| “A rich life story is matched with an ideal reader. Andrew Lycett’s literate, well researched biography of Ian Fleming…is an absorbing account of one of the most fascinating figures of popular culture. Lycett’s sure grasp of the Bond novels also allows him to refer to pertinent and familiar scenes that reflect Fleming’s many travels and earlier experiences. Robert Whitfield narrates the text in clear, crisp BBC English…. [The] story is served well by a reader whose performance connotes a patrician equanimity and style.”—AudioFile
“A thoroughly researched, definitive portrayal of a complex man…. Lycett has also succeeded in separating the author from the phenomenon while putting both in the context of their times.”—Library Journal
Sportsman, womanizer, naval commander, world traveler, and spy, the creator of the Cold War’s archetypal secret agent was infinitely more complex and interesting than his iconic fictional character, Agent 007. Fleming’s wide ranging and exciting life inevitably provided the plausible backdrop for his Bond novels. Highly regarded in British naval intelligence for his international contacts, he masterminded numerous top secret operations, including “Golden Eye,” which is uncovered here for the first time. He was also fundamental in shaping the prototype CIA. Two months before his wedding to Ann O'Neill, the widow of a friend with whom he’d carried on a passionate affair for fifteen years, Fleming sat down to write his first book, Casino Royale, in order to soothe his nerves. Thus began the long line of Bond novels for which he would earn lasting fame.
Andrew Lycett received a history degree from Oxford University before becoming a journalist at the Sunday Times (London), where he served as a foreign correspondent in Africa and the Middle East. He has written acclaimed biographies on Ian Fleming, Dylan Thomas, Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle, Muammar al-Gaddafi, and Rudyard Kipling. He lives in London. |
