Fleming Biography by Andrew Lycett

Comments

• Sir Miles The Wrong Side Of The WardrobePosts: 27,757Chief of Staff

  October 2014

  Short answer...yes -{

  YNWA 97
  
• David Schofield EnglandPosts: 1,528MI6 Agent

  October 2014

  Very thorough book but really, hard work to get through. Lycett doesn't make it pleasant to read
  
  And Lycett insists on referring to Fleming as "Ian" suggesting a familiarity and first hand knowledge of Fleming which Lycett never had, and which certainly jarred with me.
  
  Someone who did have a friendship and first hand working relationship with Fleming is John Pearson, and his biography is by far the more entertaining and a delight to read.
  
  But Lycett still is a must. But don''t expect it to be anything other than hard work laced with over familiarity.
• Silhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent

  October 2014 edited October 2014

  Yes, it is brilliant and answers many questions regarding Fleming and Bond - an absolute must for your library along with John Pearson's biography of Fleming. And a lot of biographers these days do use Christian names for some reason perhaps as constantly referring to the person by their surname sounds too cold and formal to our more informal age.

  "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).
• The Domino Effect Posts: 3,638MI6 Agent

  October 2014

  Absolutely. For me, it is the definitive biography of Fleming. Lycett was authorised by the Fleming estate, had access to all of Fleming's papers and associates and also had the benefit of time to put Fleming in his rightful place. Pearson's biography is definitely more readable, but I find Lycett's more informative and satisfying.
• AlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,926MI6 Agent

  October 2014

  Cheers Guys -{

  1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
• superado Regent's Park West (CaliforniaPosts: 2,656MI6 Agent

  October 2014

  David Schofield wrote:

  Very thorough book but really, hard work to get through. Lycett doesn't make it pleasant to read
  
  And Lycett insists on referring to Fleming as "Ian" suggesting a familiarity and first hand knowledge of Fleming which Lycett never had, and which certainly jarred with me.
  
  Someone who did have a friendship and first hand working relationship with Fleming is John Pearson, and his biography is by far the more entertaining and a delight to read.
  
  But Lycett still is a must. But don''t expect it to be anything other than hard work laced with over familiarity.

  
  Totally agree. Though I use the book as a reference for whatever specific piece of info I'm looking for, reading the book straight through is a chore, which is why I ended up getting the audio version on iTunes.

  "...the purposeful slant of his striding figure looked dangerous, as if he was making quickly for something bad that was happening further down the street." -SMERSH on 007 dossier photo, Ch. 6 FRWL.....
• SpyFicGirl07 Posts: 1MI6 Agent

  November 2014

  Just found out you can get this great bio on Kindle - and it's free! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ian-Fleming-Licence-Nigel-Cawthorne-ebook/dp/B00NO2UWUO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1415790062&sr=8-1&keywords=ian+fleming+endeavour
  
  
• Thomo ReadingPosts: 964MI6 Agent

  November 2014

  Just read it and it was very good - now on to Goldeneye by Matthew Parker
• AlphaOmegaSin EnglandPosts: 10,926MI6 Agent

  November 2014

  Cheers for the Link -{

  1.On Her Majesties Secret Service 2.The Living Daylights 3.license To Kill 4.The Spy Who Loved Me 5.Goldfinger
• Silhouette Man The last refuge of a scoundrelPosts: 8,845MI6 Agent

  November 2014

  Thanks for that link indeed! -{

  "The tough man of the world. The Secret Agent. The man who was only a silhouette." - Ian Fleming, Moonraker (1955).