Ian Fleming's James Bond: From Russia, With Love; Moonraker; Thunderball; On Her Majesty's Secret Service; Dr No; Goldfinger. Complete & Unabridged

This is actually the second copy of this book I have purchased and a much cleaner copy than the first, with less discoloration of the pages. This one is destined to be a gift. It is a very economical format for several of the Fleming novels. Until the fairly recent film version of Casino Royale, no serious treatment of the novel exited on film. If you've seen it, there may be few surprises in store in the novel. Read it anyway; it's short. For those who have only seen the movie versions of Diamonds Are Forever, Dr. No, and Live And Let Die, I heartily recommend this collection. Live And Let Die pairs Bond and Leiter for only the second time, so Bond is still rather rough around the edges compared to his later suave self. Or maybe I have it backward. The Bond in Casino Royale and Live and Let Die is so very young, so sure of his own toughness, yet so easily hurt. The older Bond in Goldfinger is cynical, hard, tired. Witty, yes. Capable of making love to a Lesbian, yes. But capable of love? Live And Let Die pits Bond and Leiter (later Bond alone) against Mr. Big, a powerful gangster. There is plenty of early '50's Americana here, including racial prejudice; Mr. Big is a black man. It isn't as bad as it might be. I wouldn't be recommending the book if it were. Just be forewarned. If words offend you, this isn't for you. If you like historical accuracy, read further. Felix is crippled during the course of this novel. I remembered the episode from when I first read the novel when I was in college, many, many years ago, but the impact was still shocking this time around. Fleming does good impacts when people Bond cares about are involved. The female character isn't as real for me as many others are. Solitare is her name, I think. She is credited with having second sight. She is the, um, damsel in distress for whom Bond must battle dragons yet again, the prize to be won at the end of all his labors. Diamonds Are Forever is perhaps the most technically perfect of Fleming's Bond novels and my favorite of the lot. The only thing it has in common with the movie is the title. The female character, Tiffany Case, is a real living, breathing human being with behavior that fits her history. Bond falls for her like a ton of bricks. We don't blame him. We fall for her too. Bond is still suffering a little from youthful overconfidence. He sells American gangsters short, but as it turns out, not much short at that. They just don't have veddy much going for them, ectually. (Bond never uses that last word, we're told. Thank God.) Still, if Leiter and Tiffany hadn't been around. . . . Commander Bond is seldom prudent, but he's hardly ever just plain reckless. Well, read it and see what you think. I enjoyed it immensely. Tons of Americana: famous resturants, gangsters, Pinkerton's, horse racing, a casino, a ghost town complete with steam railway, desert escape. Dr. No has No Nukes, does have Quarrel, whom we met in Live And