The Politics of James Bond by Jeremy Black
Tracy
the VillagePosts: 369MI6 Agent
Black's book is one of the more interesting books I've read lately, a readable discussion of the real life political and historical events that both inspired and are referenced on the 007 book canon (Fleming through Gardner) as well as the films up until TWINE. It's out of print, but I found a copy in a used book store and have seen some reasonably priced editions sold online, too.
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Comments
It's interesting to note the different interpretations of the politics of Bond. Kingsley Amis more or less claimed 007 for conservatives, and the notion of Bond as some sort of right-wing, imperialist thug is often bandied about by leftist writers. Yet Ian Fleming himself in a famous Playboy interview said that, while James Bond had no politics, if he did, they would be left of center. Christopher Hitchens also seemed to view Bond as something of a Cold War liberal.
To me, these debates show what a complex and intriguing character James Bond really is.
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