Ten Thousand Birds

Ornithology Since Darwin

Tim Birkhead (2014)

The name James Bond came from an American ornithologist. James Bond was a Caribbean bird expert! "When I wrote the first one in 1953, I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened... when I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, (James Bond) is the dullest name I ever heard." —Ian Fleming, The New Yorker, 21 April 1962

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Goldeneye

Where Bond Was Born: Ian Fleming's Jamaica

Matthew Parker (2015)

All the James Bond novels were written at Goldeneye, Ian Fleming's house in Jamaica. Fleming wrote all his Bond novels during the months of January and February each year.

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Casino Royale

Ian Fleming (1952)

Starting in 1952 with Casino Royale, Fleming wrote one James Bond novel a year until his death in 1964.

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Skyfall

DVD (2012)

Did you know that Skyfall is the most recent in the James Bond films, and the London Premier was attended by Charles, Prince of Wales, and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall?

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GoldenEye, 007

Reloaded, Video Game (2011)

Did you know that there is a reference to every Bond movie (except, of course, those made after GoldenEye's release) made in some form throughout the game?

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The Science of James Bond

From Bullets to Bowler Hats, to Boat Jumps: The Real Technology Behind 007's Fabulous Films

Lois H. Gresh (2006)

The character of Q was inspired in part a real life gadget maker who built spy gear for British intelligence operatives during World War II. These gadgets, dubbed Q gadgets included cameras disguised as cigarette lighters, hairbrushes that contained hidden saws and steel mesh shoelaces that doubled as garrote wires. Fleming, who was aware of these gadgets, named his own fictional spy's gadget maker Q.

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50 Years of James Bond

Michelle DuPre (2012)

Did you know Goldfinger was the first Bond film to feature Bond driving an Aston Martin and using gadgets–it was also the first film in history to feature a laser beam? 

 

Best of Bond -- James Bond

50th Anniversary Collection

Music CD (2012)

Sammy Davis Jr. filmed a deleted cameo scene for Diamonds Are Forever—he was at the casino playing roulette!

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TopGear

50 Years of Bond Cars - DVD (2013)

For his time as James Bond, Daniel Craig has the privilege of taking any Aston Martin from the factory for the rest of his life. Lucky Daniel Craig!

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James Bond Gadgets

DVD (2012)

In 1965, the British Royal Corps of Engineers contacted the movie crew from the James Bond film Thunderball to inquire about the capabilities of the rebreather used in the film, a prop made from CO2 cartridges and glue.

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The James Bond Omnibus

Volume 001

Anthony Hern, Graphic Novel (2009)

George Lucas found inspiration for the character of Indiana Jones by watching Sean Connery’s portrayal of Bond. When Connery was cast in The Last Crusade, Lucas said: “Who else but Bond could have been worthy enough to play Indiana Jones’ dad!”

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James Bond and Philosophy

Questions are Forever

James B. South & Jacob M. Held (2006)

From Dr. No to Quantum of Solace, James Bond has killed 352 people and slept with 52 women. I wonder what Freud would think of that philosophy.

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Ian Fleming's Commandos

The Story 30 Assault Unit in WWII

Nicholas Rankin (2011)

The character of James Bond was modeled after a real spy named Wilfrid “Biffy” Dunderdale, "Biffy" was MI6’s man in Paris. He was friends with Ian Fleming and several of Dunderdale’s stories ended up in Fleming’s books.

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SilverFin

The Graphic Novel

Charles Higson (2010)

Did you know the 1976 Israeli operation to rescue hostages at Entebbe airport in Uganda was named after the 1965 Bond movie Thunderball?

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Prisoners, Lovers, & Spies

The Story of Invisible Ink from Herodotus to Al-Qaeda

Kristie Macrakis (2014)

What Does SMERSH Stand For? Though not as prevalent as SPECTRE, The Russian counter-intelligence organization SMERSH is still known to give Bond plenty of headaches. Not so much an acronym as it is the consolidated version of the Russian phrase smert shpionam, meaning death to spies.

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Orbit: Ian Fleming: The Man Behind James Bond

Graphic Novel

Agents 002, 003, 004, and 009 have been killed, while 006 was Sean Bean’s villain in GoldenEye, 008 is Bond’s replacement in the unfortunate event of his death, while neither 001 nor 005 have ever been mentioned.

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The Illegitimates

Marc Andreyko - Graphic Novel (2014)

Did you know James Bond has been shot at 4,662 times during his career?

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MI-5

Volume 1 - DVD (2003)

The existence of MI6, the agency with which James Bond works in the movies, wasn’t officially acknowledged by the British government until 1994.

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The Bletchley Circle

Cracking A Killer's Code

DVD (2012)

Did you know the passport James Bond uses in Casino Royale was a real British passport? The Home Office created an official passport in the name of James Bond with the characters personal information. It has special security measures and is not eligible for official use.

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Luther

Season One

DVD (2010)

Anthony Horowitz, the latest work for hire Bond novelist, told the Daily Mail that he didn’t think Idris Elba would be a good fit for the role because he was too “street.” It's a shame, I think Idris Elba would be an amazing Bond!

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Casino Royale

DVD (2008)

In the 1967 spy spoof Casino Royale a carpet beater can be seen hanging from the side of Orson Welles's chair. This is a link to the original Casino Royale novel, in which Le Chiffre tortures Bond with a carpet beater. A scene which takes place in the 2006 Casino Royale but with no spoof.

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Austin Powers

International Man of Mystery

Blu-ray (2011)

The full name of The Evil Leader of SPECTRE is Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Most probably just know Bond’s archenemy as Blofeld, or that bald guy, or, incorrectly, Dr. Evil.

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The Moneypenny Diaries

Secret Servant

Kate Westbrook (2007)

The character of Moneypenny has been played by six actresses in the Bond films, four in the Eon film series, plus two in the non-Eon films.

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Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

DVD (2011)

Did you know Ian Fleming also wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? And another unexpected piece of author trivia: Roald Dahl wrote the screenplay for You Only Live Twice!

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