British Secret Service agent James Bond, a.k.a. 007, is sent to France to play in a high-stakes baccarat game in an effort to take down Le Chiffre, a financier for the villainous SMERSH. Things get more complicated when he is partnered with Vesper Lynd, a beautiful and smart MI6 employee with a dark secret. Bond is one of the most iconic characters in 20th-century literature. In addition to the 12 novels and 9 short stories written by Ian Fleming, there have been over 40 novels and short stories written about the spy by other authors, and over 25 blockbuster films starring such actors as Sean Connery and Daniel Craig. Here's the first.

Casino Royale 'Surround yourself with human beings, my dear James. They are easier to fight for than principles' In Casino Royale, the first of Fleming's 007 adventures, a game of cards is James Bond's only chance to bring down the desperate SMERSH agent Le Chiffre. But Bond soon discovers that there is far more at stake than money. Live and Let Die 'You start to die the moment you are born' Live and Let Die, Ian Fleming's second 007 novel, takes Bond from Harlem to Jamaica in a frenzied hunt for the deadly gangster Mr Big and his macabre network of associates.

How is this for an evocative passage from the second Bond novel? "Her hair was black and fell to her shoulders. She had high cheekbones and a sensual mouth, and wore a dress of white silk. Her eyes were blue, alight and disdainful, but, as they gazed into his with a touch of humour, Bond realized that they contained a message. Solitaire watched his eyes on her and nonchalantly drew her forearms together so that the valley between her breasts deepened. The message was unmistakable." The beautiful, fortune-telling Solitaire is the prisoner (and criminal tool) of Mr Big - master of fear, artist in crime, and Voodoo Baron of Death. James Bond has no time for superstition, he knows that this criminal heavy hitter is also a top SMERSH operative and a real threat to international security. More than that, after tracking him through the jazz joints of Harlem to the everglades in Florida, and on to the Caribbean, 007 realizes that Big is one of the most dangerous men that he has ever faced. And no-one, not even the mysterious Solitaire, can be sure how their battle of wills is going to end…

‘For several minutes he stood speechless, his eyes dazzled by the terrible beauty of the greatest weapon on earth’ He’s a self-made millionaire, head of the Moonraker rocket programme and loved by the press. So why is Sir Hugo Drax cheating at cards? Bond has just five days to uncover the sinister truth behind a national hero, in Ian Fleming’s third 007 adventure.

"Listen, Bond," said Tiffany Case. "It’d take more than Crabmeat Ravigotte to get me into bed with a man. In any event, since it’s your check, I’m going to have caviar, and what the English call 'cutlets,' and some pink champagne. I don’t often date a good-looking Englishman and the dinner’s going to live up to the occasion." Meet Tiffany Case, a cold, gorgeous, devil-may-care blonde; the kind of girl you could get into a lot of trouble with—if you wanted. She stands between James Bond and the leaders of a diamond-smuggling ring that stretches from Africa via London to the States. Bond uses her to infiltrate this gang, but once in America the hunter becomes the hunted. Bond is in real danger until help comes from an unlikely quarter, the ice-maiden herself …

Ian Fleming’s fifth James Bond novel. James Bond is marked for death by the Soviet counterintelligence agency SMERSH in Ian Fleming’s masterful spy thriller. It's the novel that President John F. Kennedy named as one of his favourite books of all time. SMERSH stands for ‘Death to Spies’ and there’s no secret agent they’d like to disgrace and destroy more than 007, James Bond. But ensnaring the British Secret Service’s most lethal operative will require a lure so tempting even he can’t resist. Enter Tatiana Romanova, a ravishing Russian spy whose ‘defection’ springs a trap designed with clockwork precision. Her mission: seduce Bond, then flee to the West on the Orient Express. Waiting in the shadows are two of Ian Fleming’s most vividly drawn villains: Red Grant, SMERSH’s deadliest assassin, and the sinister operations chief Rosa Klebb - five feet four inches of pure killing power. Bursting with action and intrigue, "From Russia with Love" is one of the best-loved books in the Bond canon, an instant classic that set the standard for sophisticated literary spycraft for decades to come.

The sixth James Bond thriller from Ian Fleming’s typewriter. Dispatched by M to investigate the mysterious disappearance of MI6’s Jamaica station chief, Bond was expecting a holiday in the sun. But when he discovers a deadly centipede placed in his hotel room, the vacation is over. On this island, all suspicious activity leads inexorably to Dr Julius No, a reclusive megalomaniac with steel pincers for hands. To find out what the good doctor is hiding, 007 must enlist the aid of local fisherman Quarrel and alluring beachcomber Honeychile Rider. Together they will combat a local legend the natives call ‘the Dragon,’ before Bond alone must face the most punishing test of all: an obstacle course-designed by the sadistic Dr No himself-that measures the limits of the human body’s capacity for agony.

Auric Goldfinger is the richest man in England—though his wealth can’t be found in banks. He’s been hoarding vast stockpiles of his namesake metal, and it’s attracted the suspicion of 007’s superiors at MI6. Sent to investigate, Bond uncovers an ingenious gold-smuggling scheme, as well as Goldfinger’s most daring caper yet: Operation Grand Slam, a gold heist so audacious it could bring down the world economy and put the fate of the West in the hands of SMERSH. To stop Goldfinger, Bond will have to survive a showdown with the sinister millionaire’s henchman, Oddjob, a tenacious karate master who can kill with one well-aimed toss of his razor-rimmed bowler hat.

Librarian's note: this entry relates to the collection of short stories under the title of "For Your Eyes Only." The individual stories can be found elsewhere. Now this sounds interesting: "Bond watched her as she reached the edge of the tables and came up the aisle. It was hopeless. She was coming to meet someone—her lover. She was the sort of woman who always belongs to somebody else. What damnable luck! Before Bond could pull himself together, the girl had come up to his table and sat down. ‘I’m sorry I’m late. We’ve got to get moving at once. You’re wanted at the office.’ She added under her breath: ‘Crash dive." Here we find sudden emergencies and beautiful girls who aren’t quite what they seem - the stock-in-trade of James Bond. When 007 is on the case there’s only one thing you can be sure of, that the result will be thrilling. Whether he’s dealing with the assassination of a Cuban thug in America, the destruction of an international heroin ring, or sudden death in the Seychelles, Bond gets the job done. In his own suave and unmistakable style! The stories are: 1. "From a View to a Kill;" 2. "For Your Eyes Only;" 3. "Quantum of Solace;" 4. "Risico;" and 5. "The Hildebrand Rarity."

Marking the centennial of the author's birth, a comprehensive anthology of short fiction chronicling the exploits and adventures of the suave British agent includes the tales that served as the inspiration for such films as Octopussy, The Living Daylights, For Your Eyes Only, and the upcoming Fall 2008 Quantum of Solace. Original.

"The girl looked him up and down. He had dark, rather cruel good looks and very clear, blue-grey eyes. He was wearing a very dark-blue lightweight single-breasted suit over a cream silk shirt and a black knitted silk tie. Despite the heat, he looked cool and clean. 'And who might you be?' she asked sharply. 'My name's Bond, James Bond ...'" When a stranger arrives in the Bahamas, the locals barely turn their heads, seeing another ex-pat with money to burn at the casino tables. But James Bond has more than money on his mind: he's got less than a week to find two stolen atom bombs hidden among the coral reefs. While acting the playboy, Bond meets Domino, sultry plaything of secretive treasure hunter Emilio Largo. In getting close to this gorgeous Italian girl, Bond hopes to learn more about Largo's hidden operation ...

Set apart from the other books in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series, The Spy Who Loved Me is told from the perspective of a femme fatale in the making––a victim of circumstance with a wounded heart. Vivienne Michel, a precocious French Canadian raised in the United Kingdom, seems a foreigner in every land. With only a supercharged Vespa and a handful of American dollars, she travels down winding roads into the pine forests of the Adirondacks. After stopping at the Dreamy Pines Motor Court and being coerced into caretaking at the vacant motel for the night, Viv opens the door to two armed mobsters and realizes being a woman alone is no easy task. But when a third stranger shows—a confident Englishman with a keen sense for sizing things up—the tables are turned. Still reeling in the wake of Operation Thunderball, Bond had planned for his jaunt through the Adirondacks to be a period of rest before his return to Europe. But that all changes when his tire goes flat in front of a certain motel…

Description: A Lancia Spyder with its hood down tore past him, cut in cheekily across his bonnet and pulled away, the sexy boom of its twin exhausts echoing back at him. It was a girl driving, a girl with a shocking pink scarf tied round her hair. And if there was one thing that set James Bond really moving, it was being passed at speed by a pretty girl. When Bond rescues a beautiful, reckless girl from self-destruction, he finds himself with a lead on one of the most dangerous men in the world—Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the head of SPECTRE. In the snow-bound fastness of his Alpine base, Blofeld is conducting research that could threaten the safety of the world. To thwart the evil genius, Bond must get himself and the vital information he has gathered out of the base and keep away from SPECTRE’s agents.—Goodreads.

Ian Fleming’s twelfth James Bond novel. The tragic end to James Bond’s last mission – courtesy of Ernst Stavro Blofeld – has left 007 a broken man and of little use to the British Secret Service. At his wit’s end, M decides that the only way to snap his best agent out of his torpor is to send him on an impossible diplomatic mission to Japan. Bond’s contact there is the formidable Japanese spymaster Tiger Tanaka, who agrees to do business with the West if Bond will assassinate one of his enemies: a mysterious Swiss botanist named Dr. Guntram Shatterhand. Shatterhand is not who he seems, however, and his impregnable fortress – known to the locals as the ‘Castle of Death’ – is a gauntlet of traps no gaijin has ever penetrated. But through rigorous ninja training, and with some help from the beautiful and able Kissy Suzuki, Bond manages to gain access to Shatterhand’s lair. Inside lurks certain doom at the hands of 007’s bitterest foe – or a final chance to exact ultimate vengeance.

Bond may have a license to kill, but “Pistols” Scaramanga has a talent for it. He’s a KGB-trained assassin who’s left a trail of dead British Secret Service agents in his wake. His weapon of choice? A gold-plated Colt .45. In the aftermath of his brainwashing by the Soviets, Bond is given one last chance to win back M’s trust: terminate Scaramanga before he strikes MI6 again. Traveling to Jamaica under an assumed name, Bond manages to infiltrate Scaramanga’s organization and soon discovers that the hit man’s criminal ambitions have expanded to include arson, drug smuggling, and industrial sabotage. Worst of all for Bond, Scaramanga has a golden bullet inscribed with the numbers 007—and he’s eager to put it to use. Under the heat of the Caribbean sun, Bond faces a seemingly impossible task: win a duel against the Man with the Golden Gun.

Librarian's note #1: this entry is for one of the editions that includes the fourth story, "007 in New York." For other editions with only three stories, see: https://www.goodreads.com/work/editio... Librarian's note #2: the description below relates to a collection of short stories. Entries for the individual stories can be found elsewhere. Whether it is tracking down a wayward major who has taken a deadly secret with him to the Caribbean or identifying a top Russian agent secretly bidding for a Fabergé egg in a Sotheby’s auction room, Bond always closes the case—with extreme prejudice. This new Penguin edition comprises four stories, including Fleming’s little-known story “007 in New York,” showcasing Bond’s taste for Manhattan’s special pleasures—from martinis at the Plaza and dinner at the Grand Central Oyster Bar to the perfect anonymity of the Central Park Zoo for a secret rendezvous. The stories are: #1, "Octopussy;" #2, "The Property of a Lady;" #3, "The Living Daylights;" and #4, "007 in New York."

Introducing James Bond: charming, sophisticated, chillingly ruthless and very deadly. The first three Bond stories have the decadence, violence and thrilling pace that mark all the Bond stories.

The James Bond Anthology celebrates the world’s most famous fictional spy, Commander James Bond, also known as 007. From the first book, Casino Royale, to the last, You Only Live Twice, readers will appreciate the genius and remarkable abilities of Bond’s creator, Ian Fleming. In addition to the 12 full-length novels, this collection also includes two books of short stories (For Your Eyes Only and Octopussy and the Living Daylights).1. Casino Royale (1953)2. Live and Let Die (1954)3. Moonraker (1955)\[f\]4. Diamonds Are Forever (1956)5. From Russia, with Love (1957)6. Dr. No (1958)7. Goldfinger (1959)8. Thunderball (1961)9. The Spy Who Loved Me (1962)10. On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963)11. You Only Live Twice (1964)12. The Man with the Golden Gun (1965)13. For Your Eyes Only (1960)14. Octopussy and The Living Daylights (1966)