Book description
Moonraker
'For several minutes he stood speechless, his eyes dazzled by the
terrible beauty of the greatest weapon on earth'
He's a self-made millionaire, head of the Moonraker rocket programme
and loved by the press. So why is Sir Hugo Drax cheating at cards?
Bond has just five days to uncover the sinister truth behind a
national hero, in Ian Fleming's third 007 adventure.
Diamonds are Forever
'The twentieth century looked out at him from the piece of
newsprint and bared its teeth in a sneer'
From the diamond mines of Sierra Leone to the jewellers of Hatton
Garden, from race track to casino... Bond must infiltrate and destroy
the criminal network of the Spangled Mob in Fleming's fourth 007 adventure.
Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in London on 28 May 1908 and was
educated at Eton College before spending a formative period studying
languages in Europe. His first job was with Reuters news agency,
followed by a brief spell as a stockbroker. On the outbreak of the
Second World War he was appointed assistant to the Director of Naval
Intelligence, Admiral Godfrey, where he played a key part in British
and Allied espionage operations.
After the war he joined Kemsley Newspapers as Foreign Manager of
the
Sunday Times, running a network of correspondents who were
intimately involved in the Cold War. His first novel, Casino
Royale,was published in 1953 and introduced James Bond, Special
Agent 007, to the world. The first print run sold out within a month.
Following this initial success, he published a Bond title every year
until his death. His own travels, interests and wartime experience
gave authority to everything he wrote. Raymond Chandler hailed him as
'the most forceful and driving writer of thrillers in England.' The
fifth title, From Russia with Love, was particularly well
received and sales soared when President Kennedy named it as one of
his favourite books. The Bond novels have sold more than sixty million
copies and inspired a hugely successful film franchise which began in
1962 with the release of Dr No starring Sean Connery as 007.
The Bond books were written in Jamaica, a country Fleming fell in
love with during the war and where he built a house, 'Goldeneye'. He
married Anne Rothermere in 1952. His story about a magical car,
written in 1961 for their only child Caspar, went on to become the
well-loved novel and film, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Fleming died of heart failure on 12 August 1964, aged fifty-six.
www. ianfleming. com
