Philly Daily ran my On Crime Column today on the collected journalism of Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond.
You can read the column via the link below
or the following text:
Paul Davis: Seeing through a thriller-writer’s eye – Philly Daily
I recently saw a film trailer for an upcoming film called Fortitude. In the WWII spy thriller, actor Art Malik portrays the late Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, when the future thriller writer was a WWII naval intelligence officer. Commander Ian Fleming served as the personal assistant to the director of British Naval Intelligence, Admiral Godfrey.
The film is about an actual WWII mission called Operation
Fortitude, a deception campaign that convinced Nazi Germany that the D-Day
invasion would target Pas-de-Calais rather than Normandy.
Nicolas Cage portrays Dusko Popov, a spy who claimed Ian
Fleming based James Bond on him. But Fleming said James Bond was based on
several military commandos and intelligence officers he knew during the war,
with much of his own personality added to the fictional secret agent. Fleming
also passed on to Bond his personal passions, women, fast cars, travel,
adventure, fine dining, drinking, smoking, golf and card games.
This is the third wartime espionage film in recent years that
has an actor portraying Commander Fleming. He was also portrayed in Operation
Mincemeat and A Spy Among Friends.
Sans fist and gunfights, it seems to me
that Ian Fleming was far more interesting than his world-famous fictional
creation.
As I’ve noted here before, I’ve been an Ian Fleming aficionado since I was a kid
in the early 1960s and saw the first two James Bond films, Dr. No and From
Russia With Love. I’ve read all of Ian Fleming’s novels and short
stories, and much of his journalism.
In addition to the Bond thrillers, Ian Fleming also
wrote a true crime book called The Diamond Smugglers, and he published a
collection of his travel pieces that appeared in the London Sunday Times
called Thrilling Cities. I carried the slim paperback book with me while
serving in the U.S. Navy on an aircraft carrier during the Vietnam War, and
later on a Navy tugboat at the U.S. nuclear submarine base at Holy Loch,
Scotland. I visited many of the cities that Fleming covered a decade earlier in
the book.
I have also read some of his re-published journalism pieces
over the years, and I’ve always found them to be most interesting. Fleming said
he always saw life through a thriller writer’s eyes, so I was pleased to read The
Talk of the Devil: The Collected Writings of Ian Fleming.
“A fascinating
anthology of rarely seen journalism and other writing by Ian Fleming. The
collection includes articles spanning Fleming’s career as an author,
encompassing reviews for the Sunday Times, Second World War documents,
travel journalism, correspondence with Raymond Chandler and much more,” stated
IanFleming.com. “The volume also includes two newly unearthed articles that
have not been available for over half a century and two rarely published early
works of fiction.”
HarperCollins
called the book a fascinating literary collection of rarely seen journalism and
other writings by Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond series.
“Ian
Fleming was best known for bringing to life the legendary character of James
Bond, one of the most beloved and enduring icons of our time, but he was
perhaps even more interesting than his creation,” HarperCollins notes. “His
career in Naval Intelligence and extensive travels around the world gave
Fleming a keen eye and the authority to write on a wide range of topics beyond
Bond’s adventures.
This
collection contains a selection of journalism and other writings by Fleming,
covering his wartime experiences, reflections on crime and espionage, and the
process of writing his novels, among other topics. Readers will feel like they
are right beside Fleming, immersed in his world as he works to meet the
deadline for his next Bond novel, or participates in a mortifying golf
tournament, or befriends an octopus in his beloved Jamaica. A black-and-white
photo insert gives dimension to the man behind the myth, bringing life to his
words and providing a unique glimpse into Fleming’s world.
This revealing collection of his own words paints a portrait of a man even more fascinating than his creation.
- Naval
Intelligence Insights: Go beyond the fiction with Fleming’s own accounts of
his career in intelligence, offering a glimpse into the real-world
inspiration for 007.
- The
Writing of James Bond: Learn about Fleming’s creative process as he works to
meet a deadline for his next iconic novel from his beloved home in
Jamaica.
- Wartime
Journalism: Read firsthand accounts and sharp-eyed observations
from Fleming’s extensive wartime experiences and global travels.
- A Life
of Adventure: From mortifying golf tournaments to befriending an
octopus, discover the personal stories and private moments of a truly
remarkable life.”
The book offers
Commander Ian Fleming’s memo to General William “Wild Bill” Donovan, who was
the head of America’s WWII Office of Strategic Servies (OSS), the
forerunner to the CIA. Fleming’s memo suggests how Donovan should establish an
intelligence service based on British naval intelligence.
The book also
includes Fleming’s Royal Navy report of the Dieppe Raid. Stationed aboard a
Royal Navy destroyer off the coast of France, Fleming watched the disastrous
raid through binoculars in August of 1942. Called Operation Jubilee, the plan called
for an amphibious landing at Dieppe. Commander Fleming’s account of the failed
raid reads like a thriller.
Ian Fleming’s
writing on crime, espionage, war and various other subjects makes for
fascinating reading.
So, if one is a
fan of the James Bond films and/or the Bond novels, one should read Talk of
the Devil to learn more about Ian Fleming, Bond’s creator.
Paul Davis’s On Crime column appears here each week. He is also a contributor to Counterterrorism magazine.
Note: You can also read my Counterterrorism magazine piece on Ian Fleming's wartime experience via the link below:
