The Many Lives of James Bond: How the Creators of 007 Have Decoded the Superspy Hardcover – November 4, 2019

Since 1953, Ian Fleming's James Bond has been thrilling audiences across different media. What started as a series of novels and short fiction has spawned one of cinema's enduring franchises along with numerous comics, video games, and audio dramas presenting the adventures of 007. While attention often focuses on the actors who've portrayed Bond, a sizable group of creators has each played a role in bringing those tales to life. Mark Edlitz's 2019 book The Many Lives of James Bond collects interviews with those who've played a role in bringing Bond to life across the decades.Divided into five parts, Edlitz takes a multi-faceted approach to use these interviews to explore Bond's appeal and history. Opening with Bond on Film, he interviews multi-Bond film directors Martin Campbell and John Glen, discussing their approaches to Bond in different decades. Their interviews ranged from Campbell's introducing two 007s to the world, Glen's working with Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton, or how he might have approached directing Pierce Brosnan if fate hadn't taken him out of the role of 007 in 1986. There are interviews with screenwriters, including Tom Mankiewicz before his 2010 passing and uncredited Never Say Never Again writers Dick Clement and Ian Le Frenais, who offer up their perspectives on that "rogue" Bond outing. Finally, the section concludes with a look at Bond songs, with lyricists Leslie Bricusse and Don Black offering their experiences and thoughts on what makes a good Bond song.Edlitz soon moves from screen to page. Bond in Print features Anthony Horowitz discussing his pastiche novel Trigger Mortis, with the challenges of writing in the Fleming style and accepting responses for writing a Bond book. On the comic and graphic novel side of the equation are interviews with Graham McLusky, son of longtime 007 newspaper comic illustrator John, and 1980s-90s comic book writer and artist Mike Grell. McLusky discusses his father's work from the 1960s to the 1980s, while Grell discusses adapting the film Licence to Kill for the medium and his acclaimed but delayed original Bond comic Permission to Die. Together, they offer insights into writing and illustrating Bond, riding the often fine line between the literary and cinematic incarnations of the character with notes from both the Fleming estate and Eon Productions.From there, the book moves into some of its most intriguing territories. Being Bond features 80 or so pages worth of interviews with actors who've played the role of Bond on screen, on stage, in radio drama, in video games, and more. There are interviews with the late Sir Roger Moore and George Lazenby, though given how numerous interviews with both men are, theirs are fun reads rather than insightful. Beyond those perhaps obvious Bonds, there's a myriad of other 007s with whom Edlitz has discussions. There are the children of Hoagy Carmichael (who Fleming said was a close match for his ideal of Bond) and Bob Holness, who played Bond in a 1958 radio drama adaptation of Moonraker for South African radio, with the interview bringing out new details about that seemingly lost production. BBC Radio 007 Michael Jayston discusses the 1990 adaptation of Fleming's novel You Only Live Twice, Simon Vance on the process of recording audiobooks of the Bond novels, plus a host of Bond's video game voices on approaching either imitating a screen 007 or putting their own spin on the character. There's dancing (!) James Bond in the form of Joseph Malone from the 1982 Oscars, Dietmar Wunder being the German voice of Daniel Craig's Bond, and Craig's stunt double Kai Martin doing Bond stunts. From the well-known to the obscure or overlooked, each of these interviews offers insights into taking on the world's most famous secret agent, even if no one is necessarily aware they've done so.The final parts of the book look at the designing Bond and the evolving role of "Bond women." The designing portion features interviews with poster artists from the film franchise, including Never Say Never Again's Rudy Obrero exploring how he created art for a Bond film without any of the Eon iconographies. Craig-era costume designer Jany Temine discusses dressing a more down-to-Earth Bond, exploring some of the choices made for Skyfall and Spectre. Glen Schofield offers a behind the scene look at creating a Bond video game, having worked on EA's 2005 From Russia With Love game that saw him working with Sean Connery, who recorded dialogue in what turned out to be his final Bond performance. Last but not least, interviews with Lana Wood (who played Plenty O'Toole in 1971's Diamonds Are Forever) and academic Lisa Funnell explore the role and legacy of women in the Bond canon. While an academic interview might seem an odd note to end the book with, it's a solid enough choice as Edlitz knows which questions to ask to get the most insight.From screen to page, costumes and audio dramas to video games, The Many Lives of James Bond is an insightful addition to any Bond fans library. How could it not be with the wealth of Bonds between it covers, let along those who've helped bring his adventures to life? After all, nobody does it better.

Taken from my review of the book for James Bond Radio:The Many Lives of James Bond by Mark Edlitz offers up a number of Bondian gems to entice and surprise even the most avid of Bond fans. Whether you’re a hardcore or casual Bond fan, you will learn something about the franchise that you may not have known before. As someone who considers himself quite well-versed in Bond franchise history, I was truly impressed with the book’s invitation to dig deeper into the franchise via conversations with actors and creators who have shaped and molded the James Bond franchise and iconography. Central to this book is Edlitz’s idea that each person charged with bringing Bond to life (whether that person is an actor, voice actor, director, writer, songwriter, stunt performer, etc) must first define who Bond is in order to deliver their contribution to each respective presentation of Bond. As Bond fans we have cherished the franchise and its many iterations for decades. We all have a clear definition of who James Bond is in our collective consciousness, but various actors and creators also have had to define who Bond is to them in order to present us with the iconic character over the decades.Different individuals have worked on Bond ultimately molding and shaping the character based on how they perceive him. Most people tend to identify the main characterizations of Bond with the Bond actors who have portrayed him in the cinematic series produced by Eon. Edlitz reminds us that while the actors in the film series are of course very important, so are the screenwriters, directors, stunt performers, costume designers, and even the songwriters because each of those roles contributes a great deal to the franchise’s presentation of Bond throughout the cinematic series. In addition to this, there are performers and creators who have been charged with presenting Bond through radio dramas, audiobooks, continuation novels, poster illustrations, comic strips, graphic novels, a children’s cartoon, video games, and even voice actors who dub the Bond films for foreign language markets.Edlitz’s conversations with various Bond creators and contributors get to the heart of how each of them define Bond. He talks with directors Martin Campbell and John Glen about how they each chose to portray Bond in their films. Campbell discusses his approach to directing Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye in comparison with his turn directing Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. John Glen discusses the driving factors behind the portrayal of Bond in his films having directed both Roger Moore and Timothy Dalton. Edlitz was also fortunate enough to talk with Sir Roger prior to his death in 2017 as well as with Tom Mankiewicz prior to his death in 2010.In addition to revelations about the cinematic franchise, Edlitz also uncovers a number of different things about Bond presentations even the most passionate Bond fans might not be entirely familiar with. Most impressive of these comes about in his conversation with Ros Holness, the daughter of Bob Holness who performed as James Bond in a 1958 radio dramatization of Moonraker for the South African Broadcasting Corporation. The performance was live and unrecorded so very little is known about it, but Ros Holness uncovered a few previously unknown details about her father’s turn as James Bond that are newly revealed in Edlitz’s bookAt the heart of this book is the discovery of what each actor and artist charged with presenting Bond deemed important to bring to the role. In addition to the conversations I’ve mentioned, Editz also talks to a notable array of Bond alumni including: George Lazenby, Bruce Feirstein, Roger Spotiswood, Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais (screenwriters for Never Say Never Again), Leslie Bricusse, Anthony Horowitz, Kai Martin (Daniel Craig’s stunt double), illustrator Robert McGinnis, Glen A. Schofield (who directed Sean Connery during his voiceover work for the From Russia with Love video game), and many more. No matter how familiar you may be with the Bond franchise and its history, there is plenty in this book to dive into. I highly recommend The Many Lives of James Bond by Mark Editz as a welcome and worthy addition to my ever expanding bookcase of notable James Bond books.

If you are a Bond fan, you will love this book. It is loaded with inside stories from the writers, musicians, directors, even the wardrobe specialists who brought Bond alive. I didn't know that David Niven, one of my favorite actors, was almost in a Bond movie and that his style inspired the characterization of Bond. The illustrations and photographs are beautiful, and I don't get enough of that in non-fiction these days. Get this book and relive every Bond film with sharper insight.

Presented in a unique style and enhanced with photos. Recommend for the avid Bond fan bit also the the movie buff who is looking for a different but interesting approach. Highly enjoyable read!

This was an entertaining book and included great interviews with Bond actors and creators. Interesting perspectives of the persons who shaped the Bond we see on camera. Perfect for a Bond fan or even for a less informed enthusiast!!

A must have for Bond fans.

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Every word, every page holds more information and insight to intelligence operations and the way forward than any espionage book to date. A handbook of counterintelligence for all you Angleton groupies.