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Reviews
The Real James Bond: A True Story of Identity Theft, Avian Intrigue, and Ian Fleming by Jim Wright
fihman's review against another edition
4.0
A very light, but nonetheless interesting bit of non-fiction.
kristinasshelves's review against another edition
4.0
James Bond is a cultural icon from in both film and novel form, but how Ian Fleming create the secret agent’s name? As it turns out, the real James Bond was the author of a notable 1936 nature book entitled Birds of the West Indies and Fleming adopted the name from his very own bookshelf. The real James Bond was a prolific ornithologist, with studies summarized throughout this book in addition to biographical information. The author’s shared passion for bird watching is apparent in his writing.
There is a ton of information packed into this short book! It includes a biography of the real Bond, information about Fleming and discussion of the association between the character and the man with the stolen moniker. It is also very much a history of prominent bird scholars and enthusiasts. I’ve not read a nature focused book in well over a decade, so this was an interesting palette cleanser between other heavier nonfiction. While I don’t think ornithology will ever be a subject I’ll gravitate towards, I did appreciate gaining some unexpected knowledge. By far, the most interesting part of this book for me was the discussion of intelligent officers posing as ornithologists in WWI and WII, and would like to read even more about that subject. I very much enjoyed the color photographs that accompanied the writing.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ebook of this title for review.
There is a ton of information packed into this short book! It includes a biography of the real Bond, information about Fleming and discussion of the association between the character and the man with the stolen moniker. It is also very much a history of prominent bird scholars and enthusiasts. I’ve not read a nature focused book in well over a decade, so this was an interesting palette cleanser between other heavier nonfiction. While I don’t think ornithology will ever be a subject I’ll gravitate towards, I did appreciate gaining some unexpected knowledge. By far, the most interesting part of this book for me was the discussion of intelligent officers posing as ornithologists in WWI and WII, and would like to read even more about that subject. I very much enjoyed the color photographs that accompanied the writing.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ebook of this title for review.
annarella's review against another edition
4.0
I was fascinated by the story of the real James Bond. It was as engrossing as a novel, well researched and entertaining.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
jessferg's review against another edition
3.0
Lots of photos and some weird formatting make this come off more like a coffee-table book than an actual biography but there is some information about James Bond between the covers.
Unfortunately, a very large part of the info on the ornithologist is just paraphrasing of Mrs. James Bond's (Mary Bond) several books on the life of her husband and his connections to the fictional 007 spy stories. Info on Ian Fleming comes from various sources, but also from Mary Bond.
It's a fine read but if you're REALLY interested, you probably want Mary Bond's books instead.
Unfortunately, a very large part of the info on the ornithologist is just paraphrasing of Mrs. James Bond's (Mary Bond) several books on the life of her husband and his connections to the fictional 007 spy stories. Info on Ian Fleming comes from various sources, but also from Mary Bond.
It's a fine read but if you're REALLY interested, you probably want Mary Bond's books instead.
annarella's review
4.0
I was fascinated by the story of the real James Bond. It was as engrossing as a novel, well researched and entertaining.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Edelweiss for this ARC, all opinions are mine
cwl's review
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
The Real James Bond - The story of Jim Bond, the person whose name was used for 007. My thoughts > http://url.cwl.cc/zyhfe
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