The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book is a never-before compiled compendium of lists, facts, anecdotes, trivia, commentary, and much, much more, about the most successful franchise in movie history. Filled with minutiae culled from the far-reaches of the planet, The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book is your one-stop shop for all things Bond, including a detailed, encyclopedic listing of every Bond movie ever made, replete with the actors, the guns, the gadgets, the girls, the cars, and everything in-between. A must for even the casual Bond fan.
An Excellent Mix of Opinions and Facts About Bond I've read a number of books about Bond, but this may be my favorite. I love reading fans' opinions on the series and this is a very opinionated and articulate fan. I may not agree with all her views like her odd love for Diamonds Are Forever, but they sure are fun to read about. And the book contains some enjoyable facts and trivia (though this should not be seen as the ultimate reference guide to the Bond films) about the movies as well.
Coffee Table Book without the Coffee While this isn't exactly a coffee table book, you'll need a cup to get through it. Critical opinions are not necessary -- viewers form their own. However, the photos are great and the trivia is fascinating. I have about two dozen books on Bond and this sits at the top of the shelf in between THE TWILIGHT ZONE: UNLOCKING THE DOOR TO A TELEVISION CLASSIC and CHRISTOPHER LEE: TALL, DARK AND GRUESOME. Looking for an enjoyable read? You bet. Looking for a definitive guide? Close enough.
Ultimate? Naww I'm a huge Bond fan. After reading this book, I found nothing that I was looking for. All that is in the book is charts and rankings. There is not even a fact page...like...Best selling book film or what not. I think they should take off the "Ultimate" in "Ultimate James Bond Fan Book" and just put "Just another James Bond Fan Book."
A different take on familiar material Unlike other books about the Bond films, this one does not just review what the movies are about, but compares, contrasts, and critiques them over the last 40+ years. Perhaps a better title would have been "The Ultimate James Bond MOVIE Fan Book." There is minimal discussion of the literary 007 here. I enjoyed the ranking system, although some of the time I don't agree with the author's opinions, which Lipp admits may occur straightaway. Nonetheless, it's entertaining reading taking the movies from a different perspective. My only significant complaint is the complete lack of photographs, but these can be found elsewhere. For example, if you can't remember Stromberg (Curt Jergens) from The Spy Who Loved Me, you aren't going to see a picture of him in this tome. With the recent release of the Ultimate Editions on DVD, this is a timely and handy companion.
For what it is supposed to be it is very good. The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book is interesting, though not "ultimate" for people who have been reading books about Bond for years. I have a collection of books on both the James Bond films and the novels and this has perhaps prejudiced my view. If you love a repeat of plots, an analysis and critique of all the Bond characters in film and enjoy statistics this may be the book for you. There is certainly an ample supply of lists and enough ratings to fill a graduate textbook on statistics. Having experienced the latter I feel I can say that.
Where the book suffers, and author Deborah Lipp is very upfront on this, is the personal opinions. She is very honest about this and actually has two ratings for every aspect of each film. Ms. Lipp relies heavily upon fan websites and suveys that either she or others have made. Then she expresses her own feelings, sometimes in agreement and sometimes the opposite. She is very candid that Bond fans, like Trekkies and Sherlockians (I am in all three categories) will disagree on a number of points. My biggest problem is that once she gets into a film she goes off into lists and ratings of which there are many. I would have preferred the listings to have been at the latter part of the book. At times there is no apparent reason why a list will pop up at the end of a particular film being described.
I will also confess that I did not take the author's suggestion to refer to certain sections as I felt moved rather than reading it straight from cover to cover. By the end I felt very bogged down and wished that I had only read it in parts, with an interlude between. There are many excellent books of analysis out there on the Bond films, encyclopedias in some cases, many with great pictures from the films. I would suggest the reader of this review check out the listing on Amazon. If you enjoy this book you will likely find others that you will like even better. I have had to do this for years as I have used the Bond films in the classroom and written articles about some of them.
I don't regret that I bought this. I have had the good fortune as a teacher to have met a number of the main stars Ms. Lipp has named, three of which have become close personal friends of my wife and myself and who I will be asking to autograph this book as they have others in my collection.
I do appreciate the very strong feelings the author has about various Bond films, we all do. I did not rate this book on whether I agreed with the author on every film, but on its usefulness to a long time fan.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Trevor
