The first chapter is awful, with almost nothing at all to do with 007. Skip it and start reading with chapter two, which is right from the start exactly what I expected from this book! You get everything you could possibly need to know about Bond - food, drink, clothes, cars, guns, and women. And the information is quite thorough - culled from the first 11 Bond books that Fleming had published at the time of this book’s publication.
Chapter Three, “His Women”, is interesting in that the author gives a brief summary of the Bond books through the affairs 007 has with the women in each book. And in the fourth chapter, he does a similar style of summarizing the books, only this time through the viewpoint of the adversaries that Bond has to battle.

Overall, I enjoyed this book! It may be old and dated, but, well, so am I! And, the book gave me this cool Bond trivia tidbit: 007’s greatest nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld has the same birthday as Ian Fleming! And I liked the bit at the end with the watermark! "BOND EXTRA STRONG"! ( )

4/9/22

A competent summing up of data from the Bond books about Bond, It begins by a discussion of Clubland Heroes about Richard Hannay, Bulldog Drummond and Jonah Mansel (the work of John Buchan, "Sapper" and Dornford Yates) --all of whom I have read --he thinks that they, and Bond, are all much better than Chandler's Philip Marlowe --I would disagree where Sapper and Dornford Yates are concerned. though I admire Buchan.
I would note that his claim that Buchan's herpes are sexless is not necessarily true -- though it is not described as explicitly as Bond's exploits, there is a strong hint that Sandy Arbuthnot was involved with Hilda von Einem in Greenmantle. ( )

"Which finger do you use least, Mister Bond?" Bond was startled by the question. His mind raced. "On reflection, I expect you will say the little finger of the left hand," continued the soft voice. "Tee-Hee, break the little finger of Mister Bond's left hand."
This, as every one will recognise, is the one and only James Bond in a typical Bond situation.
No other character in fiction has captured the imagination of the public as has the late Ian Fleming's famous Secret Service agent. But what is it exactly about this twentieth-century phenomenon that makes him appear so real?
Here is a fascinating examination of the man: his image, his fads, his habits -- and a long revealing look at those gorgeous women who grace his bed.
As readable as one of his own adventures it succeeds where even SMERSH has failed -- in laying bare the mind and soul of 007 James Bond.