his grave.

w2bond

The Many Lives of James Bond by Mark Edlitz

Features interviews with people involved in the creation of, or who have portrayed, James Bond - screenwriters, authors, stuntmen, voiceover/dubbing/audiobook actors, costume designer, comic/poster illustrators. A few well known names but more interestingly many you have probably never even heard or been aware of. Very insightful.

RichardTheBruce

Back in the 70s and 80s in a time before having the internet and video available these were the classics I grew up with, @royale65. I was born in 1965.



James Bond in the Cinema, John Brosnan, 1972. (Updated 1981.)

Unusual name for an author, I thought at the time. These two books allowed me to relive the Bond films over and over, with smart commentary and perspective. Still recommended as a sort of time capsule, each book ends with the franchise in an unexpected direction (Diamonds Are Forever, Moonraker) but with hope for the future. From the 1981 edition.

POSTSCRIPT: Since writing the above, the author has heard
rumors that producer Broccoli has taken the adverse criticism (par-
ticularly in America) that Moonraker received to heart and is intend-
ing that the next Bond film will be nearer the earlier ones in style
with a much "tougher" James Bond. It will be interesting to see the
result.

The James Bond Films: A Behind the Scenes History, Steven Jay Rubin, 1981. (Updated 1985.)

A well-done unofficial record and assessment of the franchise. Mr. Rubin executed a bunch of key interviews to draw from, and minus the support of EON searched out and revealed a boatload of interesting photographs not likely seen to that point.



The James Bond Bedside Companion, Raymond Benson, 1984. [Updated 1988. Republished 2012 as an e-book.]

Another joy to possess especially at the time it was published, a comprehensive Bond reference for book and film.

Gerard

I have the last two, as well as this one :

royale65

Thanks chaps! I see we are amassing quite a collection of books.

@RichardTheBruce, I've heard great things about those books you mentioned, yet, never read them. A valuable source of Bondian knowledge back in the pre-internet days, I should imagine.

RichardTheBruce

Very familiar to me, @royale65, I think they stand up today for anyone interested in Bond and how things were viewed to those points in time. Definitely recommended and worth searching out.