1.
James Bond
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The James Bond series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. The latest novel is Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz, published in September 2015, additionally Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny. The character has also adapted for television, radio, comic strip, video games. As of 2017, there have been twenty-four films in the Eon Productions series, the most recent Bond film, Spectre, stars Daniel Craig in his fourth portrayal of Bond, he is the sixth actor to play Bond in the Eon series. There have also two independent productions of Bond films, Casino Royale and Never Say Never Again. In 2015, the franchise was estimated to be worth $19.9 billion, the Bond films are renowned for a number of features, including the musical accompaniment, with the theme songs having received Academy Award nominations on several occasions, and two wins. Other important elements which run through most of the films include Bonds cars, his guns, the films are also noted for Bonds relationships with various women, who are sometimes referred to as Bond girls. Ian Fleming created the character of James Bond as the central figure for his works. Bond is an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond is known by his number,007, and was a Royal Naval Reserve Commander. Among those types were his brother, Peter, who had involved in behind-the-lines operations in Norway. Aside from Flemings brother, a number of others also provided some aspects of Bonds make up, including Conrad OBrien-ffrench, Patrick Dalzel-Job and Bill Biffy Dunderdale. The name James Bond came from that of the American ornithologist James Bond, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide Birds of the West Indies. He further explained that, When I wrote the first one in 1953, I wanted Bond to be a dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened. When I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, is the dullest name I ever heard. On another occasion, Fleming said, I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, James Bond was much better than something more interesting, like Peregrine Carruthers. Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure—an anonymous, likewise, in Moonraker, Special Branch Officer Gala Brand thinks that Bond is certainly good-looking. Rather like Hoagy Carmichael in a way and that black hair falling down over the right eyebrow
2.
Hardcover
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A hardcover or hardback book is one bound with rigid protective covers. It has a flexible, sewn spine which allows the book to lie flat on a surface when opened, following the ISBN sequence numbers, books of this type may be identified by the abbreviation Hbk. Hardcover books are printed on acid-free paper, and are much more durable than paperbacks. Hardcover books are more costly to manufacture. If brisk sales are anticipated, an edition of a book is typically released first. Some publishers publish paperback originals if slow hardback sales are anticipated, for very popular books these sales cycles may be extended, and followed by a mass market paperback edition typeset in a more compact size and printed on shallower, less hardy paper. In the past the release of an edition was one year after the hardback. It is very unusual for a book that was first published in paperback to be followed by a hardback, an example is the novel The Judgment of Paris by Gore Vidal, which had its revised edition of 1961 first published in paperback, and later in hardcover. Hardcover books are sold at higher prices than comparable paperbacks. Hardcovers typically consist of a block, two boards, and a cloth or heavy paper covering. The pages are sewn together and glued onto a flexible spine between the boards, and it too is covered by the cloth, a paper wrapper, or dust jacket, is usually put over the binding, folding over each horizontal end of the boards. On the folded part, or flap, over the front cover is generally a blurb, the back flap is where the biography of the author can be found. Reviews are often placed on the back of the jacket, bookbinding Paperback How to make a simple Hardcover book
3.
Ian Fleming
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Ian Lancaster Fleming was an English author, journalist and naval intelligence officer who is best known for his James Bond series of spy novels. Fleming came from a family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva and his wartime service and his career as a journalist provided much of the background, detail and depth of the James Bond novels. Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, Casino Royale, in 1952 and it was a success, with three print runs being commissioned to cope with the demand. Eleven Bond novels and two short-story collections followed between 1953 and 1966, the novels revolved around James Bond, an officer in the Secret Intelligence Service, commonly known as MI6. Bond was also known by his number,007, and was a commander in the Royal Naval Reserve. The Bond stories rank among the series of fictional books of all time. Fleming also wrote the childrens story Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang and two works of non-fiction, in 2008, The Times ranked Fleming 14th on its list of The 50 greatest British writers since 1945. Fleming was married to Ann Charteris, who was divorced from the second Viscount Rothermere owing to her affair with the author, Fleming and Charteris had a son, Caspar. Fleming was a smoker and drinker for most of his life. Two of his James Bond books were published posthumously, other writers have since produced Bond novels, Flemings creation has appeared in film twenty-six times, portrayed by seven actors. Ian Fleming was born on 28 May 1908, at 27 Green Street in the wealthy London district of Mayfair and his mother was Evelyn St Croix Rose, and his father was Valentine Fleming, the Member of Parliament for Henley from 1910. As an infant he lived, with his family, at Braziers Park in Oxfordshire. Fleming was the grandson of the Scottish financier Robert Fleming, who founded the Scottish American Investment Trust, in 1914, with the start of the First World War, Valentine joined C Squadron, Queens Own Oxfordshire Hussars, and rose to the rank of major. He was killed by German shelling on the Western Front on 20 May 1917, because the family owned an estate at Arnisdale, Valentines death was commemorated on the Glenelg War Memorial. Flemings elder brother Peter became a writer and married actress Celia Johnson. Fleming also had two brothers, Michael and Richard, and a younger maternal half-sister born out of wedlock, cellist Amaryllis Fleming. Amaryllis was conceived during an affair between John and Evelyn that started in 1923, some six years after the death of Valentine
4.
Espionage
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Espionage is the obtaining of information considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage can be committed by an individual or a spy ring, in the service of a government or a company, the practice is inherently clandestine, as it is by definition unwelcome and in many cases illegal and punishable by law. Espionage is a subset of intelligence gathering, which includes espionage as well as information gathering from public sources, Espionage is often part of an institutional effort by a government or commercial concern. However, the term is associated with state spying on potential or actual enemies primarily for military purposes. Spying involving corporations is known as industrial espionage, one of the most effective ways to gather data and information about the enemy is by infiltrating the enemys ranks. This is the job of the spy, Spies can bring back all sorts of information concerning the size and strength of enemy forces. They can also find dissidents within the forces and influence them to defect. In times of crisis, spies can also be used to steal technology, counterintelligence operatives can feed false information to enemy spies, protecting important domestic secrets, and preventing attempts at subversion. Nearly every country has strict laws concerning espionage, and the penalty for being caught is often severe. However, the benefits that can be gained through espionage are generally great enough that most governments, events involving espionage are well documented throughout history. The Old Testament of the Christian Bible, which is based primarily on the Hebrew Bible, speaks about Joshua and Caleb, the ancient writings of Chinese and Indian military strategists such as Sun-Tzu and Chanakya contain information on deception and subversion. Chanakyas student Chandragupta Maurya, founder of the Maurya Empire in India, made use of assassinations, spies and secret agents, the ancient Egyptians had a thoroughly developed system for the acquisition of intelligence, and the Hebrews used spies as well, as in the story of Rahab. Spies were also prevalent in the Greek and Roman empires, during the 13th and 14th centuries, the Mongols relied heavily on espionage in their conquests in Asia and Europe. Feudal Japan often used ninjas to gather intelligence, aztecs used Pochtecas, people in charge of commerce, as spies and diplomats, and had diplomatic immunity. Many modern espionage methods were established by Francis Walsingham in Elizabethan England, in 1585, Mary, Queen of Scots was placed in the custody of Sir Amias Paulet, who was instructed to open and read all of Marys clandestine correspondence. In a successful attempt to expose her, Walsingham arranged a single exception, Mary was misled into thinking these secret letters were secure, while in reality they were deciphered and read by Walsinghams agents. He succeeded in intercepting letters that indicated a conspiracy to displace Elizabeth I with Mary, in foreign intelligence, Walsinghams extensive network of intelligencers, who passed on general news as well as secrets, spanned Europe and the Mediterranean. While foreign intelligence was a part of the principal secretarys activities, Walsingham brought to it flair and ambition
5.
Licence to Kill
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Licence to Kill is the sixteenth spy film in the James Bond film series by Eon Productions, and the first one not to use the title of an Ian Fleming story. It is the fifth and final consecutive Bond film to be directed by John Glen and it also marks Timothy Daltons second and final performance in the role of James Bond. The story has elements of two Ian Fleming short stories and a novel, interwoven with aspects from Japanese Rōnin tales, originally titled Licence Revoked in line with the plot, the name was changed during post-production because too many people did not know what revoked meant. Budgetary reasons caused Licence to Kill to be the first Bond film shot completely outside the United Kingdom, Broccoli, although he would later act as a consulting producer for GoldenEye before his death. DEA agents collect MI6 agent James Bond and Felix Leiter, on their way to Leiters wedding in Key West, Bond and Leiter capture Sanchez by attaching a hook and cord to Sanchezs plane and pulling it out of the air with a Coast Guard helicopter. Afterwards, Bond and Leiter parachute down to the church in time for the ceremony, Sanchez bribes DEA agent Ed Killifer and escapes. Meanwhile, Sanchezs henchman Dario and his crew ambush Leiter and his wife Della and take Leiter to an aquarium owned by one of Sanchezs accomplices, Sanchez has Leiter lowered into a tank holding a great white. When Bond learns Sanchez has escaped, he returns to Leiters house to find Leiter has been maimed, Bond, with Leiters friend Sharkey, start their own investigation. They discover a marine research centre run by Krest, where Sanchez has hidden cocaine, after Bond kills Killifer using the same shark tank used for Leiter, M meets Bond in Key Wests Hemingway House and orders him to an assignment in Istanbul, Turkey. Bond resigns after turning down the assignment, but M suspends Bond instead, Bond becomes a rogue agent, although he later receives unauthorised assistance from Q. Bond boards Krests ship the Wavekrest and foils Sanchezs latest drug shipment and he discovers that Sharkey has been killed by Sanchezs henchmen. Bond rescues Pam Bouvier, an agent and pilot, from Dario at a Bimini bar. He finds his way into Sanchezs employment by posing as an assassin for hire, two Hong Kong Narcotics Bureau officers foil Bonds attempt to assassinate Sanchez and take him to an abandoned warehouse. They are joined by Fallon, an MI6 agent who was sent by M to apprehend Bond, Sanchezs men rescue him and kill the officers, believing them to be the assassins. Later, with the aid of Bouvier, Q, and Sanchezs girlfriend Lupe Lamora, Sanchez kills Krest via a decompression chamber and admits Bond into his inner circle. Sanchez takes Bond to his base, which is disguised as the headquarters of a religious cult, Bond learns that Sanchezs scientists can dissolve cocaine in petrol and then sell it disguised as fuel to Asian drug dealers. The televangelist Professor Joe Butcher serves as middleman, working under Sanchezs business manager Truman-Lodge, during Sanchezs presentation to potential Asian customers, Dario discovers Bond and betrays him to Sanchez. Bond starts a fire in the laboratory, but is captured again, Bouvier arrives and shoots Dario, allowing Bond to pull Dario into the shredder, killing him
6.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
7.
Cold War
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The Cold War was a state of geopolitical tension after World War II between powers in the Eastern Bloc and powers in the Western Bloc. Historians do not fully agree on the dates, but a common timeframe is the period between 1947, the year the Truman Doctrine was announced, and 1991, the year the Soviet Union collapsed. The term cold is used there was no large-scale fighting directly between the two sides, although there were major regional wars, known as proxy wars, supported by the two sides. The Cold War split the temporary alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the Soviet Union. The USSR was a Marxist–Leninist state ruled by its Communist Party and secret police, the Party controlled the press, the military, the economy and all organizations. In opposition stood the West, dominantly democratic and capitalist with a free press, a small neutral bloc arose with the Non-Aligned Movement, it sought good relations with both sides. The two superpowers never engaged directly in full-scale armed combat, but they were armed in preparation for a possible all-out nuclear world war. The first phase of the Cold War began in the first two years after the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Berlin Blockade was the first major crisis of the Cold War. With the victory of the communist side in the Chinese Civil War and the outbreak of the Korean War, the USSR and USA competed for influence in Latin America, and the decolonizing states of Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 was stopped by the Soviets, the expansion and escalation sparked more crises, such as the Suez Crisis, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, and the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The USSR crushed the 1968 Prague Spring liberalization program in Czechoslovakia, détente collapsed at the end of the decade with the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1979. The early 1980s were another period of elevated tension, with the Soviet downing of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, the United States increased diplomatic, military, and economic pressures on the Soviet Union, at a time when the communist state was already suffering from economic stagnation. In the mid-1980s, the new Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the reforms of perestroika and glasnost. Pressures for national independence grew stronger in Eastern Europe, especially Poland, Gorbachev meanwhile refused to use Soviet troops to bolster the faltering Warsaw Pact regimes as had occurred in the past. The result in 1989 was a wave of revolutions that peacefully overthrew all of the communist regimes of Central, the Communist Party of the Soviet Union itself lost control and was banned following an abortive coup attempt in August 1991. This in turn led to the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991. The United States remained as the only superpower. The Cold War and its events have left a significant legacy and it is often referred to in popular culture, especially in media featuring themes of espionage and the threat of nuclear warfare
8.
Central Intelligence Agency
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As one of the principal members of the U. S. Intelligence Community, the CIA reports to the Director of National Intelligence and is focused on providing intelligence for the President. Though it is not the only U. S. government agency specializing in HUMINT and it exerts foreign political influence through its tactical divisions, such as the Special Activities Division. Despite transferring some of its powers to the DNI, the CIA has grown in size as a result of the September 11 attacks. In 2013, The Washington Post reported that in fiscal year 2010, the CIA has increasingly expanded its roles, including covert paramilitary operations. One of its largest divisions, the Information Operations Center, has shifted focus from counter-terrorism to offensive cyber-operations, when the CIA was created, its purpose was to create a clearinghouse for foreign policy intelligence and analysis. Today its primary purpose is to collect, analyze, evaluate, and disseminate foreign intelligence, warning/informing American leaders of important overseas events, with Pakistan described as an intractable target. Counterintelligence, with China, Russia, Iran, Cuba, the Executive Office also supports the U. S. military by providing it with information it gathers, receiving information from military intelligence organizations, and cooperates on field activities. The Executive Director is in charge of the day to day operation of the CIA, each branch of the military service has its own Director. The Directorate has four regional groups, six groups for transnational issues. There is a dedicated to Iraq, regional analytical offices covering the Near East and South Asia, Russia and Europe, and the Asian Pacific, Latin American. The Directorate of Operations is responsible for collecting intelligence. The name reflects its role as the coordinator of intelligence activities between other elements of the wider U. S. intelligence community with their own HUMINT operations. This Directorate was created in an attempt to end years of rivalry over influence, philosophy, in spite of this, the Department of Defense recently organized its own global clandestine intelligence service, the Defense Clandestine Service, under the Defense Intelligence Agency. This Directorate is known to be organized by regions and issues. The Directorate of Science & Technology was established to research, create, many of its innovations were transferred to other intelligence organizations, or, as they became more overt, to the military services. For example, the development of the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft was done in cooperation with the United States Air Force, the U-2s original mission was clandestine imagery intelligence over denied areas such as the Soviet Union. It was subsequently provided with signals intelligence and measurement and signature intelligence capabilities, subsequently, NPIC was transferred to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
9.
Channel Tunnel
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At its lowest point, it is 75 m deep below the sea bed, and 115 m below sea level. The speed limit for trains in the tunnel is 160 kilometres per hour, the tunnel carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, the Eurotunnel Shuttle for road vehicles—the largest such transport in the world—and international freight trains. The tunnel connects end-to-end with the LGV Nord and High Speed 1 high-speed railway lines, ideas for a cross-Channel fixed link appeared as early as 1802, but British political and press pressure over the compromising of national security stalled attempts to construct a tunnel. An early attempt at building a Channel Tunnel was made in the late 19th century, the eventual successful project, organised by Eurotunnel, began construction in 1988 and opened in 1994. At £5.5 billion, it was at the time the most expensive project ever proposed. The cost finally came in at £9 billion, well over its predicted budget, since its construction, the tunnel has faced several problems. Both fires and cold weather have temporarily disrupted its operation, illegal immigrants have attempted to use the tunnel to enter the UK, causing a minor diplomatic disagreement over the siting of the refugee camp at Sangatte, which was eventually closed in 2002. Migrants have also died attempting to cross through the tunnel, in 1839, Aimé Thomé de Gamond, a Frenchman, performed the first geological and hydrographical surveys on the Channel, between Calais and Dover. In 1865, a deputation led by George Ward Hunt proposed the idea of a tunnel to the Chancellor of the Exchequer of the day, around 1866, William Low and Sir John Hawkshaw promoted ideas, but apart from preliminary geological studies none were implemented. An official Anglo-French protocol was established in 1876 for a railway tunnel. On the English side a 2. 13-metre diameter Beaumont-English boring machine dug a 1, on the French side, a similar machine dug 1,669 m from Sangatte. The project was abandoned in May 1882, owing to British political and these early works were encountered more than a century later during the TML project. The French did not take the idea seriously and nothing came of Lloyd Georges proposal, in 1929 there was another proposal but nothing came of this discussion and the idea was shelved. Proponents estimated construction to be about US$150 million, the engineers had addressed the concerns of both nations military leaders by designing two sumps—one near the coast of each country—that could be flooded at will to block the tunnel. This design feature did not override the concerns of both military leaders, and other concerns about hordes of undesirable tourists who would disrupt English habits of living. Military fears continued during World War II, the estimate caused rumours that Germany had already begun digging. In 1935, a British film from Gaumont Studios, The Tunnel and it referred briefly to its protagonist, a Mr. McAllan, as having completed a British Channel tunnel successfully in 1940, five years into the future of the films release. By 1955, defence arguments had become less relevant due to the dominance of air power, in 1958 the 1881 workings were cleared in preparation for a £100,000 geological survey by the Channel Tunnel Study Group
10.
Live and Let Die (novel)
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Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Flemings James Bond series of stories, and is set in London, the US and Jamaica. It was first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954, Fleming wrote the novel at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica before his first book, Casino Royale, was published, much of the background came from Flemings travel in the US and knowledge of Jamaica. Bond becomes involved in the US through Mr Bigs smuggling of 17th-century gold coins from British territories in the Caribbean, as with Casino Royale, Live and Let Die was broadly well received by the critics. The initial print run of 7,500 copies quickly sold out, US sales, when the novel was released there a year later, were much slower. Major plot elements from the novel were incorporated into the Bond films For Your Eyes Only in 1981. The British Secret Service agent James Bond is sent by his superior, M, to New York City to investigate Mr Big, real name Buonaparte Ignace Gallia. These gold coins have been turning up in Harlem and Florida and are suspected of being part of a treasure that was buried in Jamaica by the pirate Sir Henry Morgan, in New York Bond meets up with his counterpart in the CIA, Felix Leiter. The two visit some of Mr Bigs nightclubs in Harlem, but are captured, Bond is interrogated by Mr Big, who uses his fortune-telling employee, Solitaire, to determine if Bond is telling the truth. Solitaire lies to Mr Big, supporting Bonds cover story, Mr Big decides to release Bond and Leiter, and has his henchman Tee-Hee Johnson break one of Bonds fingers. On leaving, Bond kills Tee-Hee and several more of Mr Bigs men, while Leiter is released with minimal physical harm by a gang member, sympathetic because of a shared appreciation of jazz. Solitaire later leaves Mr Big and contacts Bond, the travel by train to St. Petersburg, Florida. While Bond and Leiter are scouting one of Mr Bigs warehouses used for storing exotic fish, Bond finds him in their safe house with a note pinned to his chest He disagreed with something that ate him. Bond then investigates the warehouse himself and discovers that Mr Big is smuggling gold coins by hiding them in the bottom of tanks holding poisonous tropical fish, which he is bringing into the US. He is attacked in the warehouse by the Robber, another of Mr Bigs men, during the resultant gunfight, Bond outwits the Robber and causes him to fall into the shark tank. Bond continues his mission in Jamaica, where he meets a fisherman, Quarrel, and John Strangways. Quarrel gives Bond training in scuba diving in the local waters, Bond swims through shark- and barracuda-infested waters to Mr Bigs island and manages to plant a limpet mine on the hull of his yacht before being captured once again by Mr Big. Bond and Solitaire are saved when the mine explodes seconds before they are dragged over the reef. Between January and March 1952 the journalist Ian Fleming wrote Casino Royale, his first novel, Fleming conducted research for Live and Let Die, and completed the novel before Casino Royale was published in January 1953, four months before his second book was published
11.
Moonraker (novel)
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Moonraker is the third novel by the British author Ian Fleming to feature his fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond. It was published by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1955 and featured a design conceived by Fleming. The plot is derived from a Fleming screenplay that was too short for a novel so he added the bridge passage between Bond and the industrialist Hugo Drax. In the latter half of the novel, the premise of Bond seconded to Draxs staff as the businessman builds the Moonraker, a prototype missile designed to defend England. Unknown to Bond, Drax is German, a now working for the Soviets, his plan is to build the rocket, arm it with a nuclear warhead. Uniquely for a Bond novel, Moonraker is set entirely in Britain, Moonraker, like Flemings previous novels, was well received by critics. Moonraker plays on a number of 1950s fears, including attack by rockets, Soviet communism, the re-emergence of Nazism, Fleming examines Englishness, and the novel shows the virtues and strength of England. Adaptations include a broadcast on South African radio in 1956 starring Bob Holness, the British Secret Service agent James Bond is asked by his superior, M, to join him at Ms club, Blades. A club member, the multi-millionaire businessman Sir Hugo Drax, is winning considerable money playing bridge, M suspects Drax is cheating, and while claiming indifference, is concerned as to why a multi-millionaire and national hero would cheat. Bond confirms Draxs deception and manages to turn the tables—aided by a pack of stacked cards—and wins £15,000, Drax is the product of a mysterious background, purportedly unknown even to himself. After extensive rehabilitation in an hospital, he returned home to become a wealthy industrialist. Because the rockets engine could withstand heat, the Moonraker was able to use these powerful fuels. All the rocket scientists working on the project are German, at his post on the complex, Bond meets Gala Brand, a beautiful police Special Branch officer working undercover as Draxs personal assistant. Bond also uncovers clues concerning his predecessors death, concluding that the man may have killed for witnessing a submarine off the coast. Draxs henchman Krebs is caught by Bond snooping through his room, later, an attempted assassination by triggering a landslide nearly kills Bond and Brand, as they swim beneath the Dover cliffs. Drax takes Brand to London, where she discovers the truth about the Moonraker by comparing her own launch trajectory figures with those in a notebook picked from Draxs pocket. She is captured by Krebs, and finds herself captive in a secret radio homing station—intended to serve as a beacon for the missiles guidance system—in the heart of London. While she is being taken back to the Moonraker facility by Drax, Bond gives chase, but is also captured by Drax and Krebs
12.
Diamonds Are Forever (novel)
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Diamonds Are Forever is the fourth novel by the English author Ian Fleming to feature his fictional British Secret Service agent James Bond. Fleming wrote the story at his Goldeneye estate in Jamaica, inspired by a Sunday Times article on diamond smuggling, the book was first published by Jonathan Cape in the United Kingdom on 26 March 1956. The story centres on Bonds investigation of a diamond-smuggling ring originating in the mines of Sierra Leone, along the way Bond meets and falls in love with one of the members of the smuggling gang, Tiffany Case. Much of Flemings background research formed the basis for his non-fiction 1957 book The Diamond Smugglers, Diamonds Are Forever deals with international travel, marriage and the transitory nature of life. As with Flemings previous novels, Diamonds Are Forever received broadly positive reviews at the time of publication, the story was serialised in the Daily Express newspaper, first in an abridged, multi-part form and then as a comic strip. In 1971 it was adapted into the seventh Bond film in the series and was the last Eon Productions film to star Sean Connery as Bond, the British Secret Service agent James Bond is sent on an assignment by his superior, M. Acting on information received from Special Branch, M tasks Bond with infiltrating a smuggling ring transporting diamonds from mines in the Crown colony of Sierra Leone to the United States, Bond must infiltrate the smugglers pipeline to uncover those responsible. Bond discovers that the ring is operated by the Spangled Mob and he follows the trail from London to New York. To earn his fee for carrying the diamonds he is instructed by a member, Shady Tree. There Bond meets Felix Leiter, a former CIA agent working at Pinkertons as a detective investigating crooked horse racing. Leiter bribes the jockey to ensure the failure of the plot to rig the race, when he goes to make the payment, he witnesses two homosexual thugs, Wint and Kidd, attack the jockey. Bond calls Tree to enquire further about the payment of his fee and is told to go to the Tiara Hotel in Las Vegas, the Tiara is owned by Seraffimo Spang and operates as the headquarters of the Spangled Mob. Spang also owns an old Western ghost town, named Spectreville, at the hotel Bond finally receives payment through a rigged blackjack game where the dealer is Tiffany. After winning the money he is owed he disobeys his orders from Tree by continuing to gamble in the casino, Spang suspects that Bond may be a plant and has him captured and tortured at Spectreville. With Tiffanys help he escapes from Spectreville aboard a railway push-car with Seraffimo Spang in pursuit aboard an old Western train, Bond changes the points and re-routes the train onto a dead-end, and shoots Spang before the resulting crash. Assisted by Leiter, Bond and Tiffany go via California to New York, where they board the RMS Queen Elizabeth to travel to London, Wint and Kidd observe their embarkation and follow them on board. They kidnap Tiffany, planning to kill her and throw her overboard, Bond rescues her and kills both gangsters, he makes it look like a murder-suicide. Tiffany subsequently informs Bond of the details of the pipeline, the story begins in Africa where a dentist bribes miners to smuggle diamonds in their mouths, he extracts the gems during routine appointments
