Ian Fleming was born in London on May 28, 1908. He was educated at
Eton College and later spent a formative period studying languages
in Europe. His first job was with Reuters News Agency where a
Moscow posting gave him firsthand experience with what would become
his literary b�te noire--the Soviet Union. During World War II he
served as Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence and
played a key role in Allied espionage operations.
After the war he worked as foreign manager of the Sunday Times, a
job that allowed him to spend two months each year in Jamaica.
Here, in 1952, at his home "Goldeneye," he wrote a book called
Casino Royale--and James Bond was born. The first print run sold
out within a month. For the next twelve years Fleming produced a
novel a year featuring Special Agent 007, the most famous spy of
the century. His travels, interests, and wartime experience lent
authority to everything he wrote. Raymond Chandler described him as
"the most forceful and driving writer of thrillers in England."
Sales soared when President Kennedy named the fifth title, From
Russia With Love, one of his favorite books. The Bond novels have
sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide, boosted by the
hugely successful film franchise that began in 1962 with the
release of Dr. No.
He married Anne Rothermere in 1952. His story about a magical car,
written in 1961 for their only son Caspar, went on to become the
well-loved novel and film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
Fleming died of heart failure on August 12, 1964, at the age of
fifty-six.
Learn more about Ian Fleming at www.ianfleming.com.
"A gory, glittering saga...The James Bond spirit soars on." --New York Times"Intensely readable." --National Review"Fleming keeps you riveted." --Sunday Telegraph"For those who like to escape to Bondsville, the old boom-town hasn't changed a scrap." --Listener
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