Live and Let Die: Read the second gripping unforgettable James Bond novel (James Bond 007, 2)

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Upon entering the hotel room, located on the 21st floor (which doesn’t actually exist in the real St. Book is in Very Good Minus condition, boards a bit rubbed and marked, gilt dulled, small brown mark to top of front end-paper. A James Bond thriller and basis for the excellent movie starring Roger Moore, Yaphet Kotto, and Jane Seymour; as of this listing, the only copy bearing Fleming's signature on the market. Live and Let Die is considered one of Fleming's most controversial novels due to its depiction of blacks.

Station C has become suspicious of the Secatur, a diesel yacht that has been making frequent trips between Jamaica and Florida. There are 14 of the original Bond stories that Ian Fleming wrote before his death, and I plan to read all of them. Big is head of the Black Widow Voodoo cult and uses the black magic associated with Caribbean voodoo and folklore to spread fear and obedience among his followers. Both Fleming and his fictional counterpart have become synonymous with style, glamour and thrilling adventures, as well as universally recognised phrases such as “My name’s Bond, James Bond” and “shaken and not stirred”. Original black cloth-effect paper over boards with gilt-embossed coin motif to upper cover, lettered in gilt to the spine.Three states of the true first edition dust jacket were printed for LIVE AND LET DIE, all 3 states of the first edition jacket look identical with the exception of the one sentence credit statement to the dust jacket designer located on the inside front flap. The lovely internal pages are clean, bright and flat with no bent pages, no handling marks, no stains and no foxing.

Fleming had a long-held interest in pirates, from the novels he read as a child through to films such as Captain Blood (1935) with Errol Flynn, which he enjoyed watching. My memories of reading this were that it was a good fun read, that it was quite a lot like the film – a film that would not be made for another 20 years, Sean Connery had not even shaken his Martini, let alone Roger Moore. For the background to Mr Big's treasure island, Fleming appropriated the details of Cabritta Island in Port Maria Bay, which was the true location of Morgan's hoard.

It's a largely American story, ranging from Harlem to Florida, with a tropical island section at the end - beginning Bond's stereotypical association with villainous islands. A superb near fine, clean, bright and tight copy, the lightest of bumping to the spine tips, the contents complete and without foxing. Within Mr Big's organisation, Panek identifies Mr Big's henchmen as "merely incompetent gunsels" whom Bond can eliminate with relative ease. Big’s beautiful and enigmatic Creole fortune teller, and his old friend Felix Leiter of the CIA, 007 must locate the crime lord’s hideout, sabotage his operation, and reclaim the pirate hoard for England. Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming: First Edition 1954, Jonathan Cape, London, In very good condition with a second state dust jacket.

His sentiments about New York are those shared by Fleming himself, and they’re not all that flattering, at one point mentioning the “hooting, teeming, petrol-smelling roots of the stressed-concrete jungle. The more complete character profiles in the novel clearly show the strong relationship between Bond and Leiter, and this provides a strengthened motive for Bond to chase Mr Big in revenge for the shark attack on Leiter.This novel sees Bond on the pursuit of 'Mr Big', a criminal with links to the American crime network, the Soviet secret service, and voodoo. Felix tells him their compartment on the Silver Phantom was bombed soon after they got off in Jacksonville.

This dust jacket is the first edition, second state dust jacket and has benefited from very slight restoration to the tip of the spine by an expert paper conservator and presents as a near fine example. Bond then investigates the warehouse himself and discovers that Mr Big is smuggling gold coins by hiding them in the bottom of fish tanks holding poisonous tropical fish, which he is bringing into the US. As an early Bond novel, its first issue print run was significantly smaller than later books in the series: fewer than 5300 copies, with only a portion of those including the first-state dust jacket as here.By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. This is a great line from Fleming – ‘In front of his eyes, the rain came down in swift, slanting strokes – italic script across the unopened black cover that hid the secret hours that lay head. Dust jacket with some minor chipping to the corners and spine ends, small closed tear on the top edges, light tanning. Big captures him and throws him in with Solitaire, both of them to be keel-hauled over a reef on the boat's way out, so that sharks eat them. Beginning with the movie adaptation of Dr No in 1961, the series also sparked the longest-running film franchise in history.