Nobody Does it Better: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of James Bond

by Edward Gross, Mark A. Altman

Overview

The ultimate oral history of the only gentleman secret agent with a license to kill…and thrill…telling the incredible, uncensored true stories of the James Bond franchise and spy mania.

For over five decades, the cinematic adventures of James Bond have thrilled moviegoers. Now, bestselling authors Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross take you behind-the-scenes of the most famous and beloved movie franchise of all-time filled with reflections from over 150 cast, crew, critics and filmmakers who reflect on the impact of this legendary movie franchise as well as share their thoughts about their favorite (and least) favorite 007 adventures and spy mania which gripped fans the world over in the wake of the success of the James Bond films.

From Russia—with love, of course—to Vegas, from below the bright blue waters of the Bahamas in search of a missing nuclear weapon to the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, from below the seas in Stromberg’s new Noah's Ark of Atlantis into orbit with Hugo Drax, Nobody Does It Better: The Complete Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of James Bond tells the amazing, true story of the birth of James Bond through the latest remarkable James Bond adventures as well as the Spy mania classics that enthralled the world.

It’s Bond and Beyond from the critically acclaimed authors of the bestselling The Fifty-Year Mission and So Say We All.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250300973
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	10/06/2020
Pages:	720
Sales rank:	682,321
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.20(h) x 2.00(d)

About the Author

MARK A. ALTMAN is a film and television writer/producer who is currently the showrunner of CW's hit sci-fi series, Pandora. He previously co-authored the bestselling oral history of Star Trek, The Fifty-Year Mission and So Say We All with Edward Gross.

EDWARD GROSS is an author and entertainment journalist, currently serving as Film/TV Editor at Closerweekly.com and Senior Editor of Geek magazine. He's also the co-author of The Fifty-Year Mission, the definitive oral history of Star Trek, as well as oral histories on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Slayers & Vampires) and Battlestar Galactica (So Say We All).

Editorial Reviews

Fans of Ian Fleming's 007 novels and the James Bond movie franchise could not ask for a more exhaustive or sublimely entertaining book on their favorite spy than Nobody Does It Better. ”—Shelf Awareness



Praise For Altman & Gross’s Previous Oral Histories

“The authors have done an exhaustive, masterful job of collecting interviews and editing memories, opinions and reflections of hundreds of creative artists, business executives, critics and even the occasional social scientist. What emerges is an intriguing look inside the sausage-making process that is television and film production.” – The Wall Street Journal on The Fifty Year Mission

"Slayers & Vampires is a new primary text to pour over, with plenty of behind-the-scenes tidbits about who hated whom and how TV shows are made."— The New York Times Book Review on Slayers & Vampires

"Breathtaking in scope and depth, this is a must-read for Star Trek lovers as well as anyone who wants a better understanding of how television and film production works" – Booklist on The Fifty Year Mission

"A tantalizing Star Trek tell-all… perhaps the most comprehensive compendium of Star Trek knowledge you'll ever find" – Emmy Magazine on The Fifty Year Mission

“If you’re just dying for juicy secrets about the famous franchise, then your search is over. We just know you’re going to love this book; resistance is futile” – Bookish on The Fifty Year Mission

“The Fifty-Year Mission is a ‘Ken Burns’s The Civil War, Ezra Edelman’s O.J.: Made In America-class achievement.” – Chris Smith, Dorking Out podcast on The Fifty Year Mission

"An absolute must for any Star Trek fan" — Kirkus Reviews on The Fifty Year Mission

“Mark and Ed tell the fascinating story of that rare Hollywood product that actually means something to mankind” — Seth MacFarlane on The Fifty Year Mission

From the Publisher

01/24/2020

Following comprehensive oral histories of Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Angel, pop culture mavens Gross and Altman geek out over the James Bond franchise. They rely on the same winning formula as in previous books: a chronologically arranged volume of groaning heft, with seemingly endless stories, gossip, and revelatory bon mots from actors, directors, writers, and fans. Providing necessary context, the authors ably connect these disparate voices. Altman writes that he and Gross set out not only to discuss the production of these movies but also to explain why we've enjoyed a 50-plus-year cultural infatuation with the films. A vast chorus of voices wax both poetic and raunchy about the alternately suave and stone-cold spy, his sexual prowess, the Bond girls, the megalomaniac villains, the gadgets, and, oh yes, that obligatory license to kill. John Landis, Robert Rodriguez, and other directors provide insight into the influence of Bond on their own work. VERDICT The title says it best—nobody does it better. Lovers of Agent 007 will devour this one; hopefully, future oral histories from this team are in the works.—Barry X. Miller, Austin P.L., TX

Library Journal

2019-11-10
An oral history of six decades' worth of entries in the James Bond film franchise.

For some fans, James Bond is Sean Connery, who turns up here at the last moment to mutter, "Of course the films will go on, but who'll play me, I just don't know and can't guess." Others are perfectly happy with the work of Daniel Craig, who lacks Connery's twinkle but has nicely captured the character's essential amorality: He's perfectly capable of mayhem and extreme violence without pausing for a breath (and doesn't really need to, the Bond of today having lightened up on the cigarettes and booze of his 1960s iteration). Besides, he looks good in a tux. Altman, the co-author, with Gross, of like-minded oral histories of Star Trek, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Battlestar Galactica, talks to figures before and behind the camera to chronicle the changing face of Bond and the Bond films—including the "Bond girls," some lethal and some merely eye candy. The compilers don't always hit the mark: It does little perceptible good to know that Robert Rodriguez was introduced to Bond through The Spy Who Loved Me or to repeat the well-worn truism that Ian Fleming named his spy after the author of a book about Caribbean birds. But there's plenty of meat on the bones, too, such as the authors' exploration of the pioneering work of Bond's early producers in product placements, with Dr. No sporting more than 20 of them as "a result of James Bond and Sean Connery being fairly unknown entities" at the time. Pierce Brosnan, George Lazenby, and Timothy Dalton weren't much better known. However, along with Roger Moore and Craig, all, note the authors in a rare criticism, have done their part to play Bond as Fleming wrote him, "a sexist, misogynist dinosaur who is always ready to do what's right for England and the world."

Die-hard Bond fans will delight in this compendium.

Kirkus Reviews