With all the books published about James Bond movies, and not wanting to purchase dozens of books on the subject, figuring out which book or books to buy can be mind-numbing. Sure, there is that great
Bond on Bond book by Roger Moore, in which he talks about all seven of his entries in the series, in massive detail. Yes, there are film guides and encyclopedias. There are coffee table books reprinting treasures from the production files… so the question comes down to… which book is the one essential worthy of buying to read?
Fear not, this blog post will help you make that decision. While many books about the James Bond movies have something the others do not, the most all-encompassing volume you want is Kiss, Kiss, Bang! Bang! by Alan Barnes and Marcus Hearn. They first wrote the book in 1997 and then an expanded edition was published in 2000. There is a third edition that was published with even more trivia but even the second edition is worthy of getting.
The authors chose to use the word "unofficial" in their subtitled and, yes, the word in quotes sometimes makes people shy away. But having read dozens of books about James Bond, this is the best. Behind-the-scenes stories, secrets, "the how-tos," critical reviews, financial budgets, technician details regarding producing the gimmicks and gadgets, location shots and much more. The third edition covers
Tomorrow Never Dies and
The World is Not Enough.
The photo images in the third edition offers sharper and exclusive publicity photos, and more trivial behind-the-scenes stories. Coming from England, the translation is not 100% perfect (color is spelled colour but that is how the word is spelled in the U.K.) but if you want to get a book for that Bond fan, or a book that will provide you with extensive behind-the-scenes and making of, will not go wrong with this one.
