The Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis paperback now available

The paperback edition of The Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis by Kingsley Amis has been released this month in the UK.

Kingsley Amis

Originally published in hardback in early 2008, The Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis focuses on his interpretation of the art and practice of imbibing.

Amis is best known by James Bond fans for his one and only continuation novel in the literary 007 canon, 1968’s Colonel Sun. In addition, Amis also wrote 1965’s The James Bond Dossier, which was a critical analysis of the Ian Fleming Bond novels and The Book Of Bond Or, Every Man His Own 007, published under the pseudonym ‘Lt Col. William (‘Bill’) Tanner’.

The official blurb follows:

Kingsley Amis was one of the great masters of comic prose, and no subject was dearer to him than the art and practice of imbibing. This new volume brings together the best of his three out-of-print works on the subject: Kingsley Amis in Drink, Everyday Drinking and How’s Your Glass? In one handsome package, the book covers a full shelf of the master’s riotous and erudite thoughts on the drinking arts: Along with a series of well-tested recipes (including a cocktail called the Lucky Jim) are Amis’s musings on The Hangover, The Boozing Man’s Diet, The Mean Sod’s Guide, and (presumably as a matter of speculation) How Not to Get Drunk – all leavened with fun quizzes on the making and drinking of alcohol all over the world. Mixing practical know-how and hilarious opinionation, this is a delightful cocktail of wry humour and distilled knowledge, served by one of our great gimlet wits.

The Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis is published by Bloomsbury and retails for £7.99 / $10.00. A US release is scheduled to take place on 27 April 2010. Order online:

• Order The Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis from Amazon.co.uk
• Order The Everyday Drinking: The Distilled Kingsley Amis from Amazon.com

For up-to-the-minute literary James Bond coverage, always turn your browsers to the CommanderBond.net main page. Be sure to check out our new Twitter feed as well.

Conversations with Kingsley Amis due out in December

A new book focusing on British author Kingsley Amis will be arriving early next month.

Although he’s known around the world for his many novels, poetry collections and short stories and has been called ‘the finest British comic novelist of the second half of the twentieth century’, James Bond fans best know Amis as the man behind the first 007 continuation novel, 1968’s Colonel Sun.

Conversations with Kinglsley Amis, edited by Thomas DePietro, is set to be published in paperback by the University Press of Mississippi on 1 December 2009 in the US. A release in the UK is scheduled to follow on 1 January 2010.

Kingsley Amis

“If you can’t annoy somebody, there’s little point in writing” – Kingsley Amis

Soon after Kingsley Amis (1922-1995) published his first novel, Lucky Jim, in 1954, he became an object of literary and journalistic scrutiny. This attention would continue until his last days, four decades and forty books later. Conversations with Kingsley Amis includes both the first and last interviews Amis gave. Celebrated by reviewers and critics for his wit and irreverence, Amis rose to the occasion whenever interviewed. His clever and common-sense views covered everything from the state of the novel and current intellectual trends to the circumstances of his domestic life.

Not many writers can hold the interest of inquisitors from both Penthouse and the Economist as Amis does. Not many writers, for that matter, articulate views worth recording on sexual relations, about which Amis is something of a failed expert, and on the modern university, about which he could claim a greater authority. English periodicals of all varieties sought out Amis for his opinions on culture, both high and low. Along the way, Amis also entertained literary interrogators from the Paris Review and other journals, including talks with a number of distinguished men of letters such as Clive James, Michael Barber, and John Mortimer.

Conversations with Kinglsley Amis will retail for $22.00 / £21.00. Order online:

• Order Conversations with Kinglsley Amis from Amazon.co.uk
• Order Conversations with Kinglsley Amis from Amazon.com

For up-to-the-minute literary James Bond coverage, always turn your browsers to the CommanderBond.net main page. Be sure to check out our new Twitter feed as well.

Sebastian Faulks to present The Secret Life Of The Novel

Sebastian Faulks

In 2010 the BBC will be celebrating the power of the British novel with a major four-part documentary series presented by best selling novelist and James Bond centenary author Sebastian Faulks (The Girl At The L’ion Dor, Birdsong, Devil May Care).

The Secret Life Of The Novel will look at the history of the novel through its characters—each episode focusing on a different archetype and looking at how they have developed over the centuries: The Hero, The Lover, The Snob, The Villain.

Journeying around the country, with the occasional foray abroad, Sebastian will use his unique personal knowledge of characterisation to get under the skin of some familiar and not-so-familiar characters of British literature.

From Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe to Martin Amis’s John Self; Jane Austen’s Emma to Monica Ali’s Chanu; Sebastian will put them all on the psychiatrist’s couch.

Mark Bell, Arts Commissioning Editor, commented: “Sebastian is an insider, a novelist with a real understanding of the craft. Booking him to front a four-part series on BBC Two about how characterisation works is really exciting. It demonstrates the type of bold arts programming the BBC is committed to delivering.”

The Secret Life Of The Novel is a four x 60-minute series produced by BBC Vision.

Executive producer is Basil Comely and the commissioning editor is Mark Bell.

The series is expected to transmit in Spring 2010 and will start shooting this Autumn.

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for the most up-to-date literary 007 coverage on the web.

Sale of Ian Fleming's Live and Let Die causes stir

A James Bond first edition by Ian Fleming has raised more than £3,000 at Edinburgh charity shop Oxfam.

Ian Fleming

The Edinburgh News reports that a donated copy of Live and Let Die, Fleming’s second 007 novel, was sold for almost £3,500.

The Bond title originally estimated to be worth around £800 but sold for more than four times that amount at Bonhams Auction House in Oxford, at the end of September.

The book turned up by surprise in a charity bin bag in September.

Oxfam Morningside bookshop manager Andy Crosby said: ‘Everyone at the shop was eager to see how much the book would be auctioned for. I didn’t think that it would raise so much money and I am thrilled that it did.’

‘It is not every day you manage to raise such an amount from the sale of one book, and the money will help to make a real difference to Oxfam’s programmes.’

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for the most up-to-date literary James Bond coverage on the web.

Titan's Ian Fleming James Bond Omnibus set for 1 December release in US

007 fans in the US need only wait a few more weeks for the latest James Bond newspaper strip collection from Titan Books.

Following up a September release in the UK, the The James Bond Omnibus (Vol. 1) will arrive in the US on 1 December.

Limited to original Ian Fleming material, this volume will showcase the work of writers Henry Gammidge, Anthony Hern and Peter O’Donnell and artist John McLusky.

The full blurb follows:

Titan’s James Bond: Omnibus Volume 1: The Graphic Novel Collection

The daring James Bond is back in a definitive bumper edition collecting Ian Fleming’s earliest literary adventures in comic strip form! For the first time, eleven of Bond’s most thrilling and dangerous missions appear in a single volume: “Casino Royale”, “Live and Let Die”, “Moonraker”, “Diamonds are Forever”, “From Russia With Love”, “Dr. No”, “Goldfinger”, “Risico”, “From a View to a Kill”, “For Your Eyes Only” and “Thunderball”!

With an exclusive introduction by Sir Roger Moore, this huge volume features beautiful women, thrilling action, incredible gadgets and the odd Vodka Martini, shaken not stirred…this ultimate collection of Bond’s best is not to be missed.

Printed as a flexi-bound paperback, The James Bond Omnibus (Vol. 1) can currently be ordered online at a discounted price. Order links follow at the end of this article.

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for the most up-to-date illustrated James Bond coverage on the web.

The History of 30 Assault Unit: Ian Fleming's Red Indians US edition due January 2010

James Bond fans in the United States can now pre-order Craig Cabell’s new book, The History of 30 Assault Unit: Ian Fleming’s Red Indians.

The History of 30 Assault Unit: Ian Fleming’s Red Indians

This title was released in the UK in mid-October and is now scheduled to arrive stateside in January 2010.

As earlier reported by CommanderBond.net, this latest book by Cabell takes an indepth look at James Bond creator Ian Fleming and his role with the 30AU (30 Assault Unit)—a unit he set up during World War II in 1942.

The book follows the release of last year’s Ian Fleming’s Secret War (also by Cabell), which focused on the activities of Fleming and his role with the 30AU—a unit he set up during World War II in 1942, while he served as the personal assistant to the director of naval intelligence. It’s goal was to undertake top secret intelligence-gathering missions, going in before Allied troops to make sure vital information was not destroyed.

Cabell has said that the unit ultimately served as inspiration for the creation of the 007 character.

The History of 30 Assault Unit: Ian Fleming’s Red Indians is published in hardback by Pen & Sword Military. Retailing for £19.99 / $39.95, it can currently be ordered online at a discounted price:

• Order The History of 30 Assault Unit: Ian Fleming’s Red Indians from Amazon.co.uk
• Order The History of 30 Assault Unit: Ian Fleming’s Red Indians from Amazon.com

For up-to-the-minute literary James Bond coverage, always turn your browsers to the CommanderBond.net main page. Be sure to check out our Twitter feed as well.

Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories wins award

Back in August of this year, CommanderBond.net reported that the 2008 hardback release of Ian Fleming’s Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories had been nominated in the Best Jacket/Cover Design category at the 2009 British Book Design and Production Awards.

Ian Fleming

We can now report that this 007 omnibus has taken home the top prize in it’s category following the announcement of the winners at London’s Royal Lancaster Hotel on 29 October.

BPIF Chief Executive, Michael Johnson was quoted as saying: ‘We saw an exceptional high standard of entrants this year and our judging panel did not have an easy job deciding the winners. Last night was a fantastic celebration of the outstanding creativity and quality found in British book design and production. The BPIF would like to congratulate the winners and all those who have put time and effort into creating such excellent examples of book design and production.’

Released in October 2008 to tie in with Daniel Craig’s Bond film of the same name, Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories brought together all nine of Fleming’s short stories that previously made up the For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy and The Living Daylights collections.

• Order the UK hardback edition of Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories from Amazon.co.uk

The book was designed by Angus Hyland and Fabian Herrmann of Pentagram; its cloth-covered boards feature a silver embossed image of 007’s weapon of choice, the Walther PPK. The book is encased in a manilla cardboard wraparound, featuring the details of Bond’s missions within.

Quantum of Solace competed against the following titles in the Best Jacket / Cover Design category:

• Vintage Fashion (Carlton Books)
• The Beer Book (Dorling Kindersley Publishing)
• Gasoline (Merrell Publishers)
• Oilopoly (Oneworld Publications)
• The Snow Tourist (Portobello Books)
• I Play the Drums in a Band Called Okay (Penguin Books)
• Quantum of Solace (Penguin Books)

To view the complete list of winners in all categories, visit the British Book Design and Production Awards website.

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page and our Twitter feed for the most up-to-date literary James Bond coverage on the web.

International edition of Charlie Higson's Young Bond Dossier listed on Amazon

Back in June of this year, it was reported that an international paperback edition of Charlie Higson’s Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier would be released alongside the regular UK hardback edition in October.

Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier

As literary 007 collectors are no doubt aware, international/open market paperback editions of James Bond novels can be quite difficult to come by for collectors as they mark the first true appearance of the book in a paperback format and are often printed in extremely limited quantities.

For collectors looking to pick up a copy, this title is now listed on Amazon.co.uk, available to purchase from several marketplace sellers:

• Order the international paperback edition of Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier from Amazon.co.uk
• Order the UK hardback edition of Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier from Amazon.co.uk

International paperback editions were previously issued for Higson’s By Royal Command, Hurricane Gold and SilverFin—all of them appearing almost identical in appearance to the UK hardback original.

Touted as the complete and definitive guide to Higson’s Young Bond, the aptly-titled Danger Society: The Young Bond Dossier includes in-depth character profiles, information on the cars, weapons and exotic locations, plus photographs, maps, and illustrations by artist Kev Walker.

As an added bonus, the book also features a brand new Young Bond story by Higson entitled A Hard Man to Kill. For more details on that story, click here.

Be sure to keep checking the CommanderBond.net main page and our Discussion Forums for all the latest Young Bond-related news.

Discuss this Young Bond news in this thread on the CBn Forums, the largest James Bond 007 forum in the world.

SilverFin – Literary 007 Coverage

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The Charlie Higson CBn Interview

The Charlie Higson CBn Interview II

CBn Reviews Young Bond #1: SilverFin

CBn Reviews Young Bond #2: Blood Fever

CBn Reviews Young Bond #3: Double Or Die

CBn Reviews Young Bond #4: Hurricane Gold

CBn Reviews SilverFin: The Graphic Novel

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Fergus Fleming talks James Bond and beyond

When Falls The Coliseum has scored an interview with Fergus Fleming, Director of Ian Fleming Publications, co-publisher of Queen Anne Press and last, but not least, nephew of 007 creator Ian Fleming.

Ian Fleming

Discussing last year’s endless celebration to mark the centenary of his uncle, Fleming commented on the huge success of the many different events. He states: ‘Yes, the Centenary Year was excellent, its highlights many and varied. The Ian Fleming Gala evening was outstanding. My personal favorite was the launch of Sebastian Faulkes’ Devil May Care.’

‘Ian would definitely have been pleased with the Imperial War Museum exhibition,’ he continued. ‘He was brought up in the shadow of WWI, served in WWII and created a fictional spy for the Cold War. He never forgot that his father and brother had died defending their country. The Imperial War Museum was therefore a perfect place to celebrate his life and works.’

As James Bond collectors will no doubt recall, last October saw the release of the Queen Anne Press collection of Ian Fleming’s books. This specially bound and extremely limited edition set was made available in fine, vellum and cloth bindings, with the price tag ranging from £2,000 to &pound18,000. Featured were all of Fleming’s Bond adventures, his popular children’s tale Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the non-fiction Thrilling Cities and The Diamond Smugglers and Talk of the Devil, a brand new book containing rarely seen and previously unpublished material.

Ian Fleming’s Talk of the Devil

When asked if he could divulge some further details on the elusive Talk of the Devil, Fleming replied: ‘The contents are mainly journalistic but they also include two short stories. One of them, A Poor Man Escapes, is Ian’s earliest known attempt at fiction. The other, The Shameful Dream, was written in 1951 and has as its hero a journalist named Bone – a year and a letter-change later the hero would be Bond. For fuller details, see our web site, www.queenannepress.com. The book is restricted currently to the Centenary Edition but it will be available as a single volume sometime in the future. Visit this CommanderBond.net article for even more details.

Fergus Fleming also went on to comment on the recent reissuing of Fleming’s two non-fiction works, Thrilling Cities and The Diamond Smugglers, which were published by IFP earlier this year as limited edition hardbacks (only 300 copies each). They can currently be ordered from the IanFleming.com online store.

He says: ‘They are pieces of extended journalism that were first published by the Sunday Times in the late 1950s. of the two, Thrilling Cities is probably the most entertaining but The Diamond Smugglers was something of a hit at the time – remarkably, it was the first of Ian’s books to be optioned (by Rank). They have been reissued by IFP not only to mark the centenary but because they are good books in their own right which have been overshadowed by the more glamorous Bond novels.’

Ian Fleming’s Thrilling Cities

And while ‘all options are open’ for the future of the literary James Bond, Fleming unfortunately would not give any hints as to which direction they are heading towards next. When asked whether or not a new author had been chosen, he simply responded: ‘No comment on the next Bond author.’

Be sure to head over to When Falls The Coliseum for the complete interview with Fergus Fleming.

For up-to-the-minute literary James Bond coverage, always turn your browsers to the CommanderBond.net main page. Be sure to check out our new Twitter feed as well.

Cover artwork for Titan's Nightbird James Bond collection

Preliminary cover artwork has been revealed online for the upcoming latest James Bond newspaper strip collection from Titan Books, Nightbird.

As CommanderBond.net readers will recall, we exclusively revealed earlier this year that this comic strip collection would be out in 2010 after the title was pushed back from its original 2007 release.

The Nightbird collection brings together Hot-Shot and Ape of Diamonds in addition to the title story and following publication, will mark the complete publication of all 52 James Bond comic strips listed in the Titan checklist.

Titan’s Nightbird has a release date of 26 March 2010. The collection will retail for £12.99 / $19.95. Please note that the cover artwork may change as the publication date draws closer.

Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com order links follow below.

Keep watching the CommanderBond.net main page—and our brand new Twitter feed—for the most up-to-date illustrated James Bond coverage on the web.