Some Kind Of Hero by Matthew Field & Ajay Chowdhury (Kindle)

By: FSWL team

Published:
2016-03-08

Some Kind of Hero Remarkable James Bond Story

The 704-page Kindle edition of Some Kind of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond films from The History Press, a new book on the James Bond films written by FSWL readers Matthew Field & Ajay Chowdhury with a Foreword by George Lazenby.

>Read the Foreword by George Lazenby (exclusively published on FSWL)

>UK hardcover version of Some Kind of Hero
>US hardcover version of Some Kind of Hero

FSWL founder Anders Frejdh comments:

"Delighted to recommend this book on the James Bond films which, in my opinion, is the only 007 tome you need to read in 2015 about the worldwide cinematic phenomenon."

And continues: "Pleased to see another Bond related book from The History Press who previously published four favourite books of mine; The Shepperton Story (2009), Shooting 007: And Other Celluloid Adventures (2014), The World According to Blofeld’s Cat: Unofficial Musings from the Volcano Lair (2015) and Stars and Wars: The Film Memoirs and Photographs of Alan Tomkins (2015)."

A selection of the content:
• CHAPTER 1: SHOWBIZ IS A GHASTLY BIZ
'What I want is not a publisher, but a "factory" that will shift this opus of mine like "Gone With The Naked And The Dead"...' – Ian Fleming

• CHAPTER 2: A SUBLIME HUSTLER
"[Ian Fleming] and my father shared some similar experiences. Even though they couldn't publicize it, I really think that Ian felt the series was safe in my father's hands." – Hilary Saltzman, daughter of Harry Saltzman

• CHAPTER 3: OPTIMISM AND APPREHENSION
'[Harry Saltzman said] "What do we do now?" So Broccoli said, "What are you talking about? We have a handshake deal with Arthur Krim." In those days, [United Artists] were known for keeping our word, we had a very good reputation, our word was our bond - not James Bond (laughs).'
– Eric Pleskow, United Artists executive

• CHAPTER 4: THERE THEY GO - Dr. No
“When I first met Fleming there was certainly no dissention between us on how to see Bond. I saw him as a complete sensualist – senses highly tuned, awake to everything, quite amoral. I particularly like him because he thrives on conflict.” – Sean Connery

• CHAPTER 5: I MUST RETURN - From Russia with Love
"[The offices at South Audley Street were] a rabbit warren of small rooms served by a dark staircase - no elevator - on which one met all manner of film people. [I dealt mainly with Saltzman on the picture] I saw Cubby from time to time but our conversations were just friendly day to day comments. I never discussed films with him. His quiet voice and shy manner made it difficult to believe that he had been an agent in Hollywood.” – Len Deighton

• CHAPTER 6: THE MIDAS TOUCH - Goldfinger (1964)
"[On the first day of shooting] Harry comes on and he’s not technically minded. He’s got a bottle of champagne and he says ‘This is to wish you all tremendous good fortune with this picture.’ And he smashes the bottle of champagne on the camera. He can’t understand why no one claps - we were all stunned. There is broken glass everywhere.” – Guy Hamilton

• CHAPTER 7: WINNER WHO TAKES ALL - Thunderball (1965)
"[Harry Saltzman rejected me] 'We don’t have the same one twice, they’re all Kleenex, throw ’em out.’ [My friend Terence Young said] 'Don’t be ridiculous, she’s a Jamaican' and he actually fought for me. There I was the original Island girl. The only problem was I had not seen the sun in years – I was grey. And I was thin. When we got to Nassau, I was told to lie in the sun and eat." – Martine Beswick

• CHAPTER 8: PITY IF IT GRIEVES 'EM - BONDMANIA
"We used to have meetings with Cubby up in his [South Audley Street] office and Irving Allen [who stayed there after Warwick Films was over] was always earwigging. When he did those Matt Helm pictures some of the stuff we discussed was then filmed [by Allen]."
– Peter Lamont

• CHAPTER 9: DON'T THINK OF THE DANGER - You Only Live Twice
"[I had not received my work permit three days before the World Cup Final in 1966] between England and Germany. Saltzman said, 'If we don’t get the working permit in the next day we have to pay you out and pick another actress.' [I watched the match on on a portable television leant to me by Sean Connery, who joked] ‘If the Germans win, Karin will never get the working permit!’"
– Karin Dor

• CHAPTER 10 - NOTHING MORE, NOTHING LESS - On Her Majesty's Secret Service
"[Saltzman said] 'Get him out of here. He’s a "clothes peg." We’ll be the laughing stock of the industry if we hire a male model.' [I did tests in secret at Woodlands] Harry’s house out near Pinewood. Acres and acres. Beautiful old mansion. Everyone thought I was the stand-in James Bond for the other actors. I didn’t even have a dressing room. Peter Hunt had me out there testing for all the actors playing other roles.” – George Lazenby

• CHAPTER 11: ALL I NEED TO PLEASE ME - Diamonds Are Forever
"I put a lot of myself into [Tiffany Case]. I loved the name. I did think she was intelligent and I have that conceit. And I did think she could get herself out of most situations, which I have done. But she was outside the norm – she was a diamond smuggler, she was a crook, she was many, many things. And I feel like I’ve had several lives. I really identified with Tiffany Case." – Jill St. John

• CHAPTER 12: GIVE THE OTHER FELLA HELL - Live and Let Die
"[Harry] Saltzman was like Martin Luther King. I said ‘Harry wouldn’t it be great if we had black stuntmen?’ So for the first time in history, he hired black stunt co-ordinators on the movie. He was so happy to do it. Saltzman says to me ‘Who else would do a thing like this. Yaphet?’ I said ‘Harry, you are the greatest.’" – Yaphet Kotto

• CHAPTER 13: JUST BEFORE THE KILL - The Man with the Golden Gun
"I’d seen Ursula Andress in Dr. No and I’d thought that was the most incredible looking person I’d ever seen. I thought that’s what I want to do. [I read the novel The Man With The Golden Gun and dressed as Mary Goodnight, a secretary in the book.] Cubby Broccoli said, 'Well, you know, we only really use the title of the stories on Bonds and we build our stories around the title of the books.' As I was leaving he introduced me to Roger Moore. I left to start a movie in Colorado for six weeks. On the plane back to London I read that a Swedish girl, Maud Adams, was the new Bond girl. I was shattered. I couldn’t believe it." – Britt Ekland

• CHAPTER 14: 'TWO SCORPIONS A BOTTLE'
• CHAPTER 15: SOME KIND OF MAGIC - The Spy Who Loved Me
• CHAPTER 16: THAT MOONLIGHT TRAIL - Moonraker
• CHAPTER 17: READ BETWEEN THE LINES - For Your Eyes Only
• CHAPTER 18: TWO OF A KIND - Octopussy
• CHAPTER 19: NO MATTER YOUR ATTITUDE - Never Say Never Again
• CHAPTER 20: PHOENIX FOR THE FLAME - A View to a Kill
• CHAPTER 21: DOWN TO THE WIRE - The Living Daylights
• CHAPTER 22: IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE - Licence to Kill
• CHAPTER 23: CHANGE MY MIND FOREVER - PASSING THE BOND BATON
• CHAPTER 24: FROM THE SHADOWS AS A CHILD - GoldenEye
• CHAPTER 25: NOT THE ONLY SPY OUT THERE - Tomorrow Never Dies
• CHAPTER 26: KNOW HOW TO SURVIVE - The World Is Not Enough
• CHAPTER 27: BREAK THE CYCLE - Die Another Day
• CHAPTER 28: THROUGH HARDER MEN - Casino Royale
• CHAPTER 29: SLICK TRIGGER FINGER - Quantum of Solace
• CHAPTER 30: STAND TALL TOGETHER - Skyfall
• CHAPTER 31: WHERE IT STARTS - SPECTRE

Reviews:
>Mark O'Connell (22-10-2015)
>MI6-HQ.com (13-12-2015)
>Free Kittens Movie Guide (2-1-2016)
>James Bond Radio (15-1-2016)
>The James Bond Dossier (27-1-2016)
>James Bond Memes (19-2-2016)
>Starburst Magazine

Photo above:
The cover for Some Kind Of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond films. Design by Mark Witherspoon. © 2015 The History Press. All rights reserved.

Order Some Kind Of Hero: The Remarkable Story of the James Bond films on Kindle from Amazon.

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Some Kind Of Hero by Matthew Field & Ajay Chowdhury (Kindle)

"Delighted to recommend this book on the James Bond films which, in my opinion, is the only 007 tome you need to read in 2015 about the worldwide cinematic phenomenon."

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