Bond Reviews

Analyses of James Bond seem to fall into two categories: analytical or anecdotal. The former is the most common -- generally consisting of a look into such quantitative topics as what kind of cigarettes he smokes, how he prepares his martinis, and other easily categorized trivia. But such an analysis -- while thoroughly enjoyable -- never seems to answer the larger question that looms in everyone's mind: "Just why is this guy so cool?"

"Dressed to Kill: James Bond, The Suited Hero" does an admirable job of handling this question. Half a collection of essays, and half a picture-laden coffee table book, "Dressed to Kill" purports to examine the way 007 attires himself and how this has both borrowed from the heroes of the past and contributed to the heroes of the present.

Four essays on Bond are sprinkled throughout the book, written by authors like Jay McIrnery and Nick Sullivan. The essays range from rambling expositions of a boy's love for the hero his parents forbade him to watch, to an almost scholarly look at Bond's dressing habits and how this has contributed to the character.

But the real stars are the pictures. Compiled within "Dressed to Kill" is perhaps the best collection of Bond pictures this side of Cubby Brocolli's personal photo album. The pictures range from Dr. No to GoldenEye, from publicity stills to advertising copy, from black-and-white to color, and they neatly explain the mystique of 007 at a level that the essays never reach. The pictures have been culled from the EON Picture Archive and other collections, and each includes a knowledgeable quote explaining just what 007 is wearing and why.

While Bond receives star billing, the book does try to expand the examination to "the suited hero" in general. Non-bond pictures include such figures as James Coburn as Our Man Flint, Alan Ladd (he had his suits tailored to make him look taller), Humprhey Bogart from Casablanca (the predecessor to Bond's "tuxedo in the midst of chaos" look), and such anti-suits as Bruce Willis from Die Hard and Harrison Ford from Indiana Jones. In discussing the latter two, and Hollywood's eschewing of the suit, Neil Norman writes:

"At the same time, a curious thing happened. The suit wouldn't die. It simply transferred its allegiance from hero to villain. Paul Freeman's villainous Frenchman Belloq, in Raiders, confronted Indy in an immaculate linen suit. And the moment that Alan Rickman strode on to the screen to do battle Bruce Willis's slobbily attired cop hero, villainy meant tailoring sharp enough to slash your wrists on."

In and around the essays are picture-filled asides devoted to topics like Bond's three-piece suits, his sport coats, his naval style, and his tuxedo bow ties:

"The width remains fairly constant while the depth rises and falls, beginning with Sean Connery's 'Slim Jims' up to Roger Moore's velvet high of 1974, and gradually shrinking back down to Timothy Dalton's restrained 1987 version, before deepening yet again for GoldenEye."

"Dressed to Kill" is a wonderful celebration of everyone's favorite secret agent. If you can't tell an Armani from a Brioni, or if you can't tell in which film Bond's "lightweight suit, whose cut, along with the curled trilby hat, gives him the look of a traveling businessman," then it's time for you to give up your underwear and T-shirt look just long enough to get to a bookstore.

(Deane Barker is the forum manager for The World of James Bond on The Microsoft Network

DRESSED TO KILL explores the mystique of Bond in a tasteful coffee-table edition crammed full of rare photographs and enjoyable essays addressing the age old question of just what suits a man.

It wasn't until I read this book that I realized the profound cultural impact which the Bond movies had and have, and the deep and lasting impact they'd had on me, personally, and how they'd unconsciously formed the basis of my impressions of male style.

From the suited hero of the 40's, 50's and 60's (witness Cary Grant), to the styleless 70's (Roger Moore's mod Bond looks just a little ridiculous amongst the Jermyn Street of Connery and the Brioni of Brosnan), the suited antihero of the 80's (and his doppleganger the antisuited hero of the "Die Hard" and Indiana Jones ilk), into the 90's and the new millennium, this ultimately enjoyable book is a paean to the way we all want to look. Gentlemen, fold your pocket squares!

How many steps is it from a boy in a sport jacket pretending to be Bond to an Armani man carrying a slim black briefcase? Not so far as you'd think. Rate this one FIFTY GOLD SOVEREIGNS.

favorite scene with mark-
in the bathroom with manny changing clothes and identities.

favorite scene with ellie and mark together-
when she does a charicature of him in the underground and she pretends she doesn't know him.

However, on the critical side, this book didn't live up to my expectations in terms of describing the off-screen lives of the Bond girls. It spends a majority of the exposition describing the plot of each James Bond movie and then reserves only a minimal amount of page space to briefly, and I mean BRIEFLY, tell you about the actresses who portrayed Bond Girls in the movies. It is just not detailed enough. I was hoping to learn more about where Honor Blackman is right now in her life, or what became of Shirley Eaton after she became popular as a "Golden Girl". The book doesn't go into some of these things. Maybe this is because of the lack of information available, but if this is the case, I think the book should be advertised as more of a photo album rather than an expository book. Although the plot descriptions are very good, we have plenty of books which explain the plots of the James Bond movies. It doesn't have to be the emphasis in this book. The emphasis should be on the actresses themselves, not the characters they portrayed in the context of the story.

I give this book four stars because of the quality of the photographs, but it falls short of a five because of the reasons I stated.

Having all of the Bond books, the collections, and "encyclopedias," etc., I didn't think there'd ever be another Bond book that I'd want to have, much less need, but "The James Bond Girls" is a must have for everyone who's ever thought of themselves as a Bond fan.

If you've never cooked in quantity, this book will take you by the hand and make it easy.

Now, to be picky, the math in the benefits section leaves much to be desired (waaay overstating the value of buying in bulk), and an appendix that was promised in the bulk buying section wasn't included. Both of those bugged me, but it's worth the effort to go beyond these and other editing errors to get to the information.

The plot centres around a plan by Bond's old adversary from 'Thunderball' (1961), Ernst Stavro Blofeld, to cripple Britain financially by ruining her agriculture and food industry with biological warfare. Under the guise of an expert in family trees, Bond is able to infiltrate Blofeld's secret operation in the Swiss Alps, to try to put an end to his dastardly plans.

Interestingly, the novel opens with James Bond visiting the scene of the first Bond novel, Royale-les-Eaux, and he treads over familiar ground in the shape of the French coastal towns casino. It is a strangely ironic place in which to meet the love of his life (Tracy) as it also contains the grave of a woman (Vesper Lynd) who caused him the most anguish.

A well written, fast paced thriller, it is packed with exciting action, worthy villains, humourous incidents, good food and the compulsory love interest. The love interest in this novel is one 'Tracy' de Vicenzo who Bond rescues from disgrace and death and ends up falling in love with and marrying. Under normal circumstances the fact that she is the daughter of the 'Capu' of the Corsican mafia would complicate things somewhat but in this novel it is a positive boon for Bond and one which he takes full advantage of.

The villain is top notch. In Ernst Stavro Blofeld we have a man to really dislike; cold and calculating, he literally oozes malevolence. He has no redeeming features whatsoever and the choice of Irma Bunt as his assistant only helps the reader wish even more for Bond to succeed in his mission.
If Blofeld does have a weakness, it appears to be that he covets the respectability and status that a title would give him, and this proves to be a significant failing on his part.

Exciting ski, car and bobsleigh rides, added to the ingenious plot and unusual location gives one the feeling that this Bond novel was, in a lot of ways, Flemings last classic Bond adventure. Following this novel we had the frankly bizarre 'You Only Live Twice' (1964) and 'The Man With The Golden Gun' (1965) which wasn't all Fleming's work. 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' (a phrase coined by Tracy's father, the likeable Capu, Marc-Ange) is a book that it is hard to put down and in the final analysis that is what all good novels have in common.

The book does have a very sad end and the reader should really follow it by reading 'You Only Live Twice' as it more or less follows on from this novel and sees Bond getting his revenge on Blofeld.

SPECTRE is back again, Blofield as evil as ever. After all the trials trials and tribulations, the final victory is sweet. This of course makes the ending all the more shocking and at the same time, "right". The look on Connery's face in the movie was priceless.

Fred Siegel is president of an investment management firm in New Orleans, widely respected for knowing the investment field very well. In addition to running his advisory firm, Siegel also runs The Siegel Group International, providing financial news analysis to broadcast media in the United States and other countries. He has been on the air continually since 1984, broadcasting from WWL-TV and WWL radio in New Orleans. His advice is heard far and wide-and can now be read in a fun sort of book.

Fun? Investing? Chickens? Scary. The book is written in a light vein so it's easy to move through. The type is large, so that readers don't have to squint to get his message. There are several unusual features in the book-like red and black ink on the pages. Illustrations of chickens abound. There are lots of call-outs and sidebars, including testimonial quotes from his clients. The book is almost too self-serving in that regard, but one might expect a talk-show personality to be a bit self-promoting.

The book is organized into twelve chapters, dealing with the stock market, jargon, and then the focus on chicken stocks. Siegel makes his point that buying particular types of stocks is wiser than buying others, and explains. He doesn't like mutual funds, but talks about them, trusts, bonds, and annuities. Even on-line investing is covered for the reader.

As you might suspect, this book is going to give you a "once over lightly." It's not really deep, nor does it need to be. It meets its design of giving chicken investors enough knowledge to feel comfortable looking more deeply into the opportunities. As with any investment advisor, it's smart to take the advice carefully and understand that biases are present and influential. Whether you agree with everything Siegel says or not, you will have a broader understanding of the world of investing after reading this book.