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Andrew Lycett
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Ian Fleming Hardcover – October 1, 2013

by Andrew Lycett (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 84 ratings
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We all know who James Bond is, but how many of us know much about his creator, Ian Fleming, a master of espionage and thrillers? In this full-length biography, author Andrew Lycett tells the story of Ian Fleming's life proving that it was just as dramatic as that of his fictional creation. Educated at Eaton and Sandhurst, he joined Naval Intelligence in 1939 participating in both Operation Mincemeat and Operation Golden Eye. After the war, he became a journalist and, in 1953, wrote Casino Royale thereby introducing the world to an English spy named James Bond.

Set in London, Switzerland and Fleming's Jamaican estate Goldeneye, his life was peopled with luminaries like Noel Coward, Sean Connery, Ursula Andress, Bond film producer "Cubby" Broccoli and others. With direct access to Fleming's family and friends, Lycett goes behind the complicated façade of this enigmatic and remarkable man. Ian Fleming by Andrew Lycett is biography at its best―a glittering portrait of the brilliant and enigmatic man who created Agent 007.

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  1. Print length
    496 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    St. Martin's Press
  4. Publication date
    October 1, 2013
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 1.31 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1250037980
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1250037985
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Exhaustive and compulsively readable, Lycett's latest (first published in the U.K. in 1995) is billed as the first full-length Fleming biography to be published in America. Biographer Lycett (Dylan Thomas: A New Life) calls his subject an immature child of the jazz age—a man of wealth and privilege who shared his fictional hero James Bond's fascination with women, gambling, and drinking. Fleming applied to Britain's Foreign Office for a job but to no avail, but thanks to the forceful lobbying of his snobbish and well-connected mother, he was hired by the Reuters news agency in London. During WWII, he worked for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division. One of the book's pleasures is reading about upper-class social life before, during, and after the war: Fleming and his wife, Ann, mingled with statesmen and notable cultural figures in London and at Goldeneye, their Jamaican retreat. But Fleming did have a darker side, collecting sadomasochistic erotica and being callous to women. Lycett uncovers the seeds of Bond in Fleming's life (though perhaps not as thoroughly as diehard fans would wish), as well as addressing the decline of Britain's power in the postcolonial world. In this anecdote-filled account, Lycett pays tribute to Fleming's colorful life, which was cut short by a heart attack in 1964 at age 56, just two years after Sean Connery starred in the film version of Dr. No. 8-page b&w photo insert. (Oct.)

From Booklist

Given the intense interest American readers and moviegoers have in James Bond, it’s odd that Lycett’s 1995 biography of Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming, has taken this long to reach the U.S. Lycett covers lots of ground, exploring Fleming’s life not merely as novelist (he published 13 Bond novels before his death at 56 in 1964) but also as journalist (he worked for Reuters and the Sunday Times), stockbroker (briefly in the 1930s), member of British Naval Intelligence (he participated in a disinformation operation designed to conceal the impending Allied invasion of Sicily), and celebrity (although he died just as the Bond movies were taking off, he enjoyed hobnobbing with the producers and stars). A certain mythology has built up around Fleming, based mostly on the facts that James Bond is a superspy and his creator worked for Naval Intelligence, and Lycett does an admirable job of bringing Fleming back down to earth, separating fact from legend while still giving Fleming his due as a larger-than-life personality. A must-read for Bond aficionados. --David Pitt

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press; First Edition (October 1, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 496 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250037980
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250037985
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.59 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.31 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 84 ratings

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Andrew Lycett

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
84 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Living Simply
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Stuff!
Reviewed in the United States on September 26, 2017
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Am an American reader not THAT interested in name-dropping, but you get the feeling this guy had an interesting if not confused-why-you're-here-on-this-planet life; author seems to deny Fleming's perfection via mother's problems. Hmmmm. Methinks it's old inbreeding via moneymoneymoney. Still stellar with the research and fun for a Bond Fan.
Words to The Wise: be careful about who you worship!
3 people found this helpful
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Lan the Answer Man
4.0 out of 5 stars Exhaustive except where it comes to Bond
Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2015
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By all accounts, this is the best of the Ian Fleming biographies. It is well-researched, literate and smartly written. My only reservation about it is that seems, how to put it, unbalanced. Ian Fleming would at most have been a footnote in the history of 20th century upper-class Britain if he had not created James Bond.

Yet Fleming's Bond books don't really make a full appearance in the biography until about half-way through it. Of course, Fleming's life before Bond is what allowed him to create 007, and Lycett does connect most of the dots. Still, in the end I think Lycett should have given more weight to the Bond thrillers, covered them in more detail and offered more of a critique of the individual books in the series. But there were copyright issues that limited quotations from the books or what Lycett could say about them, but as a reader I felt just slightly short-changed.
10 people found this helpful
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Richard L. Paietta
5.0 out of 5 stars Ian Fleming
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2014
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A well written account of the man and his times. Many incites into how the whole James Bond series came into being.
A good read for those interested in history.
Richard L. Paietta
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William J. Reynolds
5.0 out of 5 stars An Engaging, Entertaining Biography
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2014
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"Ian Fleming" is a thorough and thoroughly enjoyable biography of a man who was at least as interesting as his immortal character James Bond. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Fleming's work, or who have read previous biographies of the writer.
One person found this helpful
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JL Populist
3.0 out of 5 stars Bond's Creator.
Reviewed in the United States on June 17, 2021
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This book was a laborious read.
My interest in Ian Fleming is totally motivated by the James Bond movies and books.
In that regard the book is interesting. The history and sex life of Mr. Fleming was not at all of interest and there is plenty of that!
I just didn't find the book all that interesting.
One person found this helpful
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Antonia
4.0 out of 5 stars Good book on a challenging subject
Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2014
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The book was excellent. The subject matter was abhorrent. Thank heaven for the 007 movies, otherwise I'd have nothing to do with Ian Fleming. How such an awful man could write Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang is beyond me. This book doesn't gloss over the man, his proclivities and his lifestyle at all.
4 people found this helpful
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Jude
5.0 out of 5 stars What a history!!!!
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2014
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Great biography! Very well written. If you are a Bond fan than this will enlighten you. The book becomes a whose who in London's society by default as if you were reading about all the clans that grew up around you and inter-married. The writer also identifies the passages in the Bond books that were reflections from Flemings own life. Found myself really liking this book as it is not a fast read!
The history back drop of his life mixed with people, wars, etc. is the educational learning curve. One subject makes you want to look up another in reference to European history and people. i.e., Churchill.
7 people found this helpful
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avid reader U.S.
2.0 out of 5 stars Too dry for me
Reviewed in the United States on August 11, 2021
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2.5 points I was looking forward to reading about Ian Fleming's life, but there was a lot of info on his grandparents and parents also. I think a paragraph would have sufficed for me on their lives.

I found the book slow and not a pleasure to read... much too dry to appreciate.
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Top reviews from other countries

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DENNIS
5.0 out of 5 stars Make sure item is as advertised this item arrived in excellent condition.
Reviewed in Canada on February 5, 2021
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Item recieved in excellent condition
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Matteo
5.0 out of 5 stars Che bel libro
Reviewed in Italy on October 22, 2022
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Sul contenuto niente da dire, sono appassionato di Fleming e di ciò che ha creato.
Per la spedizione, ho preso un articolo sul Warehouse Amazon a prezzo davvero scontato e, a parte la copricopertina un po' sgualcita sulla quarta, il prodotto è in ottime condizioni. La consegna è arrivata con quasi una settimana di anticipo sulla previsione (spedivano dal Regno Unito e non ho l'opzione Prime)
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wonderwalt
5.0 out of 5 stars Alles bestens!
Reviewed in Germany on March 17, 2020
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Very Good condition
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Jane Eskdale
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 28, 2018
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Extremely good value arrived in good time and my husband is "Over the moon" with the book
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James B
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 17, 2018
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Great book. Well worth a read.
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