007 James Bond: A Report
Barbel
ScotlandPosts: 38,068Chief of Staff
The above book has been discussed here. It predates "The James Bond Dossier" and covers much the same ground.
I believe it's quite rare these days and hard to find, so when I spotted it on eBay
Vintage “Pan Books” Paperback Book Bundle x 23, inc. James Bond, Etc | eBay
as part of this bundle I thought I'd post this here in case anyone is interested. And no, I'm not the seller. I'll delete this thread once the sale is over.
Comments
I have a copy of this, sitting in a pile of books right beside me as I type
been almost 20 years since I read it, but as the boss says it covers similar ground to Amis's better known book
I can take a look at the contents if anybody wants more info
I have never heard of this - or perhaps I had but dismissed it - I just ordered a copy from WOB.
Strictly speaking it is a PANTHER paperback - I couldn't find a Pan copy as the eBay advertises it - and I thought Panther was for reissues only?
Yes, it was a Panther paperback and not a Pan one and that was the first edition I first found in a second hand bookshop back in 1997. I think the first edition was published by Neville Spearman in the UK. It was the first book ever published about the literary James Bond back in 1964 and it actually outsold Amis's The James Bond Dossier, selling over a million copies. It's a good book and Snelling makes some interesting observations. I find it particularly good at setting the scene for what it was like to be a Bond fan in around 1963 or so when the whole popularity of the character was really starting to kick off.
This is the cover of my copy -
I believe it's a first, but I've been wrong about such things before.
Yes, that's the first edition. Great you have a copy of that. I'd say it's fairly valuable nowadays.
I said I'd delete this thread once the sale is over, but I've changed my mind on reading the comments above.
I had a quick look at my copy, and here is the table of contents
His Predecessors pg11
His Image pg20
His Women pg49
His Adversaries pg129
His Future pg178 (ends pg192)
note the chapter on the ladies is by far the longest, making we want to reread it, as I find Fleming's female characters much more interesting than their cinematic equivalents
the Authors Note tells us You Only Live Twice was published after writing was complete, with its obit in particular answering or contradicting some of the things Snelling wrote. and the Preface tells us Fleming died just before the hardcover went to press, and his immediate reaction was "oh no, no more Bond", which of course is the opposite of whats happened since
I know some prefer the Report to Amis's Bond Dossier, but I've never understood why. From what I remember, Snelling spent too many pages discussing inaccuracies and contradictions in Fleming and too few on genuine literary criticism, whereas Amis was as good a critic as a novelist (until his later drunken years anyway).
I'm glad you've changed your mind and decided to keep the thread, @Barbel. I don't think there's been one on this book before, which celebrates it's 60th anniversary this year.
Yes, though I think Snelling meant no more Fleming Bond as opposed to the continuation Bond and in that sense at least he was quite tight. Apart from TMWTGG and the short stories in Octopussy there was sadly no more Fleming Bond.
Just dropped through my letter box today. Yes, an immediate Panther paperback, a second printing from
Feb 1966. Made to look as if it ties in with the then current Pan series. I shall look forward to reading this. It is next but one on my to do list.
I hope you enjoy it, @chrisno1, and manage to read it from a 60s perspective remembering that no-one had written a book like this before, while they're common now.