The James Bond Bedside Companion: All About the World According to 007

James Bond - Extended Series

by Raymond Benson

Raymond Benson is the author of "The James Bond Bedside Companion," an encyclopedic work on the 007 phenomenon, first published in 1984 with an updated edition published in 1988. Generally regarded by Bond fans as the definitive book on the subject, the "Bedside Companion" was nominated for an Edgar Award as the best biographical/critical work of 1984.

Genres: Film, Espionage, Reference, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Raymond Benson is the author of approximately 40 titles. Among his works are the critically-acclaimed and New York Times best-selling serial THE BLACK STILETTO, and he was also the third--and first American--continuation author of the official James Bond 007 novels. His latest novels are HOTEL DESTINY--A GHOST NOIR, BLUES IN THE DARK, IN THE HUSH OF THE NIGHT and THE SECRETS ON CHICORY LANE.

Reviews

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book surprised me a number of times, how come I haven’t read it until now? How come it’s such a massive read? How come Benson is so critical of a phenomenon he does seem to love?

The last question was the best surprise - Benson is truly critical - of anything! A single out of character line in one of the original novels, a flaw in an early movie that no one else bothers with...

I disagree with the author plenty, mainly in the praise of the inferior “Colonel Sun” and of Gardner’s continuation of the series. But also on some of the movies, themes, actors.

However, I find myself often being in the company of a kindred mind; I wonder if I should go on to read the Benson Bond’s - I mean the man does really think that the last true - or at least, proper, Bond movie, was “Goldfinger”!

It’s a great book for fans, the methodical, thorough and personal run-through of all books & all films following a long detailed biography of Fleming is great reading. My copy was updated in 1988 and even if I’d love to find out what Benson thought of Dalton’s second outing as 007 (and the fact that it was his last), I think this covers most of my real interest. Mind-blowing though that the fascination in the book is the survival of Bond from 1953 to 1988 and here we are in 2020, soon to double that span...

[Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raymond Benson, who will go on to author some epic James Bond stories, crafts this encyclopedia of all of the Bond novels and movies to date (to 1984 and there is an update added up to 1988).

It is certainly interested to read backstory from Fleming, his works, the character, the film series and the Gardner novels, however I wish it had been just a bit deeper dive. Enjoyable run through the decades of James Bond's existence. 4 stars.

[Russianwitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is weird in the sense that it (or possibly just my copy) is hilariously outdated, and the author hasn't managed to make up his mind what he was writing.
Was he writing the story of the creation of the James Bond phenomenon? Was he writing Ian Flemming's bio? Was he writing the fictional bio of James Bond? All the above books exist and this book draws heavily on some of them but doesn't quite come into its own.

That being said it isn't bad.
For the time in which it was written, it's pretty good. It also gives bits and pieces I didn't actually know about James Bond. The background information is certainly interesting especially since it's been quite a while since I've read the books.
The book has certainly been very helpful in reminding me of the differences between the original character between the original character and the cinematographic version of the same.
It's certainly a very good warm-up for rereading all the original stories and starting in on the non-Flemming written ones later on.

Thou I wouldn't have minded a different title when you start talking about the James Bond Bedside Companion for some reason people always assume you're talking about something other than a book...

[Stuart Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

A scholarly review of the James Bond phenomenon. It covers the phenomenon starting with the books and how they developed into the movies and how it all became iconic. A fine biography of Ian Fleming and an investigation into the man himself, including his time as a near second in command of British Naval Intelligence during WWII. Also covers his marriage and his life in Jamaica. Goes on to cove each of the books individually, including the post-Fleming works of Kingsley Aimis and John Gardner up to the late 1980s. Then progresses to discuss each of the movies, with much behind the scenes information on how Broccoli became involved and the difference between the 1960s movies and the more campy later movies. This includes critique of the plots, the cinematography, the actors, and even the musical scores. Everything you wanted to know about James Bond. A fine addition to any Bond collection.

[Charlotte]

Didn't get through this one (read maybe a third) as it was an inter-library loan that I couldn't renew. I'm not super disappointed as the prose had kind of a pedestrian eighth grade book report quality that did not particularly capture my attention or imagination. The author is basically cribbing from John Pearson's 1966 biography of Ian Fleming and not adding much new or insightful to the story. The photos are reproduced in grainy black and white on shitty newsprint-feeling pages so you can't even really seem them. Not to mention that the existence of this book, and my desire/attempt to read it, are absurd; being a James Bond completist is not for the faint of heart! Maybe I should skip all these schlocky Bond-in-pop-culture contrivances and content myself with rereading the 14 original books every few years.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the 1988 updates taking the reader through the John Gardner Novel Scorpius and the film The Living Daylights. A look at the life of Ian Fleming and his creation and shepherding of his iconic James Bond character, a look at all of the James Bond books from Fleming and others, and a synopsis of the movies with comments on production actors etc. A great reference work for a Bond fan, looking at the good and the bad of character over the years, but probably a large amount of information for a casual fan with over a hundred photos and hundreds of pages of information. The book that got Benson the deal to write James Bond novels. I would rate this book 3.5 stars if Goodreads allowed half stars.

[Peter McGinn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well written and covers a lot of ground where 007 and Ian Fleming are concern. In fact, there is way more information here than what I was looking for. I wanted an overview if Ian Fleming’s life and background on how he came to write the books and why a couple of the books were made into films more tha. Once. This book provides much more information than that, so I skimmed through som sections and ignored others.

But if you are a true Bond fan, you may decide you need to read every word.

[R.R. Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

An oldie, but still a goodie! Benson passes on his Bond knowledge and insights with clarity and infectious passion. Any one new to Bond wishing to catch up would do well to read this, especially the section on Fleming's novels which many Bond fans may over-look. I would love to see a new edition or sequel covering the back-half of the franchise to date. I understand RB's hesitancy in delving into the continuation novels, but his opinions on the films would be interesting to read.

[Roberto Lagos Figueroa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un clásico libro de información sobre todo lo concerniente a Bond y a Ian Fleming, su creador. Exhaustivo y ameno. Una sobredosis de 007 lastimosamente no hay actualizaciones de este libro que quedó en los 80s. Comienza con una sustanciosa reseña biografica de Ion Fleming en relacion a la figura de Bond. Incluye un análisis del personaje literario de Bond y revisa sus aventuras en papel desde las novelas originales de Fleming y sus pastiches. Y se hace nutritiva la exploracion del universo filmico de 007, desde las diferencias y semejanzas con el Bond literario y reseña pelicula por pelicula, dandonos resumenes amenos e trivia tras bambalinas.

[David Towers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lightweight

Repetitive and rather dated. The book does include lots of minute detail though, so it should be of interest to devoted fans.

[Catherine m Pierce · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific Walk Through Bond History

What a terrific book. Many bond questions answered and explained in great detail. A treasure for any Bond fan. Highly recommend.

[Steve Mitchell · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are plenty of guidebooks out there to dissect and discuss the phenomenon that it James Bond. Some are fantastic and some are not worth the effort: this one is slap bang in the middle. If I'm totally honest the reason it rates only three stars is that it did not really tell me anything that I did not already know. Considering that I have read and re-read all the novels, seen all the films - including the unofficial ones - many times and read loads of these type of books it is clear that I am being biased and harshly critical.

In fairness this is a decent reference book if you want to look up a fact or two: the glossary is a must for anybody that writes questions for pub quizzes. The problem is that it stops with the film The Living Daylights and after John Gardner's novel Scorpius, so the book is not exhaustive. To be fair, Raymond Benson could hardly be expected to review his own Bond novels.

I have no real issue with this book in the opinions expressed by Benson - I disagree with the opinions expressed in plenty of other books that discuss Bond - but there are books that cover more of the genre to include Benson's own books and the films of Pierce Brosnan that make better reference books on the subject.

[Bob Cantrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

More information than needed

First this book does have good points about it. It is a good look at the James Bond phenomenon, but it only goes up to the early 80's. It was very detailed in the approach to James Bond, but it also was a biography of Ian Fleming, which is ok except that it takes up about a third of the total book. Now I was interested in this bio, but I was really wanting to read more on the character, James Bond. It is a fairly good reference book that could have been better. I felt that the way to tell about the books and films would be to do the book then the movie pointing out the differences between the two. Also very little was done with the characters as to who played who yes there were the major characters you are told about, but some of the others are just characters without faces. This review is probably a little disjointed, but so was this book. A final couple of thought on this book: one, none of the Bond movies after Timothy Dalton are mentioned in the book so it is not a complete book on Bond. Two the books that were written by John Gardner is an incomplete list it have been nice that a revised version would have covered all movies and books. As I said it is a nice reference book just don't expect to read it in one sitting.

[Ralph · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reissue of the Eighties know-all book about everything Bond. While it thoroughly covers all the Bond films through the Dalton era, the book's main appeal for me was it's coverage of the original stories and novels, as well as detailed material on Fleming and his creation. It reminded me once more of how good a writer Fleming was and how unique his creation. One unexpected outcome of this book was to motivate me to once again 're-read all the books in order, something I have not done since the late Sixties. A delightful book and well worth the time of any Fleming and 007 fan.

[Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw the recent Bond film (Casino Royale w/ Daniel Craig) and decided to go back and re-read some of the novels and re-watch some of the movies. Before I did that I read The Bedside Companion and am glad I did. Its a great overview (although it stops in the mid 80's) but if you are interested in the beginning of Bond, the books, the pre mid 80's movies, this is a great review. Moves quickly. No fat. I enjoyed it.

[Mark Bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good resource if you lke that kind of thing! Lots of interesting views on all things Bond. A good book to dip into every now and then. Reccomended!

[David Schletty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A phenomenal compilation of James Bond facts, stories, novels, and films. Amazing!

[Ben · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just to out of date, and rambles on a bit.

[Vikas Datta · Rating 5 out of 5]

An indispensable book for the devoted Bond aficionado... wish someone would write a companiion piece, taking it further...

[Robert Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

It's a fun read but needs to be updated stopping after the living daylights not sure in the age of DVD and streaming we need the film plots either but still fun to read