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Question from an embarrassed Bond Fan...

chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
edited November 2012 in Literary 007 Posts: 17,804
I thought I had read all of Fleming's Bond, but I discovered today that my copy of Octopussy & The Living Daylights does not contain "007 In New York" as it was published in 1967...
To you Flemingists out there, my question is not whether I shell out the coin for a more recent edition, but rather to ask if it's a good enough short story that I RUSH to do so. :-?

Comments

  • bondboy007bondboy007
    Posts: 267
    http://docs5.chomikuj.pl/423180697,PL,0,1,Ian-Fleming---007-in-New-York.pdf
  • Agent005Agent005
    Posts: 562
    You're not missing much...

    The story was written by Fleming as an apology to a comment he made about hating New York City. It's worth a read, but don't expect anything from it.
  • SandySandy Somewhere in Europe
    Posts: 4,012
    chrisisall wrote:
    I thought I had read all of Fleming's Bond, but I discovered today that my copy of Octopussy & The Living Daylights does not contain "007 In New York" as it was published in 1967...
    To you Flemingists out there, my question is not whether I shell out the coin for a more recent edition, but rather to ask if it's a good enough short story that I RUSH to do so. :-?

    I also have strange collections. I was only recently that I found out that the version of AVTAK that I had in a collection was not the full one, when I bought TLD, which was supposed to be alone in a book but came with AVTAK (confusing? yes).

    In my opinion, and as someone who only read 007 in NY once and a long time ago, it's probably the weakest think Fleming ever wrote so if you get the chance read it, if not, don't think you're loosing a work of art, at least in my opinion.
  • SaintMarkSaintMark
    edited November 2012 Posts: 7,653
    If you find it you should buy it ,do it not because it is compulsive reading but you only so you can say afterward that you've read all of Flemings 007 tales. ;)
  • doubleonothingdoubleonothing Los Angeles
    Posts: 864
    As a period piece travelogue it's rather fun. There are some interesting things to note about New York in the time that it was written. For instance, Bond passes through Flushing Meadows as the site for the World's Fair is being excavated. Abercrombie on 5th Ave is still a huge sporting goods store rather than the fashion label it has become today. Interesting also to see what hasn't changed. You can still eat at 21 and buy a Mekur razor on 5th Ave.

    It does have a couple of gentle pokes at American habits, which seem to remain true today, but it's a fairly light affair.

    As an espionage story, it's nothing more than a mildly humorous anecdote. No need to rush out and get it unless you feel the need for the complete series.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    edited November 2012 Posts: 17,804
    bondboy007 wrote:
    http://docs5.chomikuj.pl/423180697,PL,0,1,Ian-Fleming---007-in-New-York.pdf
    Thanks @bondboy007, but...THAT'S a short story?? More like a short blog! :))
    At least now I've read it, thanks again!
    And it was kind of fascinating for me because I grew up in NY, and all the roads & places he describes are pretty well known to me.
    AND, they're STILL tearing the expressways up constantly!!!!
  • 00130013
    Posts: 1,817
    The best one can do is to buy the Quantum of Solace anthology that contains the 9 short stories.
    "007 in New York" is interesting for a fan but is nothing remarkable, not as "Property of a Lady", "The Hildebrand Rarity", "The Living Daylights" and, one of my favorites, "Quantum of Solace".
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,804
    doubleonothing wrote:
    There are some interesting things to note about New York in the time that it was written. For instance, Bond passes through Flushing Meadows as the site for the World's Fair is being excavated.
    Are there any large road systems in the UK that are being heavily worked on for over fifty years?
    Reading that was just SO funny to this native New Yorker... b-(
  • doubleonothingdoubleonothing Los Angeles
    Posts: 864
    Well, there probably are. But our roads are a bit better than yours, I must confess.
    However, I really meant that its interesting that Bond sees the World's Fair site prior to construction. For me that squarely places the story in a very specific period.
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,804
    doubleonothing wrote:
    that squarely places the story in a very specific period.
    Totally!
  • oo7oo7
    Posts: 1,068
    Octopussy & The Living Daylights does not contain "007 In New York" as it was published in 1967...
    why not buy this and keep it as a collectors item and buy a new edition to batter by reading?
  • chrisisallchrisisall Brosnan Defender Of The Realm
    Posts: 17,804
    I own the '67 edition (is it worth anything?) & will get a newer one for completion's sake.
  • oo7oo7
    Posts: 1,068
    chrisisall wrote:
    I own the '67 edition (is it worth anything?) & will get a newer one for completion's sake.

    would really depends on your location and the print edition, why dont you look inside the cover and see. as 66 was the publication of the hardback this could be a first ed paperback in your location.
  • Lancaster007Lancaster007 Shrublands Health Clinic, England
    Posts: 1,874
    oo7 wrote:
    chrisisall wrote:
    I own the '67 edition (is it worth anything?) & will get a newer one for completion's sake.

    would really depends on your location and the print edition, why dont you look inside the cover and see. as 66 was the publication of the hardback this could be a first ed paperback in your location.

    It is only recently that 007 in New York has been included in the book version - first appeared in book form in the 2002 Penguin hardback reprints, and all subsequent reprints since then. You're not missing much, and not really worth buying just for this very short story.
  • chrisMchrisM
    Posts: 59
    It's probably Fleming's most pointless short story, and as mentioned above was written to deflect some of the anger coming from New Yorkers about Fleming dissing the city, the plot involving Bond informinga female agent about her lover being a Communist spy just stops, as does the story itself...not all that
  • LeiterStrombergLeiterStromberg
    Posts: 75
    bondboy007 wrote:
    http://docs5.chomikuj.pl/423180697,PL,0,1,Ian-Fleming---007-in-New-York.pdf

    Is this the whole story?
  • Samuel001Samuel001 Moderator
    Posts: 13,355
    Yes. It's only nine pages long as print in a book. Very short indeed.
  • LeiterStrombergLeiterStromberg
    Posts: 75
    Okay. Great story, though, it was short and sweet.
  • __M____M__ MidwestUSA
    Posts: 9
    The story was a good one, if not "thrilling" it depicted Fleming's sense of humor well. The recipe is one of the best parts.
  • DarthDimiDarthDimi Behind you!Moderator
    Posts: 24,184
    __M__ wrote: »
    The story was a good one, if not "thrilling" it depicted Fleming's sense of humor well. The recipe is one of the best parts.

    Too much butter for me. I can feel my arteries clogging while reading that recipe. ;-)
  • Since62Since62
    Posts: 1,632
    If you REALLY want a complete collection, then please consider obtaining The Diamond Smugglers, a non-fiction book by Fleming published 1957 in the UK and 1958 in the US. For point of reference, Diamonds Are Forever, Fleming's 4th Bond novel, was published in 1956, and From Russia, With Love in 1957. And, yes, there is a comma in the title of the book.
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