Ben Macintyre is well known as a superior researcher and writer focused on World War II and Cold War espionage. In this book, Macintyre spends time matching Fleming’s experience in World War II with the characters that he created in the Bond series. A quick and fun read. For those interested in the same topic, Brian Lett’s book titled “Ian Fleming and SOE’s Operation Postmaster” and Nicholas Rankin’s “Ian Fleming’s Commandos” give the reader an in-depth understanding of Fleming’s role in WWII.

4 stars if you are a Bond super fan. It has some interesting historical tidbits and great photos.I just wish I had seen the original museum installation this book was made to support. Who knows, maybe it is all saved on some server online somewhere.

A fascinating insight into the lives on Ian Fleming and his creation, James Bond, and how they are intertwined. The book also looks at the people and events that influenced the novels and effect of Bond on society in general. Yet another superbly written work by Ben Macintyre.

While Macintyre's writing is, as always, excellent, I got the sense that he did not have enough material for a full book. The chapters feel drawn out, and once the theme of comparisons between Fleming and Bond is exhausted, there's not much left.

Ben Macintyre (author of books including the Kim Philby bio A Spy Among Friends) crafts a fine look at the life of Ian Fleming and the world of his creation James Bond. Though neither a straight biography of one or a study of the other, For Your Eyes Only offers up a bit of both as it looks at the intersecting lines of fact and fiction between the writer and the character. It’s also lavishly illustrated with letters from Fleming’s collection and props from various films up to the Daniel Craig Ca...

Excellent read.

Another great book by Ben McIntyre. Lots of suggestions about persons the Bond characters may be based on as well as a lot of background about Fleming's writing and the postwar situation in London that would make these adventures so appealing. He explains that his book is not so much a biography as a story about the intersection of the lives of Ian Fleming and James Bond. Liked it very much.

I greatly enjoy Ben McIntyre's books: "Rogue Heros", "Operation Mincemeat", "Agent Sonja", and all the others. Perhaps it's because I'm not a James Bond buff, but I didn't find this book about Ian Flemming and his character, James Bond, very interesting. Nonetheless, I look forward to his next work.

A very interesting insight into the crossover between Fleming and Bond.

Before reviewing the book you must come to peace with the fact that it takes me a long time to get through a book these days. There are just too many other things going on. That being said, I kept coming back for more. So that should tell you something about the book without me saying anything else. There are many books written about Bond's creator. This one, published on the centenary of his birth, is one of the few that seamlessly combines his biography, his writing, and the films. In "For You...

Another excellent story by Ben MacthyreA travel into the world of espionageVery informative and entertaining. For everyone who wants to understand the phenomenon of James Bond and its origins.

Good history of Fleming and Bond but far too much repitition.

It's a good read but I finished it with a sense of wanting more, in the sense that I feel there's a lot more to this story than is told here -- or, rather, a deeper analysis of Bond as a post war symbol of aspiration. This is the sort of thing Marxist intellectuals are good atThe most interesting material is at the end when he describes how many books have been written about Bond and also novelists have written new Bond books, including some top literary writers like Kingsley Amis and Sebastian

I did enjoy this but it felt a bit thin at points and like it was drawing quite a long bow. Interesting to learn more about Fleming and reflect on the longevity/evolution of Bond but it turned too much to a focus on men's perspectives.

Not my favorite Ben McIntyre is a favorite author. This isn’t my favorite book. It seems a stretch to make the material into a book. Still he brings Fleming to life in a way I hadn’t seen before, not being a student of Bond.

Interesting. I enjoyed reading it, although I am not sure if James Bond is dated for today's readers. I found it historically interesting as I wasn't really aware of how much Fleming introduced in the early James Bond books that is now taken for granted in today's action thrillers, not that I am a regular action thriller reader. I can also appreciate the impact that James Bond had on Britain in the late 1940s and 50s which was still struggling under wartime rationing and a lack of variety and qu...

FASCINATING! I had no idea James Bond's creator also wrote "Chitty, Chitty, Bang Bang". I've never read the book or seen the movie. :|Bond, on the other hand........ I've seen all the movies. Many times. But have never read one of the books. I may have to dive in.This book is another stellar effort by Ben Macintyre whose books I absolutely love. As always, this is well-researched and written with humour as well as great authority.Ian Fleming was a very complex individual and this is certainly br...

Packs a lot of biographical information in a little over 200 pages. This book works at its best when Macintyre points out the events from Fleming's life that helped form James Bond - which lead to plenty of 'ah ha' moments. Sadly, after a flourish of great activity, Fleming died at the age of 56. He left an amazing legacy, but one can only wonder what another 10 years would have yielded.

Good, erudite overview of a very interesting writer and human: Ian Fleming. As usual Macintyre is a keen writer of spy history and gets to the details quickly. I could have read a much longer book with a bit more information but the reason it was written and that it was concise makes it a great read. I was mesmerized by how interesting Ian himself was; not knowing his true role during WWII and how much it actually revealed itself in Bond and the books he wrote. Any Bond fan that enjoys the books...

One of my retirement goals is to read all the Bond books in order. I chose the MacIntyre book to ensure I was grounded in the genesis of the story; I particularly enjoyed how MacIntyre explored the various intersections between the life of Fleming and Bond. While Fleming clearly drew on his World War II experiences as a naval intelligence officer to birth and frame Bond, the latter is also many things that Fleming was not. While Fleming was mostly an armchair daredevil, Bond allowed his creator