For Beach Lovers and Spy fans – Visit Jamaica and Read James Bond

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Lovers of sand, sea, and adventure, have a treat by reading Ian Fleming’s novels on Jamaica beach vacations. Dig into James Bond and you discover a spy thriller born from the Jamaican sands. As Matthew Parker, the author of “Goldeneye – Where Bond was Born” documents the influence of the island on the now famous fictional spy.

From 1946-1964 Fleming visited and lived in Jamaica where he loved flora and fauna of Jamaica. When he was not creating one of James Bond’s novels, he filled his shelves with books he read to increase his knowledge about the island birds.

 

 

His other passion was the sea and all its creatures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are you ready to open some James Bond novels before you book a trip to Jamaica?

Your reading may start with:

GOLDENEYE: Where Bond Was Born: Ian Fleming’s Jamaica by Matthew ParkerGoldeneye_

This book explores the enormous influence of Jamaica on the creation of Fleming’s iconic post-war hero. The island was for Fleming part retreat from the world, part tangible representation of his values, and part exotic fantasy. It will examine his Jamaican friendships―his extraordinary circle included Errol Flynn, the Oliviers, international politicians and British royalty, as well as his close neighbor Noel Coward―and trace his changing relationship with Ann Charteris (and hers with Jamaica) and the emergence of Blanche Blackwell as his Jamaican soulmate.

And now here’s Ian Fleming’s novels for your island reading pleasures.

CASINO ROYALE

In the novel that introduced James Bond to the world, Ian Fleming’s agent 007 is dispatched to a French casino in Royale-les-Eaux. His mission? Bankrupt a ruthless Russian agent who’s been on a bad luck streak at the baccarat table.

LIVE AND LET DIE

James Bond is not a superstitious man, but it’s hard not to feel unnerved in the presence of Mr. Big. A ruthless Harlem gangster who uses voodoo to control his criminal empire, he’s also one of SMERSH’s top American operatives. Mr. Big has been smuggling British pirate treasure to New York from a remote Jamaican island—and funneling the proceeds to Moscow.

MOONRAKER

As the super patriot and war veteran who’s bankrolling Britain’s top-secret Moonraker rocket program, Sir Hugo Drax should be above reproach. But there’s more to this enigmatic millionaire than he lets on. When M suspects Drax of cheating at cards in an exclusive gentleman’s club, he sends Bond into investigate. But exposing the deception only enrages Drax—and now 007 must outwit an angry man with the power to loose a nuclear warhead on London.

DIAMOND ARE FOREVERS

An international diamond-smuggling pipeline has opened up and the British Treasury wants to know who’s controlling it. Impersonating a captured courier named Peter Franks, Bond infiltrates the criminal ring and finds an unlikely ally in Tiffany Case, a gorgeous American with a dark past. As the ring’s stateside go-between, she may be just another link in the chain, but Tiffany is also Bond’s best shot at finding the elusive figure at the head of the operation—a syndicate boss known only by the initials “ABC.”

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

James Bond is marked for death by the Soviet counterintelligence agency SMERSH in Ian Fleming’s masterful spy thriller, and the novel that President John F. Kennedy named one of his favorite books of all time

DOCTOR NO

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.

GOLDFINGER

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. T

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY

A departure from the full-length James Bond novels, For Your Eyes Only is a stunning collection of five stories that sends 007 to Bermuda, Berlin, and beyond, and places him in the dangerous company of adversaries of all varieties. Titular

“From a View to a Kill” whisks Bond to the French countryside where he must go undercover to expose a deadly secret-intelligence plot, and in “For Your Eyes Only,” 007 is absorbed into a private vendetta of M’s, blurring the lines between the personal and professional.

THUNDERBALL

Upon M’s insistence, James Bond takes a two-week respite in a secluded natural health spa. But amid the bland teas, tasteless yogurts, and the spine stretcher the guests lovingly call “The Rack,” Bond stumbles onto the trail of a lethal man with ties to a new secret organization called SPECTRE. When SPECTRE hijacks two A-bombs, a frantic global search for the weapons ensues, and M’s hunch that the plane containing the bombs will make a clean drop into the ocean sends Bond to the Bahamas to investigate.

THE SPY WHO LOVED ME

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.

THE MAN WITH GOLDEN GUNS

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.

And remember before your travel…

 

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Judy Kundert

Judy Kundert, a recipient of the Marquis Who’s Who Excellence in Authorship award, loves storytelling, from folk and fairy tales to classics for elementary school children. She authors award-winning middle-grade novels designed to inspire and intrigue children. After she left her career as a United Airlines stewardess, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola University, Chicago and a Master of Arts from DePaul University, Chicago. Most recently, she completed a master’s Certificate in Public Relations and Marketing from the University of Denver. For fun, she likes reading (usually three or four books at a time), watching movies from the oldies to the current films, traveling, biking, and hiking in vast Colorado outdoors with her husband. Learn more at www.judykundert.com.You can find me at the foot of the Colorado Rocky Mountains hiking, biking

1 Comment

  1. Pat on May 9, 2016 at 12:49 pm

    Great post!

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