From Russia with Love

The first section of this book feels so accurate in its depiction of the Smersh (death to spies) training camp that I hardly missed 007 at all, who appears on page 95 in part two of the book. I first came across James Bond when my sister, who was three years my senior, got me to see the 1963 film. I was twelve at the time. I wonder what today’s politically correct regime would have to say about that? My sister was probably underage as well but looked older, so she passed muster.

This book is my favorite of Fleming’s… show more.

Fictional British secret agent James Bond may be well known from a decades-old film series, but he ultimately originated in a series of spy thrillers by Ian Fleming.

Of all 14 Bond books by Fleming, this book is no doubt his best one. The type of scheme that the villains have arranged for Bond is startling, and what is just as shocking is the moment when it is all revealed to the main character.

This book is so good that John F. Kennedy actually listed it as one of his favorite books while he was the President of the United… show more.

If you, like the younger me, are only familiar with James Bond 007 via the long-running film franchise, you might also be fascinated to discover the original source material, even if you don’t entirely enjoy it.

To be blunt, Ian Fleming’s novels are steeped in highly problematic historical British colonialism, not to mention being grossly misogynistic and ridiculously violent at times. But they also include a reasonable amount of actual, real-world tradecraft, and that’s what I twigged to when I started checking out the books.

I absolutely had to pick an Ian Fleming novel because it was Ian Fleming that fired my interest in spies and espionage.

We all find our beginning somewhere and mine was cemented in From Russian With Love. The whole Russian spy thing. The beautiful Tatiana Romanova as bait to trap Bond. Everyone is against Bond as always. It’s fun. They’re great reads, they’re fast reads and “Bond, James Bond.” Still gets me.

My Fleming books are where I head if I’m tired and don’t know what to read.