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Bond, James Bond

Exploring the Shaken and Stirred History of Ian Fleming’s 007

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About this listen

Hosts Mike Kalinowski and Brad Gilmore team up in this comprehensive breakdown of the longest running film series in the history of cinema. In Bond, James Bond, they explore the cinematic history of the James Bond collection to celebrate everything it got right and reflect on everything it got wrong.

The complete cinematic biographies of James Bond. Since his initial portrayal by Sean Connery, James Bond has become a timeless icon worldwide. Now comes the first-ever era-by-era breakdown of the much-loved international spy - on and off the silver screen. Following the men who portrayed James Bond - Daniel Craig, Pierce Brosnan, Timothy Dalton, Roger Moore, and Sean Connery - listeners will discover the characteristics that made him resonate, as well as the less glamorous relics that made him evolve.

For fans of the Ian Fleming James Bond novels and movies. Cinephiles and fans can finally unscramble some of the best action movies of all time. Covering everything from cars to court cases, Bond, James Bond looks at the evolution of the 007 movies from all angles. Featuring bonus chapters on Bond women and musical scores, in this book you'll also find: the origins of 007 in the early James Bond books; off-screen politics, drama, and movements that shifted the series trajectory; and the "other" James Bond: comic books and animated series.

©2022 Brad Gilmore and Mike Kalinowski (P)2022 Tantor Entertainment & Performing Arts Film & TV Entertainment Bad Boy
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Most relevant
Whilst the authors love for the topic is clear and genuinely quite affirming in parts, it's worth being clear that this book is not a reliable history or analysis of the subject. It is a love letter to the franchise, to some parts in particular, and there are factual errors and baffling omissions seemingly taken to extoll a particular narrative and avoid any facts that would appear to contradict it.

The authors push opinions so unusual, and with such overwhelming fervour, they could be suspected of deliberate sensationalism. The book is very poorly structured, jumping around across different types of media and different eras. At its worst this causes repetition of several parts. On occasion there appears to be padding, such as when they exhaustively list all the different groupings comic strips have been published in.

In short, this is best viewed like a child's school essay. It's not complete, it's not always coherent, it's not always correct, it shows little knowledge or reference to wider contexts around the media in question (bar one fleeting reference to 2010s intelligence leaks), and the whole thing reads as a desperate attempt to defend an unpopular opinion by pushing a flimsy narrative. It's a listen only possibly recommendable for how bizarre it is - 2/5.

Bizarre School Essay

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