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Average Customer Rating:

Good show, old boy!

Customer Rating:

I gave this 4 stars for being the best Fleming biography. The Pearson bio wasn't nearly as detailed. One reviewer of that book said it glossed over many things; that is true. This book gives details to the core. But you have to realize that Fleming did not live an interesting life. Sure, he was a journalist, he went into banking, and he was even around for WWII, unfortunately, the most he did with his time was live in luxury. That is what caused his boredom and depression, as well as his need to be surrounded by the most interesting people who could stand his reserved, English behavior. Love affairs, dreamy getaways to safely exotic locations, and this and that are all told in this book, in every last detail. I'd recommend this book if you're looking for something on the James Bond creator. Sadly, do not expect a fascinating individual. He spent too much time smoking and being your everyday playboy to be adventurous.

Poor writing manages to make an interesting life boring

Customer Rating:

This book covers an interesting life story and has great detail, but unfortunately much of that detail has nothing to do with Mr. Fleming's life, instead focusing on the bloodlines of every British person he ever met. A typical sentence would read "While at the party Ian met John Blankenship of Eddileshile, who would later become the Duke of Ipswitch and marry the Dutchess of Flem, whose mother, the Dame of Foppishnich, once had lunch with Sir Henry Handllberg" - and NONE of these people would have had anything to do with the story, the party, or Ian Flemming. It is as if a Flemming biography was inadvertantly been mixed with a "Complete Peerage of the Brittish Isles" and they went ahead and published it anyway. If you must, get the print version, so you can skim over the irrelevant stuff that pops up every other sentence - if you listen to the Audible audio version (like I did) you will find it had to follow and boring to boot.

Nicely done

Customer Rating:

In a fashion, Mr. Lycett's biography is as detailed as Carlos Baker's biography of Ernest Hemingway. Nearly every movement of Ian Fleming's adulthood is covered. What is revealed is not a pleasant personality. Ian Fleming was a selfish, egocentric fellow who was very much a rake and a cad, especially in the years before World War Two. Scion of a wealthy family, he was a true-to-life example of England's decadent ruling class as much as the Marchmont family was in Evelyn Waugh's Brideshead Revisited.(Interestingly, Fleming's wife, Ann, was friends with Waugh though Waugh did not know Fleming very well when Brideshead was written). Lycett paints an unflattering portrait of this ruling class. The ruling circle which Fleming was part specialized in divorce, arrogance, selfishness, the lapping up of assorted luxuries. They lacked fidelity and self-discipline. It is also noteworthy that in the middle of the Depression, Fleming was so set in society that he seemed to be able to vacation at a whim and not lose his job. Fleming would have died a spoiled cad if not for the discipline of war, in which he served well as an intelligence officer. Egocentric as always, Fleming later claimed to have drawn up the blueprint for the American O.S.S., later known as the C.I.A.. During the war, Fleming fell in love with Jamaica. This love led eventually to Fleming's routine of writing a James Bond novel each winter at his place, Goldeneye, in Jamaica during his ordinarilly 2-3 month winter vacations. The James Bond pop phenomenon was slow to take off and by the time that it did, Ian Fleming's health was in severe decline due to years of a diet of cigarettes, large amounts of alcohol and greasy foods. The Bond novels will never be known as great literature but they are tersely written in fine, spare prose. The plots are usually ridiculous but, after all, they were to be fun books, not serious literature. Sadism is laced within many for Fleming was a sexual sadist. What is most fascinating about the biography is the chummy relationships within the British ruling class where Fleming would have the homosexual Noel Coward as his best man, rent Goldeneye to Prime Minister Eden after the Suez fiasco and Fleming's wife, Ann, would carry on an affair with Labor Party boss Hugh Gaitskill with Fleming's acceptance.

This was a throroughly delightful and interesting read.	Customer Rating:
Lycett gives great insight into Fleming's character and also the world he lived and wrote in. Also, this book gives a great overview of World War II and the Cold War. I highly recommend this book to Bond fans and anyone else who enjoys reading about exciting persons, such as Fleming.

007's creator revealed

Customer Rating:

This was an excellent book. The research was excellent, and Lycett's ability to portray characters from the early to mid 19th century should not be overlooked. My only gripe was there seemed to be two oft-repeated phrases: "In a letter to Evelyn Waugh, Ann..." and "En route to Jamaica in New York, Ian...." But all things considered, this is an essential read for any 007 fan - casual or the vodka-martini drinking type.