The story behind $^THE BOND 007^$

James Bond 007 is a fictional character created in 1952 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in 12 novels and two anthologies. The character has also been used in the longest running and 2nd most successful film franchise to date, starting in 1962 with Dr. No. There have been 21 films in the EON Productions series to date, with the 22nd, Quantum of Solace', due for release in November 2008.In addition there have been two independent feature productions (a 1967 spoof version of Casino Royale starring David Niven in the title role, and 1983's Never Say Never Again) and one Fleming-licenced American television adaptation of the first novel, aired in 1954. In 1956, Moonraker was also adapted into a South African radio play starring Bob Holness as Bond. By the year 1990 You Only Live Twice was adapted into a 90 minute radio play for BBC Radio 4 with Michael Jayston playing James Bond

After Fleming's death in 1964, subsequent James Bond novels were written by Kingsley Amis (as Robert Markham), John Pearson, John Gardner and Raymond Benson. In addition Charlie Higson has begun to write a series of books detailing the "Young James Bond". In July 2007, it was announced that Sebastian Faulks has been commissioned to write a Bond novel for publication in 2008. Moreover, Christopher Wood novelised two screenplays, while other writers have authored unofficial versions of the character.

In 2008, BBC Radio 4 was granted the rights for a one-shot broadcast of a radio adaptation of another 007 novel: Dr. No, with Toby Stephens (who portrayed the villain in Die Another Day) as James Bond. The EON Productions films are generally termed as "official" films originating with the purchase of the James Bond film rights by producer Harry Saltzman in the late 1950s.

Away from movies, TV and radio, Bond has also been adapted for many other media, including comic strips and video games.

Creation n inspiration:

Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is an agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) (more commonly, MI6). He was created in January 1952 by British journalist Ian Fleming while on holiday at his Jamaican estate, Goldeneye. The hero, James Bond, was named after an American ornithologist, a Caribbean bird expert and author of the definitive field guide book Birds of the West Indies. Fleming, a keen birdwatcher, had a copy of Bond's field guide at Goldeneye. Of the name, Fleming once said in a Reader's Digest interview, "I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, 'James Bond' was much better than something more interesting, like 'Peregrine Carruthers.' Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure—an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department."

Nevertheless, news sources speculated about real spies or other covert agents after whom James Bond might have been modeled or named. Although they are similar to Bond, Fleming confirmed none as the source figure, nor did Ian Fleming Publications nor any of Fleming's biographers, such as John Pearson or Andrew Lycett.

James Bond's parents are Andrew Bond, a Scotsman, and Monique Delacroix, from Canton de Vaud, Switzerland. Their nationalities were established in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Fleming emphasized Bond's Scottish heritage in admiration of Sean Connery's cinematic portrayal, whereas Bond's mother is named after a Swiss fiancée of Fleming's. A planned, but unwritten, novel would have portrayed Bond's mother as a Scot. Ian Fleming was a member of a prominent Scottish banking family, his fictional biography of secret agent 007, John Pearson gave Bond's birth date as 11 November (Armistice Day) 1920 (The beginning of the film "For Your Eyes Only" gives his wife's birthdate as 1943. This seemingly assumes Bond to be younger than Pearson claimed); however, there is no evidence of it in Fleming's novels. In the novel On Her Majesty's Secret Service, Bond's family motto is found to be "Orbis non sufficit" ("The world is not enough"). The novel also states that the family that used this motto may not necessarily be the same Bond family James Bond came from.

Original 007-Bond Books

Ian Fleming

• 1953 Casino Royale
• 1954 Live and Let Die
• 1955 Moonraker
• 1956 Diamonds Are Forever
• 1957 From Russia with Love
• 1958 Dr. No
• 1959 Goldfinger
• 1960 For Your Eyes Only (short-stories)
• 1961 Thunderball
• 1962 The Spy Who Loved Me
• 1963 On Her Majesty's Secret Service
• 1964 You Only Live Twice
• 1965 The Man with the Golden Gun
• 1966 Octopussy and The Living Daylights

Further info:
james bond official website
ian fleming
bondopedia
mi6
007
bond gadgets