Jamaica - The Real Location That Spawned a Fictional Legend

Ian Fleming first set foot on Jamaican soil in 1943 during World War II as Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence, sent to assist in the problem of German U-boats sinking shipping vessels in the Carribean.



After the war had ended, he returned and, for eighteen years from 1946 until his death, Ian Fleming spent two months each year at Goldeneye - his home built overlooking a small white sand beach on Jamaica's north coast.  It was during these months that all of the James Bond novels and stories were written.



While quite a few of the Bond stories had Jamaica as the setting, the influence of the area - the music, the people, his circle of friends - can be felt throughout the series including the creation of the character of Bond himself.



Matthew Parker mixes Jamaican history and culture with the times and circumstances that shaped Ian Fleming's viewpoints.  He not only covers the life of Mr. Fleming following the war, but the decline of the British Empire and the effects that had on Jamaica as one of the remaining outposts of that Empire.  He also covers not only the Bond stories but also the films that were made from them.  Both Sean Connery and Roger Moore took their first turns as Bond on Jamaica, with Roger Moore actually visiting Fleming's Goldeneye while on Jamaica to film 'Live and Let Die'.



Part Fleming biography, part study of the genesis of James Bond and part Jamaican tour guide of days past, Parker's book appeals on many fronts, but will likely be most interesting to fans of 007 lore.

Re-reading Old Favorites

     Back in high school, I found a love for spy stories and read the James Bond series by Ian Fleming.   Having recently come across the set again, I've started to re-read them again and am finding that the older me is getting as much if not more enjoyment out of them as the teenaged me did.  I've already re-read Goldfinger, Casino Royale and You Only Live Twice and am now in the middle of Thunderball.

     Some of the technology and world situations are, of course, rather dated, but for a series of books that were written around fifty years ago, they hold up very well and are still highly entertaining.  Next year will mark the 50th anniversary of the release of You Only Live Twice, the last Bond book published while Ian Fleming was still alive (The Man with the Golden Gun, Octopussy and The Living Daylights were all published posthumously).  If you've ever enjoyed a Bond movie, why not give one of the books a try?  Our library collection includes nine of the Bond series.