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Ian Fleming’s
richly fascinating life was not only the backdrop for the adventures
of the world’s most famous spy, but also led him to travel through
many of the world’s most exotic cities. After his wartime work in
the Admiralty, where he drew up memos mapping out the creation of
the CIA, Ian Fleming worked for Kelmsey Newspapers, perfecting the
sharp journalistic style so evident in his much-loved Bond books.
His carefully honed writing skills also led him to create these two
books, both originally published in his lifetime, and now lovingly
reprinted by the company he founded.
Thrilling Cities
is a collection of travel pieces originally written in 1959 and
1960 for The Sunday Times. In it, Fleming turns his
inimitable eye on 14 separate cities. The fleshpots of Macao, Tokyo
and Hamburg feature alongside explorations of the Mafia culture in
Las Vegas and Los Angeles. At every stop he uncovers fresh nuggets
of interest. In Naples, for example, he wangles an introduction to
Lucky Luciano, the notorious Chicago gangster of Capone-era fame.
Written in the days when a De Havilland Comet took 12 hours to fly
from London to Beirut, this is a rich and enjoyable tapestry of the
world as it once was - a must for lovers of travel and great
writing.
As Jan Morris writes, in a masterly introduction: “He travelled in
the spirit of 007, with an eye always for the slinky and the
significant, in places where martinis were shaken not stirred, and
all life could be viewed with a cool raised eyebrow.”
Thrilling Cities gives you a glorious glimpse of the world as
it once was - a must for lovers of travel and great writing.
The Diamond Smugglers is a book that starts with a phone
call. 'One day in April 1957,' Fleming writes, 'I had just answered
a letter from an expert in unarmed combat writing from a cover
address in Mexico City, and I was thanking a fan in Chile, when my
telephone rang...” The voice at the other end asks if he’d like an
assignment. Within weeks he is in Tangier speaking to “John Blaize”,
an ex-MI5 agent now contracted by a diamond firm to break an
international smuggling ring. Fleming picks up the trail in a unique
piece of investigative journalism that combines treasure and travel,
cunning and criminality - the elements that had always attracted the
creator of James Bond.
This new edition is presented with an introduction by Fleming’s
nephew, Fergus Fleming, himself an acclaimed writer of travel and
exploration.
“As richly fascinating as a James Bond thriller” - the original
strapline when the book was published in 1957 still holds true
today.
Kate Grimond, Ian Fleming’s niece and Chairman of Ian Fleming
Publications, comments, ‘It is great to see Thrilling Cities
and The Diamond Smugglers back in print. Fleming’s writing
never fails to provide enjoyment and readers will find much to enjoy
in these two books.’ Corinne Turner, Managing Director of Ian
Fleming Publications Ltd, said ‘We are extremely proud to be able to
continue the literary legacy of Ian Fleming, the creator of the
world’s best-loved spy, with the publication of these non-fiction
books. It is exciting to see Thrilling Cities and The
Diamond Smugglers back in print and under Ian Fleming
Publications’ own imprint as well. These two books are a tribute to
the enduring style and sophistication of Fleming’s writing.’
Thrilling Cities
and The Diamond Smugglers can be purchased through Ian
Fleming Publications Ltd online at
www.ianfleming.com |
