Happy Birthday Ian Fleming! Revisiting his top works
Today marks the birth anniversary of Ian Fleming, the creator of the James Bond series. Fleming was an English author, journalist, and an intelligence officer. Fleming's experience as an intelligence officer provided the background for many of the Bond novels which then got adapted to multiple movies under the Bond franchise. Here's revisiting his most popular works.
'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'
This is Fleming's only children's book and it is a classic. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang revolves around a flying and floating self-driving car that takes the Pott family on a raucous sequence of escapades as they attempt to apprehend a famed gang of criminals. The story reportedly is full of humor, adventure, and technological marvels instilling fascination and curiosity in young readers.
'Casino Royale'
Casino Royale is one of the most popular books in the James Bond series. Bond, the secret agent 007 of the British Secret Service, is tasked with competing against Le Chiffre in a high-stakes baccarat game. Bankrupted Le Chiffre needs money to fund the illicit activities, which he intends to do through the prize money. It is up to Bond to stop him.
'Live and let die'
In this James Bond book, the secret agent is on a mission to stop gold coin smuggling in Jamaica. A Haitian man named Mr. Big, a gangster in Harlem who uses voodoo to rule a sizable African American community across the country, is behind the illegal trade. Bond moves to New York and the book revolves around his activities in investigating Mr. Big.
'Thrilling Cities'
Initially published as a series of essays for The Sunday Times, Thrilling Cities was inspired by two journeys Fleming took. His first trip was in 1959 when he drove around the world. He took the second one in 1960 when he traveled across Europe. The book version includes images of the various towns as well as content that was edited from the original articles.
'The Diamond Smugglers'
The Diamond Smugglers is primarily a collection of anecdotes drawn from Fleming's real-life talks with John Collard, a member of the International Diamond Security Organisation (IDSO). The book is written in a format of a background narrative by Fleming about how and where the two men met, with interviews between Fleming and Collard—who is introduced as "John Blaize." Check out more such book recommendations.
