The James Bond Books Compared to Their Film Adaptations: Tier Ranking the Books and Films

[@sheets75]

The one thing that always strikes me about the literary version of Bond is the amount of physical punishment he takes on the job. Every book involves him suffering some horrific injury, to the point that he ends up looking like Bruce Willis at the end of Die Hard, but he absolutely never quits because it's his duty to keep going or die trying. I remember my mom watching the License to Kill movie and being shocked that Bond got a bloody lip and mussed up his suit and hair. I also appreciate the detail Fleming gives to Bond. There's a common view from the movies that Bond is just sort of a name or cipher - just hire any actor to play him, it doesn't matter, hell, hire a woman - but Fleming's Bond is absolutely a distinct character.

[@thelibraryladder]

Great comment! The physical abuse and injury that Bond endures in the books might be what I remember the most from when I first read them. Very different from the movies.

[@bullphrogva1804]

I've been slowly picking away at the books and this was my first impression as well. I actually appreciated it as modern movies depict their protagonist as an invincible and stoic machine that is capable of both performing and surviving things outside of human capacity. If you've been indoctrinated by the modern movie James Bond, where he jumps from crane to crane over 40 feet and survives without injury... or other protagonist like John Wick or who ever... these books along with other books of the era are a breath of fresh air.

[@petermcgill1315]

The opening chapters in Dr No of M talking to a surgeon about Bond’s injuries from the previous novel are enlightening.

[@warrenrhinerson6373]

Personally one thing I love about Flemings novels is not only how descriptive he is but also how Bond changes throughout. Even in Casino Royale alone, Bond goes from a dark lonely person to a man who is willing to give up everything for the woman he loves. Even by the time of Dr No, Bond develops his iconic sense of humor. James Bond is the only fictional spy character who actually feels like he could be a real person in the novels. Also one thing I will note. While Fleming mentions a lot of brands that are considered luxury today, most of them were not at the time. Take Rolex for example. At the time the novels were written and take place, Rolex watches were not luxury items but extremely high quality tool watches meant to be used and abused within an inch of its life. Similar to how GShock or Seiko watches are today. For reference in 1954, a brand new Rolex Submariner cost about $150($1200 when adjusted for inflation). Bonds watch is a more simple Rolex Oyster and he even uses it to beat a guard to death in On her majesty’s secret service. Literacy Bond isn’t so much a fan of luxury as he is a man who likes quality.

[@thelibraryladder]

Great comment! Thanks for sharing.

[@joeyfiuza]

One of the best comment ever ! Thanks a lot.

[@ginghamt.c.5973]

So true - to dismiss an over priced brand name in favour of a little known but superior little number discovered on one’s travels - is pure class !

[@OLOHEKAI]

Agreed on Rolex My grandfather was issued one as a Ranger/OSS man in WWII, so it is likely that it was a practical choice that Fleming was familiar with at that time.

[@DutchBondFan]

Fantastic video, you have a great voice, very easy to listen to! Cheers from a Bond channel!

[@thelibraryladder]

Thank you! I had a lot of fun making this video and a companion video about the early history of the spy genre in fiction.

[@DafyddBrooks]

Glad you finally found this Jeroen

[@albebelt3013]

I think he is an artificial intelligence character

[@DafyddBrooks]

@@albebelt3013 nope, hes a bond fan :)

[@RobertR3750]

I'm pretty much in agreement with your assessments. Something I thought about The Man with the Golden Gun is that it was difficult for me not to think that Bond was basically a broken man at that point. Fleming had really put him through the wringer: Finally falling in love, only to see his wife immediately murdered, suffering bad injuries that gave him amnesia, being brainwashed by the Russians, undergoing shock therapy.....holy moly, he went through a lot.

[@thelibraryladder]

I agree. When I first read the books, the amount of physical and mental abuse Bond endures in them was one of the biggest surprises for me, in contrast with the films in which Connery, Lazenby and Moore barely ever suffer a scratch.

[@carlsinger2185]

I just gotta say man. You have the perfect storytelling voice. You should consider doing e-books and voice acting

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! I just dipped my toe in the storytelling water last week by recording an audiobook of a collection of classic short stories by Lord Dunsany. I uploaded two of the stories here on my channel if you're interested.

[@simongelsi409]

@@thelibraryladder I agree, you speak like a man which is unusual these days

[@grahamparr3933]

Don’t think he could read the Bond books with yankee accent.

[@bitchio]

@@thelibraryladderI agree you have an amazing voice

[@MSK-jd5fi]

It’s a very pleasant voice to the ear. I was wondering if you were keeping your voice low because there was someone sleeping in the next room 😀

[@SamnissArandeen]

I hadn't read a Bond book since middle school, so this is a nice refresher to me, a lifelong fan of the Bond films. I remember being in third grade predicting (successfully) the next film would be Casino Royale. What I could never have predicted was just how legendary it would be!

[@thelibraryladder]

I assume you're referring to the Daniel Craig version. The 1967 Woody Allen version is legendary, but in a very different way. :D

[@Professor_Fate]

Another aspect of Fleming's description of luxury brands, gourmet food and drink, and travel to "exotic" locations is that these were things that, due to post-war scarcity and continued rationing and economic hard times, were beyond most British readers in the 1950s. So, part of the appeal was that readers could enjoy these things vicariously through Bond. Which is, I suppose, the very definition of escapist literature. And there's nothing wrong with that!

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for sharing that insightful observation!

[@josephnizolek3975]

My father was a big fan of the series when they first came out, , help him become a constant reader in his adult life

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for sharing! One of the nice things about the Bond books is that they're all relatively short, so they don't require a large commitment of time or mental energy to read. They make a nice gateway to reading for people not in the habit of it.

[@gemma1874]

​@@thelibraryladderI'm a huge James bond fan I have 14 james bond books in a box set ,24 bond flims ,bond poster book and janes bond games

[@fredoswego]

Just finished Dr No a couple of days ago. After reading a couple other Bond books that basically just shared the title with the movie, I was surprised how close the Dr No book and movie were to each other.

[@michaelpoplawski2998]

This is an outstanding job for reviewing the books, novels and conducting a comparison. I appreciate the very insightful comments and analysis. This brought back points that I had forgotten and those that I didn't connect.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for your very kind comment! I had a lot of fun making this video, as well as a companion video on the roots of the spy fiction genre.

[@DafyddBrooks]

This has to be the best video on KZbin that covers the history of Ian Flemings James Bond!! Well Done and thank you sir :)

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! Nearly all of the content on KZbin related to Bond seemed to be limited to discussion of the films. I decided to remedy that by highlighting the books that inspired the films (and that are often quite different from them).

[@darrylldoucette6895]

Cudos for your references to Raffles and Arsene Lupin as early influences on Bond. Spot on considering they are largely forgotten characters who have had massive influences on many modern franchises. Both Lupin and Fantomas, for instance, are intrinsic to the modern Mission Impossible films.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! I love the early adventure novels and gentleman thief stories from the late 1800s and early 1900s that helped inspire much of the later spy genre. I made a separate video about the roots of the spy genre last fall, and I plan to feature many of those authors and works in future videos.

[@cyntoh9265]

Great reviews. The comparisons of the books and the movies were pretty interesting and I don't hold a radically different opinion than yours in the ratings of books and movies.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! I'm very glad you enjoyed the video (and that I'm not alone in my tastes).

[@wileyschmitt]

Great video! Your editing skills are awesome, very well done indeed!

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks, Wiley! I try to do something new in each video so I can learn new skills. I also injected a little of the 1950s/60s vibe into this one (mainly through the music).

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Fantastic video! Really informative. I’ve somehow never read a single Bond book. I really need to do that.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks, Michael! As I mention in the video, start at the beginning of the series and you're relatively safe. The first time I read Casino Royale was shortly after the 2006 film came out, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it. It's not great literature, but it's a step up from a lot of the pulp fiction that was being written at that time. (From one pulp fiction fan to another.)

[@goofyiscool]

I first read all the Fleming novels while in the hospital when I was 15. I remember being shocked by Casino Royale, The Spy Who Loved Me, and You Only Live Twice. Not at all what I was expecting. Of the novels, my favorites were Moonraker, From Russia With Love, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, and You Only Live Twice. The Man With the Golden Gun was probably the weakest of the bunch.

[@SolarLabyrinth]

I love the novels and films...to varying degrees, as is consistent with your own ratings and tiers. In my opinion, the novels were best when sticking to the more mundane and character-driven aspects of Bond. Some of my favorite parts of the books (and films) are when Bond is just living his life as an agent: traveling, eating, staying in hotels, and meeting either the Bond girls or allies while on a mission. When it got over the top or veered too far off into absurdity, that's when the books were their weakest.

[@thelibraryladder]

That's pretty consistent with how I enjoyed the books. The more spectacle the books contained, the harder it was for me to suspend disbelief and ignore the plot holes and boneheaded decisions by Bond. You Only Live Twice (the book) made me wonder if Fleming was experimenting with controlled substances while he wrote it (similar to how Philip K Dick wrote many of his books and short stories). On the whole, I think the lure of TV and film adaptations (and the spectacle they demanded) were unfortunate influences on Fleming while he wrote many of his later books. Thanks for sharing!

[@erictrumpler9652]

"From Russia..." was my German aunt's first full novel in English... the suspense motivating her to reading it to the end.... Great review, I like it very much that you don't do a typical numeric ranking. Your top right favorites were also the ones I reread most frequently as a teenager...interestingly, those are also the ones with the most compelling sex scenes.

[@Harucardiel]

I have randomly come across an amazing channel!!! Subscribing, cant wait to binge your vids lol

[@thelibraryladder]

Thank you and welcome aboard!

[@jammontgomery2320]

Great video! Your voice is also great! You could do some James Bond audiobooks, maybe the voices of some villains.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thank you! I recorded a couple of spooky short stories and uploaded them for Halloween here on my channel. I might do more stories from other genres as well in the future.

[@Joneserinn]

Thanks for a wonderful video, your voice is so soothing :) I'm reading the novels for the first time in my life and I've thoroughly enjoyed them all up to this point (currently reading Dr. No but have also read the Horowitz Bond novels). My favourite Bond film is Goldfinger so obviously I'm very much looking forward to reading it soon.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! I'm very glad you enjoyed the video. For me, part of the fun of reading the Bond books is trying to figure out why the film adaptations vary so widely in their faithfulness to the source material. Goldfinger is perfect for that kind of analysis, because the film is almost faithful to the book, but in the few places it deviates, it's pretty significant.

[@RedFuryBooks]

I probably don't have any desire to read the Bond novels, but did enjoy this video. I watched all of the Bond films a few summers ago, so they're fresh in my mind. My favorites were probably On Her Majesty's Secret Service, GoldenEye and Skyfall. Least favorite was easily Moonraker, although Octopussy and Dr. No I rated low as well. Thanks for a fun video!

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks, Josh. Moonraker is probably the silliest of the films, but I still remember the incredible feeling of awe and exhilaration I felt when I watched the opening sky diving sequence on a big screen in the theater as a kid. I recently learned that it took them nearly 90 jumps over a period of about a month to get all the shots needed for that stunt sequence. I imagine that was partly because cinema-quality movie cameras were a lot bulkier then and difficult to manage while in freefall. I suspect Fleming would have enjoyed the Daniel Craig films. Their tone is a lot closer to the original books, although only one is based on a book.

[@thrashpuppy2010]

OHMSS is underrated!

[@hippolyte90]

Great video and very timely as I'm currently reading my way through the James Bond-novels. However, I respectfully disagree with your opinion on Honeychile Rider from the 'Dr. No' novel. SPOILER WARNING The book version is a much more complex and interesting character compared to the movie version who's just completely forgettable except for that first scene when she rose out of the ocean in that white bikini. Yes, she acts quite immature but that's to be expected of a woman who raised herself from childhood while living in an old basement and educating herself from encyclopedias. At the same time she is smart, ruthless and strong. She saves herself from her captors and later comforts and takes care of Bond after he's been tortured by Dr. No.

[@thelibraryladder]

Those are all fair points about her character, and I would have mentioned her strengths if I had been doing a deeper dive in my reviews. My inner cringe stemmed mostly from how much of a caricature certain aspects of her are. Her immaturity, her unrealistic level of self-education (given her youth when orphaned), and her incomprehensible attraction to Bond (given her history and his purely animal response to her) didn't allow me to suspend disbelief while reading. She has considerably more substance than Ursula Andress' limited role in the film as eye candy. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@CeceliPS3]

The level of effort put in this + the level of taste with background music and paced low tone voice almost ASMR-like is amazing. Thanks for having made this video :) PS.: shame to all parties involved in reprinting Fleming novels with woke adaptations.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thank you! I had a lot of fun making this video.

[@FelixPerez-ts3lx]

HNY and thanks for the great work, effort and delivery that went into this

[@frankb821]

You have a great voice, a pleasure listening to! I'll definitely be back to investigate more of this channel. BTW...my favorite Bond novel is Dr. No, but favorite film is From Russia With Love. Cheers!

[@thelibraryladder]

Thank you! From Russia with Love is my favorite film in the series as well.

[@CeceliPS3]

@@thelibraryladder You probably don't like videogames, but From Russia with Love was also a game for Playstation 2 and they had Sean Connory doing the lines and animations. I hold that movie dear to me. I only wish I'd find that book to buy. Or dreaming higher, the complete box, which seems to have only 1 to buy at a ridiculous price.

[@BookishChas]

Another fantastic video Bridger. I really enjoyed your comprehensive treatment of the origins of Bond.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks, Chas! This is part of a series of videos I'm working on in which I'll explore the origins of various genres and works of fiction.

[@TrekBeatTK]

So far I’e only read the first three and while Casino Royale has a lot going for it, Moonraker reads really well and may be my favorite. I live the mundane paperwork stuff we get in it, while also not taking chapters to explain the rules of baccarat.

[@BookishChas]

Also wanted to add, the new Casino Royale and Goldeneye are two of my favorite films. Connery is my favorite Bond, followed by Craig. Judi Dench is an impeccable M.

[@thelibraryladder]

Good choices! Early Connery (particularly in Dr. No), Craig and Timothy Dalton were the portrayals closest to how Fleming wrote Bond. Likewise, in the books, Bond's relationship with M is contentious, but also complex, and Dench's M taps into that complexity in way that earlier portrayals don't.

[@Diana-ch8cv]

What a great companion to the history of spy fiction - I always learn so much from your videos, thank you 👍

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! I'm so glad you enjoyed both videos.

[@davebarrowcliffe1289]

Read 'em all as a teenager. Great stuff!

[@cutthr0atjake]

I started reading Bond books when I was 9 or 10 and love them more than the films that "stole" their names. My favourite novel's are Moonraker (Which shares mire DNA with the film Die Another Day than it does the Moonraker film) and my overall favourite, On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for sharing! I agree that those are among the best books. I'm going to guess that your favorite Bond film is either Casino Royale or From Russia with Love (for their faithfulness to the books).

[@cutthr0atjake]

@the library ladder Actually its Licence To Kill. Whilst Casino Royale is closer in plot, Dalton's portrayal was closer to the character in the books than Craig, or any other actor.

[@thelibraryladder]

@@cutthr0atjake That makes sense. Dalton definitely was closest to how Fleming wrote Bond.

[@erictrumpler9652]

A shame Dalton didn't end up playing On Her Majesty's Secret Service.... probably Roger Moore would never have happened... being a fan of the books, Roger Moore was always a disappointment to me, my least favorite Bond actor.

[@Jer-7007]

You acknowledged two, but I consider all the short stories in the book "For Your Eyes Only" to be contained, to some extent, in the movie version (with a new plot to weave them all together). Let's see if you can agree. The short story, "For Your Eye's Only", (with Bond meeting a vengeful daughter outside a Cuban assassin's home, during a sniper mission) was contained pretty faithfully in the movie, as you described. The short story, "Risico" (with Bond getting involved in a gang war between the smugglers Columbo and Kristatos) is also transferred to the movie, right out of the book. I am assuming this was the second one that you were alluding to. But I think there is a connection between the short story "From a View to a Kill", also (as both feature motorcycle assassins). There is also a connection between the short story "The Hildebrand Rarity" and the movie (in that both feature a main villain who is a yachtsman). Even the short story "Quantum of Solace" has a tenuous connection to the movie, in that both feature a fairly tragic promiscuous woman (being the diplomats wife in the former and the underaged Bibi Dahl in the latter). Okay, that last one is pretty weak - but one can make a case for it!

[@himcules100]

Very enjoyable and informative. Great info for someone who used to be into Bond but is no longer and probably never read the books. It was a shock when I realized movies usually didn't totally represent the books they were based on. Was excited for the remake of 'Walking Tall' and then tried to watch it and turned it off. Movies are all about making $$ and shocking the viewer and just because a book sells X # of copies doesn't necessarily mean its material for a film.

[@michaelkingsbury4305]

I read them all when I was 15. I got them for 65 cents a piece from a used bookstore. My mom thought they were too dirty for me, but the bookstore owner said whether you like it or not he is that age... I moved on to John Le Carre and then to a short career in Military Intelligence. I love the BBC 4 adaptations of the novels.

[@murph_archer1129]

Fantastic work as always. Your previous video has made me really want to pick up the Bond books and this has reinforced that opinion. Here's hoping they show up under the Christmas tree! Also we have similar taste in Bone films. I love on her majesty secret service and from Russia with love

[@thelibraryladder]

Go for it! (Or perhaps that's a message I should be sending to Santa.) As I mention in the video, I would read them in publication order, starting with Casio Royale, to get the best feel for how Fleming intended the character and also to maintain narrative continuity. If you enjoy the first book, that's a pretty good indicator that you'll enjoy at least some of the subsequent books in the series.

[@RogerOThornhill]

Also, Casino Royale was not an immediate success. It took CR six years to sell 10,000 copies. The growth in popularity of Bond in England was slow but steady.

[@MyMy-tv7fd]

interesting, but what happened to 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'?

[@thelibraryladder]

It's at the 32:34 mark. Thanks for watching.

[@nathanielschwartz425]

My favorite Bond book was Diamonds Are Forever (1956) and my favorite Bond film was Goldfinger (1964).

[@BooksForever]

The amount of research that went into this segment is exceeded perhaps only by the skill and energy evident in the video production and editing. I'm gobsmacked, shaken, AND stirred. Lol

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! It was a lot of work, but also a lot of fun to produce.

[@thekeywitness]

Terrific video. I haven’t read all of the Fleming books but I remember when I started to read them: lunchtime in middle school, alone at my locker. I’m not sure where I started in the series, but I devoured a few of them before getting into other authors. I doubt that I understood some of the more adult content. I came back to the series later. The first Bond movie I saw was Diamonds are Forever on TV with my dad when I was about 7 or 8. So, I read the books just a few years later. I think it’s cool that the last Bond movie No Time to Die incorporated the poison garden from the You Only Live Twice novel (a feature that was neglected in the movie of that book).

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! My first Bond film was Moonraker, which I saw with my dad in the theater. I'd never seen such spectacular stunts in a movie before, and the silliness of the script wasn't an obstacle for my juvenile mind at the time. I didn't start reading the books until about 20 years ago. Good catch about the garden of death. I'm kicking myself that I didn't pick up on that callout when I watched No Time to Die a few months ago.

[@motionpictureplus]

What’s your beef with Honey Rider?

[@MrDewynter]

Superb commentary, well-informed and entertainingly presented. Subscribed.

[@davedehetre]

have you read the recent novels? Some are really good, I think the William Boyd one, and the Anthony Horowitz ones I especially liked.

[@thelibraryladder]

Only Kingsley Amis' Colonel Sun (not exactly a recent Bond) and a couple of the Horowitz ones, which I enjoyed. I think Horowitz writes well in several genres, from spy thrillers to mysteries to children's books.

[@callummoore6962]

Wow, great video dude. My Top 5 Bond novels list would go like this: Moonraker, Casino Royale, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, From Russia with Love, Dr. No My Top 5 Bond films: Casino Royale, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Skyfall, From Russia with Love, Licence to Kill My Bond actor ranking: Dalton, Craig, Connery, Moore, Brosnan, Lazenby

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! Great lists. I'd rank the actors a little differently, but not a lot.

[@callummoore6962]

@@thelibraryladder That's fair, Connery and Craig tend to switch places for me.

[@unclepatrick2]

Some of the plots from the books showed up in latter movies . Felix fate from Live and Let Die , was used in License to kill and the garden of death from You only live twice , shows up in No time to die

[@brucemarshall3446]

And Bond reprogramming the missiles trajectory in MOONRAKER was used in the cinematic SPY WHO LOVED ME

[@tehchikon]

Clicked because I was curious, stayed because of your caramel-crunch voice, subscription well earned.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! I hope you enjoy my other videos. I'll be making more non-SFF book content in the future.

[@ericbouza854]

Finally, a vid that explains the popularity of the Bond books from all perspectives. Thank you so much, enjoyed every 38 minutes, 24 seconds!!! 😊👍

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! I’m so glad you enjoyed it and found it informative.

[@ericbouza854]

@@thelibraryladder Thank you. You have a soothing voice and a gift for story telling. I'll readily admit this is my first vid from you so perhaps I'm late to the party but more vids about movies tied to books such as the Ripley series, etc. Would be informative/enjoyable to see. Thanks again, keep up the good work.

[@thelibraryladder]

I'm a longtime film enthusiast whose favorite TV channel is TCM. I've been contemplating making more crossover videos linking books to their film adaptations. To date, I've made two (this one and one a couple of years ago that compared the Perry Mason novels to their many TV adaptations), and I might do more in the future. Ultimately, my goal is get more people to read the books and not simply to watch the movies, though.

[@ericbouza854]

@@thelibraryladder There is a good book about short stories that have been turned into movies: "Adaptations" by Stephanie Harrison. A good read. Would love to see more like that.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for the suggestion! I haven't run across that book before.

[@andrewmacgregor8717]

I read all of them in 1981. I was on a bit of a JB tear then. The Spy Who Loved Me was memorable because of how odd it was compared with the rest. Goldfinger and OHMSS are the two I enjoyed the most, and funnily enough they are my two favorite films in the series with an honourable mention to Daniel Craig's Casino Royale, that really did do a great job of reinvigorating a long dead franchise.

[@donaldrobers5028]

Excellent precise of the Bond literary canon! As to Live and Let Die, I agree that the first half of the book is extremely dated and cringeworthy, but I think the later chapters that move the action to Florida and then Jamaica contain some of Fleming's best writing. He excelled when the plots took Bond to the Carribean and had an obvious love for the area, unlike most of the adventures that took Bond to the United States. I think we were just another strayed colony in Fleming's worldview.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! That's a good point about the later chapters in Live and Let Die. Those parts of the books salvaged somewhat the much worse early chapters.

[@JamesELFERS]

While the sale of Bond novels was brisk in Britain, they really didn't take off in America until John F, Kennedy confided to a reporter that he like dto relax with Fleming's Bond novels. Kennedy's populRIity led to a run on the books in American boookstores and assured that the first movie would be a huge international hit. Great video!

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for watching and for clarifying that point!

[@omar_syrinx2112]

Im getting into the James Bond books, I saw the films and are quite amazing, but I think that the books have more interesting things that I must know. Great video!👍🏻

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying the books!

[@rodrigoramos3140]

Amazing video! Lots of information.loved it!

[@Michaelpatrickwarren]

I actually love The Man With The Golden Gun book. I think it's realistic as a story of an aging spy who makes mistakes and is burnt out. I would be so bold as to say it's my favorite book.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for watching and sharing! There's no objectively right or wrong answer to the question of which Bond book is best. We all have our own preferences, and I'm very glad that each of the Bond books has enthusiastic fans. :)

[@johanjoseph4802]

I'm binging a few of your videos after Chatting with Nutts. Instant Subsribe to your style of video content 💚. Hope to see you in other longer discussions/podcasts.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! I enjoyed last night's chat with Jimmy, and I hope to do it again in the future.

[@RogerOThornhill]

Actually, as uneven as he was as a student, Fleming was extremely strong at languages in school, and it was his studies of language and literature that helped him at Ruiters, and not the other way around.

[@ghostrider88jinetedelfanta31]

I'm extremely impressed 👏!! This seems like an insightful & erudite analysis of the original James Bond novels, in comparison to the movies.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thank you! I'm very glad you enjoyed the video. I had a lot of fun making it.

[@reedl2353]

The depiction of Bond in the early stories is, by the standards of the movies, weirdly realistic. Bond is not simply a hedonist with a taste for the finer things in life. He is an assassin who knows that he has a 100% chance of being killed on the job at some point, so he literally lives like he has no tomorrow. He spends every penny he makes, because what's the point of saving money? He exclusively dates married women, because what's the point of forming emotional attachments? Fleming even provided Bond with supplementary income - an inheritance that provides him a yearly stipend that sounds ridiculously small in 21st century money, but was more than a government worker earned in the 60's. These details (minus inheritance) are even carried over into the Daniel Craig version of Dr. No, giving me hope that Craig would provide a relatively faithful version of Bond. Of course, we know that didn't pan out. Some favorite things from the Bond novels - in Moonraker, Fleming describes Bond's day to day activities at the office, including firearms practice and reading case files. Prosaic and banal, it is none the less a realistic and fascinating look into what the office job of a government assassin might be like. I love the travelogue aspects of Fleming's stories; he loved to describe places and cuisine. Finally, I adore Bond's eulogy at the end of You Only Live Twice, because it lays out the history and accomplishments of a character that bears absolutely no resemblance to the character that fans spent the last dozen books reading about. Bond was an expert in martial arts and 'Oriental' culture? Really? You Only Live Twice is easily my favorite Bond film, followed by The Spy Who Loved Me, itself a pastiche of You Only Live Twice. And it's easy to forget with the passage of time that Moonraker was a wildly successful movie. At the time of its release, it had the best box office of any Bond film (something true of every Bond film to that point). No, it didn't age well, but very few things do.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for sharing that great comment. I found the eulogy at the end of YOLT to be a little bizarre for the same reason you mentioned. Also, you make a good point about the similarities between the film versions of YOLT and TSWLM.

[@RobertR3750]

I disagree somewhat with what you said about Bond only dating married women. It's true that he's described as doing that in Moonraker, but that's not always the case. He falls HARD for the single Vesper in the very first novel, to the point where he considers marrying her. His grief and bitterness over what happens to her hardens him. In the second novel, Solitaire is not married. Bond goes for her. In the fourth book, he's so interested in Tiffany Case that he invites her to live with him.

[@justsomedude5727]

Ive gotten through most of the books, I find I tend to prefer the book when they differ from the movie, but if the movie is more faithful I prefer the film. My favorite book is probably diamonds are forever, I like the deep dive into smuggling, Bond working up through the ranks, tiffany case, spectreville, and bond on an ocean liner is something i would really like in the movies.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for sharing! I can understand your reaction to the books. I find it hard to keep the film versions out of my mind when reading the books, particularly when the two versions are very similar.

[@louisszabo9061]

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to listen to the books on CD. I’d only read Moonraker around the time the movie was released, and thought these are only related by title and villain. I did enjoy the spy who loved me as a departure from the books’ format and as a bonus, I was read by a woman. My two favorites were From Russia with Love and Goldfinger. Goldfinger for the nostalgia of the Corgi 007 DB5. Casino Royale is very good both as a book and film adaptation. Thanks for the reviews

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for watching and sharing your experiences with the books!

[@erikbergfeldt4007]

I have only seen the movies. Top and bottom five. 1. Casino Royale: Gritty and psychological. 2. In Her Majesty's Secret Service: Maybe the most 'Bond' of Bond movies. 3. License To Kill: Different, daring and brutal. 4. Thunderball: The chain of events starting with Palazzi's new demands and ends with Domino siding with Bond saves the day. 5. Goldfinger: Probably the most iconic. Worst five in no particular order: Moonraker, Spectre, No Time To Die, Die Another Day, You Only Live Twice. Never Say Never Again has been disqualified. But it would have been on the bottom five.

[@thelibraryladder]

Your Top 5 list has a lot in common with my own, though I'm ambivalent about License to Kill, and I'd rank From Russia with Love higher. I'm more charitable than you toward the two most recent films in your Bottom 5, although I think they're somewhat bloated and make a hash of Bond canon. I enjoyed the Roger Moore films the most in my youth (they were the first ones I ever watched, and the stunts in them are spectacular), but most of them haven't aged well and are the least consistent with how Fleming wrote the character. Several of them would be in my Bottom 5 along with You Only Live Twice and Die Another Day. Like you, I disqualified Never Say Never Again from consideration in this video. It's a far inferior remake of Thunderball. Thanks for sharing!

[@dant5349]

Would love to see a video on Fleming’s more literary counterpart in popular spy fiction, John Le Carrè

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for the suggestion! I plan to feature him in a future video. He was one of the best.

[@erictrumpler9652]

I highly agree!

[@GaryMartinDobbs]

I've always been a bond fan but I much prefer the books over the films. I consider myself something of a literary Bond expert. Great video. I've subscribed.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! It's nice to get positive feedback from an expert (I'm just an enthusiast). I enjoy the best of both versions of Bond (book and film), but usually for different reasons. :)

[@Superbox647-o5q]

I'm new to your channel and I already love voice

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks, and welcome aboard!

[@thethinkingcatakaneonormie3527]

James Bond is actually based on 2 people Flemings Cousin Christopher Lee and 3rd Doctor Who Actor Jon Pertwee who both did special operations during the war in both Assassination of senior Nazis and Naval operations

[@ColinoSpasm]

As you asked....."No Time To Die" can go fudge itself. Yep, Im still not over it. 😬

[@thomasaddams8689]

Would love to see faithful movie adaptations of the Fleming novels. Not just lip service. But I don't think a lot of today's audience could handle that. Etc.

[@amalathisdreaming]

I never really liked Bond movies too much, so I skipped the books. Casino Royale was my favorite one though, even though it went a bit over the top - like Bond movies tend to - with gadgets and action scenes, it also was one of the very few in which both Bond and his adversaries felt human.

[@thelibraryladder]

I've always enjoyed the Bond films for their spectacular stunts and gadgets (despite their over-the-top aspects), while the plots are mostly ridiculous and full of holes, and Bond himself is mostly a caricature. In contrast, many of the books are quite different, and the characters, including Bond, feel more real (particularly in the earlier books in the series).

[@richardnovelist]

Hi, LL. Kudos to you for obviously having read all the books and seen all the films, as have I. While I agree very strongly with most of your assessments, I disagree with a few. I loved Live and Let Die, and having grown up in urban Chicago, did not find it cringe. Neither did I find Honey Ryder cringe, either. In fact, she's my favorite Bond girl bar none, particularly the way she assassinates the man who abused her by letting one of her poisonous spider friends into his room. Classic! Dr. No is also probably my favorite of the novels. The way Bond kills Julius No-under a giant pile of bird guano-is inspired. But my favorite overall Bond story is For Your Eyes Only. The crime that is committed at the beginning is so vile and detestable, the victims so sympathetic, that I found myself really yearning for revenge against the villain, and the whole thing reads like a stripped-down, compact Bond story with no fat or nonsense to it. I understand why you rate Quantum of Solace and Spy Who Loved Me low. Bond has almost no role to play in the first and only enters the second during the third act. But I found these stories fascinating. One of Fleming's best friends was Somerset-Maugham, and I'm guessing that these two outings were his attempt to imitate his friend's more literary work in his own way, without admitting he was doing so. I suspect he was also writing about his own early sex life and professional experience in Spy, disguised as Viv's. Only a theory, but that's why I liked them. I also found Octopussy fascinating for similar reasons. Toward the end of that story, we find out that the ski pro and mountain guide murdered by the villain was a mentor of Bond's during his youth. This coincides closely with individuals from Fleming's own youth as does the alpine area depicted in the story. In other words, there's a flash of autobiographical detail here from a very private and secretive writer, which is interesting. I mostly agree with your negative assessments of the later novels, but I would add that Fleming was already very ill from heart disease-or "the iron crab" as he called it-at this point in his life. He was also suffering from a failing marriage and legal troubles resulting from the misunderstanding over who exactly deserved credit for writing Thunderball. This can only have had a negative impact on his work. It's a shame he died so relatively young, and after a long and debilitating illness. One can only imagine what wonderful work he might have written had he lived longer and healthier. That said, we should be enormously thankful for the fourteen or so books that we do have. Apropos, Fleming was among the first "grown-up" books I read as a child, having only just learned to read. I didn't understand half of what was going on, but it was so much fun.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for sharing your take on the books and the insights into Fleming’s history and personal life! Many aspects of the books have always felt somewhat autobiographical to me, and your comment has reinforced that feeling.

[@TheRealBGregz]

I like the way this guy talks. It’s very relaxing!

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! I try to be low-stress kind of guy.

[@mikesmith2905]

I prefer the less glitzy themes. From Russia with Love remains my favourite book and I would rate it as the best film, it remains (just) within the bounds of possibility but manages to include some believable and practical gadgets. I also feel the earlier book were better but I did enjoy Goldfinger, the first film I saw..

[@thelibraryladder]

I feel much the same way. Thanks for sharing!

[@rrassoc]

From Russia with Love is my #2. Nothing comes close to Casino Royale for me.

[@brucemarshall3446]

FRWL is not only a great Bond film, it stands on its own as a great thriller.

[@whitleypedia]

Great video! I read all the books in 2024. I actually preferred the short stories, because he was just able to get out a quick anecdote -- like Bond hunting down a guy who stole Nazi gold -- without needing to be stretched.

[@whitleypedia]

I thought OHMSS and FRWL were the best books.

[@rustyturner431]

Did my master's thesis on Fleming and the origins of post-war "brand-name novelism" - the introduction in that period of brand specific items in the writings' plotlines. I agree with your assesment of the earlier books, where Bond is indeed a ruthless assassin in service to the Queen. The later novels were done for the money, as the Fleming coffers were suffering, and the books showed it. But I still put "From Russia With Love" up there with the better espionage light fictions (not to be confused with David Cornwell's reality-based books); I also rate "Casino Royal" highly. The inherent racism and class-ism of the books dates them and detracts from their current readability; many modern readers simply will not tolerate those ideas.

[@mr.c8833]

This man has the coolest voice. 😊

[@joshslater2426]

I’ll be honest, I like the films a bit more, but that’s only because they’re more cinematic and have a grander scale. Even the short stories made great films even though they just took the title, maybe a few characters and nothing else. Also, I like the fact that the Goldfinger film took everything from the book, tweaked it a bit, and then made nearly every element a staple of spy films for the next 60 years.

[@thelibraryladder]

I tend to agree with you. The Bond books are smaller in scale and scope, and if the films had remained faithful to them, Bond's cultural impact would have been more limited (and the films likely would have ended after Thunderball) in my opinion.

[@mr.lukecage7405]

Love to see you examine the Shaft novels with Ernest Tidyman!

[@thelibraryladder]

That would be very cool. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@skeller61]

I read most of them in paperback when I was quite a bit younger, though I saw a lot of the movies before I picked up a Fleming book. I was born in 1961, a year before the first movie, Dr. No, came out. It seemed that the first few movies developed the movie Bond tropes, including the Bond girls, Q gadgets, cars that were cool and had modifications that always had a convenient scene to see what they could do. Once Roger Moore took over, like the later acton movie franchises (think Die Hard, or Fast and Furious) they became increasingly ridiculous by trying to top the action of the previous ones. I liked Moore’s first movie, Live and let die, but it was more a satire than it was a serious Bond story. I think Connery was the best Bond (probably because the movies were somewhat less over the top than later movies). However, my favorite Bond film is the only one starring George Lazenby as Bond, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. I haven’t watched many after Roger Moore’s era. I stopped enjoying the impossible action stuff, especially like that space fighting you showed. It looks like Daniel Craig’s movies might have reset the comedy and overly outlandish action. I’ve only seen one of them and will have to check out the others. A few years later, I started reading the books. I enjoyed most of them. I thought Live and Let Die benefitted from Fleming living in Jamaica for a while. Casino Royale did seem more like a detective novel, with a straight, simple plot line, with mistakes by Bond. I suppose I’d have to call it my favorite, as well. Thanks for your video!

[@thelibraryladder]

Thank for sharing your perspective! I agree with you about Bond being best when he's not overwhelmed by spectacle. Daniel Craig's first outing as Bond in Casino Royale did a great job of resetting the franchise, although the last couple of his Bond films lost some story coherence in service to spectacle, in my opinion.

[@skeller61]

@@thelibraryladder Thanks for your reply. I recently, as a big self gift, got all 13 Folio Society editions of the Ian Fleming James Bond novels (@ $75 each). As I near retirement, I am building my library of books I want to read or reread. I plan to read them in publication order, and watch the corresponding movie as I go. I can’t remember which Daniel Craig movie I watched (Quantum of Solace(?)), and there was a scene where he and the bad guy were running around a huge elephant cage style antenna. Even though it was definitely a somewhat overwrought scene, it could, at least, happen. The old films finally just eschewed reality to the point where I didn’t enjoy them.

[@beluch2768]

Well written and informative lecture.

[@thelibraryladder]

I'm glad it was helpful!

[@ukestudio3002]

First off, wonderful narration. Second, read these from grade school age 1963, i was 12- since at the time it became known they were a favorite of President Kennedy.

[@mikematusek4233]

I liked it, what is your thought of the bod book between Flaming and Gardner, by Kingsley Amis? I want to say that the title was Colonel Sun, but it's been 40 years since I read it. I have all of the books through the mid 80's. personally I think the TV Casino Royale, is good if the time is accounted for, and the torture was lightened.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for watching and sharing your thoughts! I think Amis’s Colonel Sun is pretty good but no masterpiece, while my experience with the Bond books by Gardner and later authors is very limited.

[@disconnected22]

Read them all as a 12 year old kid in the late 80’s. A rare thing then, even rarer now. Moonraker and Russia are tight Cold War thrillers.

[@arricammarques1955]

What Bond novel anthologies are available?

[@thelibraryladder]

There are quite a few. Many are listed on this Goodreads page: www.goodreads.com/series/49623-james-bond-original-series I have the two earliest anthologies that were published by Macmillan in 1961 and 1965 -- Gilt-Edged Bonds, and More Gilt-Edged Bonds. Each contains three of Fleming's Bond novels. Other anthologies containing more of the novels have been issued by various publishers in each decade since then. I hope that's helpful.

[@geoffreybrockmeier3765]

Came for the Bond books analysis. Stayed for the ASMR.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for watching!

[@williammcguire130]

Drax's real identity is a major spoiler and even though I don't personally care about them I was shocked at how matter of factly you delivered it when you largely kept things vague in the first two reviews. MOONRAKER is my favorite of the novels-- it has an almost Graham Greene quality and the final scene gets me every time.

[@williammcguire130]

Also LIVE AND LET DIE is a tricky one. The patois is very jarring but the actual prose is literally the best of Fleming's career and the thing has incredible sweep. I think the first five novels are all pretty good (DIAMONDS is the weakest, by far) and that's one where some products of its time stand out and obscure a great pulp adventure

[@erictrumpler9652]

I love the bridge (card game) scene in the book...

[@erictrumpler9652]

For me Drax and Goldfinger are nearly interchangeable as villains in the books ...

[@GiovanniAlckmimRusso]

From Fleming novels I was only able to get Live and Let Die and Diamonds are Forever, but I loved both of them. Live and Let Die has the better story but Diamonds are Forever has the best Bond Girl

[@rrassoc]

Goldfinger and Moonraker were also particularly good. Goldfinger started slowly with lots of character development, but then got well into the plot. Moonraker was VERY different from the movie, -my least favorite movie, BTW.

[@ironjade]

I think you're being a bit hard on "The Spy Who Loved Me", I really liked it. Fleming was spurred into writing it by his snobby wife who was always making disparaging remarks about his books, even though they probably paid for her jewellery. He had something to prove and for my money, he did. I agree that "FRWL" is by far the best book (and film) but I thought "Moonraker" was really poor, like a sub-standard Boy's Own adventure. In the movie the only redeeming feature was Michel Lonsdale's portrayal of Hugo Drax. Weird that my two favourite books are those in which Bond doesn't appear until halfway through. Great video. Keep up the good work.

[@DavidHowells-d9p]

The Man with the Golden Gun does follow on the ending of You Only Live Twice.

[@SolomonAD]

I remember listening to the audiobooks for the first three bonds in high school and reading the successive novel by Sebastian Faulks “Devil May Care” and thinking it was solid. I’d like to read Moonraker as I’ve heard it’s the actual best.

[@thelibraryladder]

I agree that Moonraker (the novel) is among Fleming's best.

[@lesblakeman]

Fairly compatible until "You Only Live Twice" when it went totally pear shaped

[@nathanielschwartz425]

26:12 The film From Russia With Love came out in 1963 not 1964. Goldfinger came out in 1964.

[@fe6767]

I've seen quite a few of the films over the years and when I saw a copy of Thunderball for $1 at a school fair in 2014, I bought and read it. My reaction to the book was to naturally compare it to the films. Like you, I was struck by the lack of humour and the tendency for a lot of descriptive stuff about technology. I also thought the book version of Bond has little personality apart from a disdain for the 'modern' (where 'modern' = 1960s). What the book and film versions of Bond have in common, is that he blunders about and then reacts to what happens to him. In the book, it is his connections rather than gadgets that help him. There is a very strong sense of class system in the book. Where Bond considers himself well above most people.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts about them. I agree that Bond is a capable spy when placed in difficult situations, but not a very smart one in many respects. It's my understanding that the addition of humor to Bond's personality in the films was a contract demand Connery made before he would accept the role. Upper-crust Fleming likely projected some of his own attitudes and behaviors onto Bond despite the character's more humble origins.

[@dominikplaskota2549]

Great list, I'd stack them pretty much alike with Thunderball, OHMSS and FRWL by far best and most enjoyable writing, Goldfinger and FRWL has to win as the best movies aka best adaptations, adding Connery as probably the most faithful Bond incarnation

[@JDFloyd]

I read all of the original Fleming novels in a row over a single summer. My favorite novel is "Casino Royale", and my favorite movie is "Dr. No".

[@thelibraryladder]

Those are great choices!

[@kirksworks]

My favorite Bond books are From Russia With Love and On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. I found the book Moonraker boring, but the movie was complete crap. Goldfinger and less si Thunderball were fun to read and the movies felt like the books, Once we got to Daniel Craig most of those films are very good, especially Casino Royale, which may be the best of all Bond films. Quantum of Solace was the weakest, but it had good sequences. The rest of the Craig’s really developed Bond’s character and that was an improvement over Fleming. Loved your info about Fleming and the books. Thanks!

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for watching and for sharing your thoughts on the books and films!

[@PaulVandersypen]

Ian Fleming prohibited EON Productions from adapting The Spy Who Loved Me faithfully, let alone any smaller parts of the novel. He recognized the experiment as a failure, so the rights to the book were limited to the title and nothing else. We will never see Vivien Michelle, the hotel, the mobsters, the plot, or other details in film until the negotiated deal expires, which is in 2064, 100 years after Fleming's death.

[@thelibraryladder]

I didn't realize Fleming barred the use of the original source material in the film. Thanks for sharing that nugget!

[@PaulVandersypen]

@@thelibraryladder It is possible that with copyright laws in the UK, the novel might go to the public domain before the deal expires, in which case EON Productions, if the company is still making 007 movies, could adapt the novel without technically violating the license deal for the book. However, I am not a lawyer, so don't take my word for it.

[@jcw9539]

I’ve been reading all the books as I’m disillusioned with the films especially after DC became bond !

[@michaelproctor8100]

According to The James Bond Bedside Companion by Raymond Benson, Ian Fleming cannot be blamed for the way The Man With The Golden Gum turned out. Fleming died before he could revise, polish and add the rich detail he always incorporated after he had completed the first draft. Glidrose Productions finished the book for him and released it posthumously in 1965. Likewise, Glidrose cannot be blamed for the weak book, they were obligated to publish the book Fleming's fans were entitled to learn what happens to their hero since You Only Live Twice ends with a cliffhanger.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks for sharing that tidbit!

[@brucemarshall3446]

The opening scene is great. Then...😢

[@WilliamDusing]

Great video!

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun making it.

[@WilliamDusing]

@@thelibraryladder I would love to hear your opinion on some of the Bond continuation novels in a future video.

[@thelibraryladder]

@@WilliamDusing Alas, of the continuation novels, I’ve read only Kingsley Amis and a couple of early John Gardner, so my experience with them is very limited.

[@johnsharman7262]

I noticed Sean Connery made 5 of the films done well based upon the better written earlier books. So Connery , the best James Bond, came from the best books. Lazenby gets an entry, in OHMSS. Thanks for this little appraisal, and I'll certainly look up the better books. I've read Casino Royale: a stunner!

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! I wonder if the pattern you identified might be explained by the film producers prioritizing the books they thought were the best. Connery would have benefited from that. (Although why they waited so long to adapt Moonraker is a mystery to me.)

[@reddchan]

Great video. He sounds like Wendell the librarian.

[@thelibraryladder]

Thanks! Wendell is a source of inspiration to many. :)