Product Description

An encyclopedic celebration of 007, the world's most popular secret agent, The James Bond Bedside Companion is the most comprehensive single-volume guide to the James Bond phenomenon available. In addition to an intimate portrait of Ian Fleming as remembered by his friends and colleagues and a detailed analysis of every one of Fleming's James Bond titles, this indispensable collection includes:

-- An in-depth character study of James Bond, including a sketch of his background and early life, detailed descriptions of his trademarked clothing and other personal habits, including his preferences in food and drink, and a portrait of his famous (or infamous) attitudes toward women and marriage;

-- Information about the many by-products of Bondmania and the merchandising of 007, such as Bond's line of toiletries, board games, trading cards, Oddjob Action Dolls, and t-shirts;

-- Contact information for the many James Bond fan clubs around the world;

-- A critical look at the 007 film series that includes a cornucopia of trivia and essential information on the films' producers, screenplays, directors, actors, soundtracks and special effects;

-- Over 100 seldom seen photographs;

-- And enough facts, figures, and miscellanea to satisfy even the most ardent fan.

Out of print for over a decade, this collector's item is a PublishingOnline exclusive.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1531295 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-16
• Binding: Paperback
• 274 pages

About the Author
Raymond Benson has written several James Bond novels, including his most recent, Never Dream of Dying. In addition, Benson has written the recent murder-mystery novel, Evil Hours.

Customer Reviews

Excellent analysis of the James Bond phenomenon.
Raymond Benson's James Bond Bedside Companion provides an excellent analysis of the entire James Bond series, including the films and the novels. This edition was originally released in 1988, and it has not been updated to the present. As a result, some of the information is quite dated. Of most notable development is the fact that Raymond Benson himself has since taken over as the author of the James Bond literary series.

Nonetheless, this is overall, an informative work. Benson provides a chapter on Ian Fleming's background. Of particular note is a chapter in which Benson pieces together the biography of the James Bond character. This is reminiscent of John Pearson's Unauthorized Biography of James Bond. Benson provides an excellent analysis of the James Bond novels. He identifies trends in Ian Fleming's writing nad points to specific examples of what he calls the "Fleming Effect." For hard core fans of the novels this section is excellent. Benson includes analysis of the works of Ian FLeming, Kingsley Amis, and John Gardner. Curiously, many of the apparent criticisms that Benson had of Gardner's work, he is guilty of committing in his own novels. The film analysis is also excellent. Benson provides detailed analysis of every film through the Living Daylights.

It should be noted that this book will probably not be of much appeal to the casual James Bond fan. Benson tries to provide an in depth analysis rather than focusing on the superficial. Of distraction to the hard core fan, are occasional factual errors that appear to be the result of sloppy editing. Additionally, the quality of the text and photos is generally poor. The formatting of the text is somewhat erratic with occasional omissions of glaringly obvious punctuation. The photos are all black & white. The photos are generally blurred. This appear to be the result of poor printing.

Overall, the quality of the author's analysis is generally educational and informative. However, the production of the actual book borders on shoddy. An excellent reference work for the hardcore fan, but if you're looking for color photos of Bond girls and gadgets, then you should look elsewhere.

THE essential reference work on James Bond. Period.
If you're a fan of the movies or books but haven't ever read anything about them, this is the place to start. If you have read lots of other stuff, but not this, shame on you. You'll still learn a lot from The James Bond Bedside Companion, and you'll find that it is THE essential guide to all things Bond, books and films, all in one place. I have just about everything ever published on Bond in English (and that's a lot of books), and this is the one that I'll pull off the shelf first if I want to look things up. Every Bond fan should own it.

Indispensable Literary and Cinematic Bond Compendium
I found Author Raymond Benson's "James Bond Bedside Companion" to be an indispensable work on James Bond along with works of authors such as John Griswold, Kingsley Amis, Philip Lisa and others. Benson's book focuses on both the literary and cinematic James Bond and goes even further examining the entire James Bond phenomenon. Overall this is a very comprehensive book told concisely in expert fashion. It is an essential book for any James Bond enthusiast. Putting it bluntly, Benson knows his stuff.