The Bookworm's Book Club Presents: Bondage!



Don't get too excited, boys and girls, it's not THAT kind of Bondage...

The Man with the Golden Touch: How the Bond Films Conquered the World  (The Overlook Press, 2010, $25.95)

    I don't buy a lot of hardcover books these days, but this one caught my eye when I picked it up in my corporate hell bookstore chain store that's Big & Nice. Author Sinclair McKay is a British newspaperman who is coincidentally my age and who has been watching the Bond films since he was a kid in the 1970's. His book takes on all of the Bond films, starting with 1962's Dr. No, and proceeding right through to 2008's Quantum of Solace. Interestingly, hints and foreshadows in the previous chapters were apparently written before QoS was released as he talks about it being in production and makes some guesses and assumptions about it, but I guess the writing of the book took him a while because right after the chapter on 2006's Casino Royale he jumps right on into the most recent Bond movie.

Gratuitous picture not featured in the book #1

    In addition to reviewing the film, each chapter takes a look at the world at the time of release, especially the political climate in Great Britain, and puts the 007 film of that moment into perspective. It also features some good quotes from people involved in the movies both in front of and behind the camera, and some of these quotes are from interviews the author conducted this century with those willing to talk to him about their time in Bondage. There are also a few extra chapters devoted to other aspects of the series, like Miss Moneypenny and the women who played her; and the period when 007 was in hibernation 1990-1994 while court battles were going on that kept the secret agent off the Big Screen and put Timothy Dalton out of the job, opening the position up for Pierce Brosnan.

Gratuitous picture not featured in the book #2

    Overall I enjoyed the book, though I don't agree with everything McKay has to say, especially when his tone takes on a superior aspect and his viewpoint is straight down his nose, but these moments are not plentiful and don't mar the book too much. Well, until the last chapter, which almost completely derails the book. Throughout the previous chapters McKay makes a point of talking about how smart the Bond producers have always been, starting with the originators of the film series Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, right through to their successors Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli; but in the last chapter he makes a huge misstep by labelling the movies as "dumb," and proceeding to almost rail against them in a tone completely unlike his earlier fanboy writing voice. I'm not sure what prompted this final chapter, but it almost put me off the whole thing. However, those who enjoy reading contextual anecdotes about films will find a lot to enjoy in all the preceding chapters, so the book still earns a recommendation...in paperback.

Til next time, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!