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James Bond - Extended Series
James Bond: The Man and His World, the Official Companion to Ian Fleming's Creation
256 pages, Hardcover
First published October 24, 2005
3 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Henry Chancellor
22 books12 followersHenry Chancellor is the author of the highly acclaimed Colditz: The Definetive History and James Bond - The Man and His World: The Official Companion To Ian Flemming's Creation. His remarkable television series, Escape From Colditz, won sweeping praise and has been shown all over the world. His documentaries for television include The Great Belzoni, Millenium and Commando.
The Museum's Secret was the first installment in Henry's trilogy of young adult books in THE REMARKABLE ADVENTURES OF TOM SCATTERHORN series and has since been followed by The Hidden World & The Forgotten Echo. It has been sold in translation in France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Russia, Korea, China and the Czech Republic.
The Museum's Secret was the first installment in Henry's trilogy of young adult books in THE REMARKABLE ADVENTURES OF TOM SCATTERHORN series and has since been followed by The Hidden World & The Forgotten Echo. It has been sold in translation in France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Russia, Korea, China and the Czech Republic.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
June 25, 2020
When I picked this off a shelf and flicked through it, I could see (spaced at equal intervals throughout) double page spreads of images and facts from each book jumping out at me. I therefore thought it was going to be a concentrated look at each of the fourteen Bond books chronologically. I was disappointed for a while that that was not the case. After about fifty pages of Fleming biography, the book is broken up into various themes and subjects – such as food, drink, where did the names come from, the villains, the women, the gadgets, the critics etc. I thought this was going to become boring over a whole book, but I soon got into the author’s obsession and was fascinated by the sheer number of facts and images. I’m a sucker for looking at old notebooks and manuscripts, and revel in seeing a writer’s crossings out and amendments. Seeing how a particular writer’s mind and creative process works.
There is much on offer here; as well as cover illustrations and photographs of Fleming and his associates, Henry Chancellor had access to the archives, resulting in many of Fleming’s ‘bits and pieces’ from his travels and work life being exhibited – tickets, menus, bills, licenses, travel brochures, cables, letters etc. Fortunately Fleming was an avid collector, making for a real treasure trove.
This is a museum in the shape of a book. A lot of research has resulted in the display of a great number of facts and items – many of which I was unaware of, or hadn’t seen before. I’d definitely recommend this to any Ian Fleming enthusiast.
There is much on offer here; as well as cover illustrations and photographs of Fleming and his associates, Henry Chancellor had access to the archives, resulting in many of Fleming’s ‘bits and pieces’ from his travels and work life being exhibited – tickets, menus, bills, licenses, travel brochures, cables, letters etc. Fortunately Fleming was an avid collector, making for a real treasure trove.
This is a museum in the shape of a book. A lot of research has resulted in the display of a great number of facts and items – many of which I was unaware of, or hadn’t seen before. I’d definitely recommend this to any Ian Fleming enthusiast.
October 31, 2014
Simply the best book I've found for a thorough understanding the true blend of author Ian Fleming and his best-known legacy, James Bond.
James Bond: The Man and His World is appropriately subtitled, "The Official Companion to Ian Fleming's Creation." The writing here by Henry Chancellor is just-right on detail, insightful, and an engaging read.
Twenty-three pages into his biography of Ian Fleming, Mr Chancellor is ready to give us the first of his dozen-plus spreads, one for each book from the original Bond canon. We're here to figure out the intersection of real man and fictional character, after all. Henry Chancellor never forgets that, never strays beyond unstrained view from one to the other. Dots are marked, then connected.
The recipe is here for all incredients that have gone into making Agent 007 the enduring success the icon remains today. They've been firmly in place, we see, from the get-go.
What of James Bond is Ian Fleming? what is not? And why?
Asked and answered; clearly so. Persuasively-argued. Substantiated. Including the keys to what makes Bond different.
I was particularly impressed by Mr Chancellor's absolutely correct, but too-widely missed point that "... James Bond had very little to do with the navy at all: it was a convenient front. Bond was secret service from the start ...."
Beyond its text (which alone would have earned James Bond: The Man and His World an unqualified five stars), this book is lavishly appointed with photographs of original materials seldom seen and never before assembled as they are within this writing. As a researcher myself focused on James Bond wristwatch choices, I was particularly gratified to Mr Chancellor included background on the Girard-Perregaux reference that appears early in From Russia with Love, as told by William Plomer, in his own handwriting.
My personal library is literally overflowing with materials that examine the life of Ian Fleming, and the marketing and impact of his fictional James Bond character.
James Bond: The Man and His World is one of the tops among them.
Very highly recommended.
James Bond: The Man and His World is appropriately subtitled, "The Official Companion to Ian Fleming's Creation." The writing here by Henry Chancellor is just-right on detail, insightful, and an engaging read.
Twenty-three pages into his biography of Ian Fleming, Mr Chancellor is ready to give us the first of his dozen-plus spreads, one for each book from the original Bond canon. We're here to figure out the intersection of real man and fictional character, after all. Henry Chancellor never forgets that, never strays beyond unstrained view from one to the other. Dots are marked, then connected.
The recipe is here for all incredients that have gone into making Agent 007 the enduring success the icon remains today. They've been firmly in place, we see, from the get-go.
What of James Bond is Ian Fleming? what is not? And why?
Asked and answered; clearly so. Persuasively-argued. Substantiated. Including the keys to what makes Bond different.
I was particularly impressed by Mr Chancellor's absolutely correct, but too-widely missed point that "... James Bond had very little to do with the navy at all: it was a convenient front. Bond was secret service from the start ...."
Beyond its text (which alone would have earned James Bond: The Man and His World an unqualified five stars), this book is lavishly appointed with photographs of original materials seldom seen and never before assembled as they are within this writing. As a researcher myself focused on James Bond wristwatch choices, I was particularly gratified to Mr Chancellor included background on the Girard-Perregaux reference that appears early in From Russia with Love, as told by William Plomer, in his own handwriting.
My personal library is literally overflowing with materials that examine the life of Ian Fleming, and the marketing and impact of his fictional James Bond character.
James Bond: The Man and His World is one of the tops among them.
Very highly recommended.
December 13, 2020
A book on the life and times of Ian Fleming and how his early years, his fascinating work life in naval intelligence and later in journalism influenced him to create the timeless 007 universe .... with more than 12 global best sellers during his intense writing tenure of 12-15 years before his premature death at 56 .... he had a mind of a genius in many ways... this book also showcases photographs/ manuscripts/letters and other reference material as stimuli that helped him craft his Bond novels....
August 17, 2020
Mr Chancellor's own literary flair and the confidence of knowing his subject, and its context, inside out and upside down makes this more than a spotlight on Ian Fleming's interesting life and times, and more than a fascinating companion to the James Bond novels (a mission he accomplishes with flying colours) but also a pleasure to read in itself.
November 5, 2015
A very dedicated fact book on Ian Fleming's James Bond. If you are alone interested in the movie adaptions this would be the wrong book for you. It contains a massive quantity of Ian Fleming's life and writing. It also takes on the myth of James Bond as a fictional character versus a real spy from the age of the cold war, the idea of James Bond and how it became to become a great success, letters and other telegraph notes, plot descriptions, heaps of vintage photos and gadgets, and everything there is to know about the person Bond... of course to mention the ladies and villains.
A book that definitely wont be read quickly for its quantity. A great reading experience throughout a longer period. I think it could have been a little more enthusiastically written. The language is settled and does not reach any highs of passion or intense. Very substantial and on the topic but not a an easy read. That to round off my somewhat modest rating for something worth higher.
A book that definitely wont be read quickly for its quantity. A great reading experience throughout a longer period. I think it could have been a little more enthusiastically written. The language is settled and does not reach any highs of passion or intense. Very substantial and on the topic but not a an easy read. That to round off my somewhat modest rating for something worth higher.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews