Novel, Live and Let Die - Ian Fleming

Live and Let Die

The second James Bond Novel, another ripping yarn.

Showing its age a little, flying to New York by Stratocrusier, many on the characters are black, so are referred to as Negroes and Negress. Some of the references to them would today be seen as paternalistic.

Interesting plot tied up with organised crime, pirates and voodoo, but. Mr Big the villain is also a member of Smersh which is almost an after thought to bring it up to date with the cold war of the 1950s.

Once again Bond is a professional with attention to detail, but ruthless and without compassion for his enemies.

So, Mr Big, is a black gangster in New York and a network across America, He uses strong arms tac tits, sadistic and ingenious acts of cruelty, practices Voodoo and is a Russian agent. He has found Captain Morgan's treasure in Jamaica and is smuggling into US and selling it off through his criminal network.

All attempts to infiltrate his network ends in death for American and British agents, including his friend Leiter. But, Bond is too clever for him, destroy Mr Big, his men and presumably the pirates gold.

Lots of general knowledge is introduced into all Fleming novels, Voodoo, Pirates, American and Jamaican geography, behaviour of Sharks and Barracudas. There is also some very good writing, particularly describing flying into Jamaica.

Wikipedia's View:

Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, first published in the UK by Jonathan Capeon 5 April 1954, where the initial print run of 7,500 copies quickly sold out. As with Fleming's first novel, Casino Royale,Live and Let Die was broadly well received by the critics. The novel was written at Fleming's 'Goldeneye' estate in Jamaica before Casino Royale was published and much of the background came from Fleming's own experiences of travel in the US and his knowledge of Jamaica itself.

The story centres on Bond's pursuit of an American criminal, Mr Big, who has links to the American criminal network, the world of voodoo and SMERSH, an arm of the Russian secret service, all of which are a threat to the West. Bond becomes involved in the US through Mr. Big's smuggling of 17th century gold coins from British territories in the Caribbean. Themes that run through the novel include the ongoing East-West struggle of the Cold War, race relations and friendship.

Following an adaptation in 1958–59 by John McLusky in the Daily Express in comic strip format, the novel was adapted in 1973 as the eighth 'official' film in the Eon Productions Bond series and the first to star Roger Moore as James Bond. Major plot elements from the novel were also incorporated into two other Bond films: For Your Eyes Only, released in 1981 and Licence to Kill, released in 1989.

Plot[edit]

British Secret Service agent James Bond is sent by his superior, M, to New York City to investigate "Mr. Big", real nameBuonaparte Ignace Gallia, an agent of SMERSH and an underworld voodoo leader who is suspected of selling 17th century gold coins to finance Soviet spy operations in America. These gold coins have been turning up in Harlem and Florida and are suspected of being part of a treasure that was buried in Jamaica by the pirate Sir Henry Morgan.

In New York, Bond meets up with his counterpart in the CIA, Felix Leiter. The two decide to visit some of Mr. Big's nightclubs in Harlem, but are subsequently captured. Bond is personally interrogated by Mr. Big, who uses his fortune telling-girlfriend, Solitaire (so named because she excludes men from her life), to determine if Bond is telling the truth. Solitaire lies to Mr. Big, supporting Bond's cover story. Mr. Big decides to release Bond and Leiter and has one of his men break one of Bond's fingers. Bond escapes, killing several of Mr. Big's men in the process, whilst Leiter is released by a gang member, sympathetic because of a shared appreciation of jazz.

Solitaire later contacts Bond and they travel to St. Petersburg, Florida. While Bond and Leiter are scouting one of Mr. Big's warehouses used for storing exotic fish, Solitaire is kidnapped by Mr. Big's minions. Felix later returns to the warehouse by himself, but is either captured and fed to a shark or tricked into standing on a trap door over the shark tank: he survives, but loses an arm and a leg. Bond finds him in their safe house with a note pinned to his chest "He disagreed with something that ate him". After getting Felix to the hospital, Bond investigates the warehouse himself and discovers that Mr. Big is smuggling gold by placing it in the bottom of fish tanks holding poisonous tropical fish. Bond is attacked in the warehouse by Mr. Big's gunman, the "Robber", and the resultant gunfight destroys many of the tanks in the warehouse: Bond tricks the Robber and causes him to fall into the shark tank.

Bond then continues his mission in Jamaica where he meets Quarrel and John Strangways, the head of the MI6 station in Jamaica. Quarrel gives Bond training inscuba diving in the local waters. Bond swims through shark and barracuda infested waters to Mr. Big's island and manages to plant a limpet mine on the hull of his yacht before being captured once again by Mr. Big. The following morning, Mr. Big ties Solitaire and Bond to a line behind his yacht and plans to drag them over the shallow coral reef and into deeper water so that the sharks and barracuda that he attracts in to the area with regular feedings will eat them.

Bond and Solitaire are saved when the limpet mine explodes seconds before they are dragged over the reef: though temporarily stunned by the explosion and injured on the coral Bond and Solitaire are protected from the explosion by the reef, and Bond watches as Mr. Big, who survived the explosion, is killed by the sharks and barracuda. Quarrel then rescues Bond and Solitaire.

Characters and themes[edit]

Fleming did not use class enemies for his villains instead relying on physical distortion or ethnic identity ... Furthermore, in Britain foreign villains used foreign servants and employees ... This racism reflected not only a pronounced theme of interwar adventure writing, such as the novels of [John] Buchan, but also widespread literary culture.

Jeremy Black, The Politics of James Bond^[1]

Fleming builds the main character in Live and Let Die to make Bond come across as a more human character^[2] than he was in Casino Royale, coming across as "a much warmer, more likeable man from the opening chapter".^[2] Similarly, over the course of the book, Felix Leiter develops and also comes across as a more complete and human character and their friendship is evident in the story.^[3]

Live and Let Die, like other Bond novels, reflects the changing roles of Britain and America during the 1950s and the perceived threat from the Soviet Union to both nations. Unlike Casino Royale, whose Cold War politics revolve around British-Soviet tensions, in Live and Let Die Bond arrives in Harlem to protect America from the Soviets working through the Black Power movement:^[4] America was the Soviet objective and Bond comments "that New York 'must be the fattest atomic-bomb target on the whole face of the world'".^[5] Bond's briefing also provides an opportunity for Fleming to offer his views through his characters and "M and Bond ... offer their views on the ethnicity of crime, views that reflected ignorance, the inherited racialist prejudices of London clubland";^[6] academic Jeremy Black has pointed out that "the frequency of his references and his willingness to offer racial stereotypes [was] typical of many writers of his age".^[7] Writer Louise Welsh observed that "Live and Let Die taps into the paranoia that some sectors of white society were feeling" as the civil rights movements challenged prejudice and inequality.^[8]

Friendship is another key element of Live and Let Die, where the importance of male friends and allies shows through in the form of Leiter and Quarrel.^[2] The more complete character profiles of the novel also aid the storyline with regards to the shark attack on Leiter and Bond's strengthened motives for chasing Mr Big.^[2]

Background[edit]

In January 1953, still four months before Casino Royale was published, Fleming and his wife Ann flew to New York before taking the Silver Meteor train to St. Petersburg in Florida and then on to Jamaica.^[9] Once in Jamaica, at his Goldeneye estate, Fleming started work on the second Bond novel; this was intended to be of a more serious tone, a meditation on the nature of evil and the novel's original title, The Undertaker's Wind, reflects this.^[10] Fleming conducted research for Live and Let Die and completed the novel before Casino Royale was published:^[9] shortly after Live and Let Die was completed, Casino Royale was published, selling out its first two print runs within a month.^[11] Sales were successful enough that his publishers, Jonathan Cape, offered him a contract for three further Bond novels.^[12]

Much of the novel drew from Fleming's personal experiences: the opening of the novel, with Bond's arrival at New York's Idlewild Airport was inspired by Fleming's own arrivals in 1941 and 1953^[6] and the warehouse at which Felix Leiter is attacked by a shark was based on a warehouse Fleming had visited in 1953, as well as much of the journey Fleming and his wife had undertaken.^[13] Fleming's friends also had their names used throughout the story, with friend Ivar Bryce giving his name to the alias used by Bond, whilst friend Tommy Leiter found his surname being used for Felix Leiter;^[14] Ivar Bryce's middle name of Felix was used for Leiter's Christian name.^[15] Fleming's experiences on his first scuba dive with Jacques Cousteau in 1953 provided much of the description of Bond's swim to Mr. Big's boat,^[16] whilst the concept of the limpet-mining "may well be based on the extraordinary wartime activities of the 10th Light Flotilla, an elite unit of Italian navy frogmen".^[17] Fleming also used, and extensively quoted, information about voodoo from his friend Patrick Leigh Fermor's book The Traveller's Tree.^[16]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_and_Let_Die_(novel)

Book Rags Review:

Secret Agent James Bond is on a mission to stop gold coins from being smuggled out of Jamaica. The pirate treasure is being smuggled by a Harlem gangster known as Mr. Big, a man from Haiti who uses voodoo to control a large African American community around the United States. Mr. Big uses the gold to fund SMERSH, the evil Soviet agency that is Bond's arch-nemeses. Bond heads to New York City to work with his old friend, Felix Leiter. While in New York Bond comes face to face with Mr. Big and sees the evil genius in the man's eyes. He also meets Solitaire, a beautiful woman being held captive by Mr. Big. The story then moves to Florida where Leiter is attacked by a shark and nearly dies. Bond discovers Mr. Big's operation and has to head to Jamaica to put a stop to it. In Jamaica Bond covertly enters Mr.Big's private island and is nearly eaten alive by barracudas and sharks. In the last pages of the book the story culminates as Bond saves Solitaire and destroys Mr. Big's yacht.

Bond first learns of the operation when he meets with his boss, M. M tells him gold coins believed to be part of the pirate Bloody Morgan's treasure have been showing up in America. The coins are worth millions of dollars and the money is being used to fund the Soviet agency SMERSH. M believes the coins are being smuggled out of Jamaica into America by an African-American gangster named Mr. Big. The gangster has a yacht on which he often sails between Jamaica and St. Petersburg, Florida. Bond's mission is to first head to America to assist the FBI and the CIA in tracking Mr. Big and trying to uncover how he is smuggling the coins. The operation will then move to the British colony of Jamaica where Bond will take over the investigation.

In New York Bond meets his friend from the CIA, Felix Leiter, who he has worked with in previous operations. Leiter shows Bond around New York and they then head to Harlem to try and get a look at Mr. Big. As they are drinking in one of Mr. Big's night clubs they are suddenly trapped into a secret passage. Bond is taken to Mr. Big's office and the men come face to face. Mr. Big warns Bond to leave the country and stop investigating him. It is here that Bond first meets Solitaire, a woman Mr. Big is holding captive, using her for her telepathic abilities. Bond is immediately attracted to the woman and feels a connection with her. As Bond is leaving New York that night he gets a terrified call from Solitaire as she begs him to help her escape. Bond arranges for her to get away from Mr. Big and she joins him on the long train ride to Florida.

As they are on the train to Florida, Bond and Solitaire are attracted to each other, but before they have time to start a relationship they discover one of Mr. Big's men on the train. They secretly escape the train during the night and head to St. Petersburg on a different train. When they finally reach Leiter at a hotel they learn they escaped just in time as their cabin was shot up by machine guns just after they left. Bond and Leiter leave Solitaire in the hotel as they go to investigate Mr. Big's partner. When they return to the hotel they find Solitaire has been kidnapped by Mr. Big's men. That night Leiter returns to Mr. Big's building and Bond finds him the next day, after he was attacked by a shark and nearly killed. Bond is furious over these developments and goes after Mr. Big's man himself. He enters the building and finds the gold and kills Mr. Big's main man in St. Petersburg.

The scene then switches to Jamaica where Bond trains for the final step of the mission. He will scuba dive under the sea and enter Mr. Big's island. Bond puts an explosive onto Mr. Big's yacht so he can not escape. He is then attacked by barracudas and sharks trained by Mr. Big. He manages to escape death but is caught by Mr. Big. The big man ties Bond and Solitaire to the back of his boat and drags them behind it, intending to kill them. Before they are killed the bomb destroys the boat and kills Mr. Big and his men. Bond and Solitaire are saved and the gold is recovered. The end of the novel sees Bond and Solitaire finally start a romantic relationship.

http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-live-and-let-die/

Novel - The Gold Coast - Nelson DeMille

Gold Coast Nelson DeMille

A tail of seduction and ruin for members of the American Aristocracy. The main character John Sutter has it all, rich and sexy wife, career as a Tax Lawyer living on the Estate of his in-laws. But, along comes a Mafia Don and he is corrupted by him and ends up committing perjury in court and covering up for the Mafia, while the Don seduces his wife. In the end the wife kills the Don and Sutter is financially ruined, a outcast in his own community and his career at an end. He looses absolutely everything, including his wife and narrowly escapes criminal charges. Yet Sutter is bowed, but not broken.

As usual with DeMille, the hero is a real wise guy with lots of black and self deprecating humour.

DeMille claims to have taken influence from The Great Gatsby.

A great read.

Here is the review in Book Rags:

The Gold Coast is a novel detailing the life of John Sutter and his life over approximately one year. Sutter is a resident of the North Shore of Long Island, or what is sometimes known as The Gold Coast, an area where the extremely wealthy have lived for many years. The area is now in a decline for many different reasons. John is married to Susan Stanhope Sutter, the daughter of one of these excessively wealthy families. Sutter is not poor, but does not have the vast fortune that the Stanhope family had at one time. Though the Stanhope's are still wealthy, they no longer have the never ending funds that they once did, and Stanhope Hall, the family estate sits empty, as many of the other great mansions in the area do. One such estate is Alhambra, next door to the Sutter's. Alhambra is purchased by Frank 'the bishop' Bellarosa, a Mafia don and very powerful man. Sutter and Bellarosa meet by chance, or so it appears, and before John realizes exactly what is happening, his entire life is turned upside down, leaving everything and everyone he cares about touched in some way by his relationship with Bellarosa.

John Sutter is originally put off by his new neighbor, caught up in the class structure he had been raised with. A WASP through and through, Sutter looks down on Bellarosa, considering him lower class and uneducated. After a few meetings with the don, Sutter not only changes his mind, but also begins to respect Frank a bit. Frank is not a stupid man at all, and Sutter discovers that if Bellarosa wants something, he will do what it takes to get it. This is no more evident than when Frank wants John to defend him against murder charges. Knowing that Sutter would be unwilling to mix himself up with the case, Frank arranges to have John investigated for tax evasion, and then provides him with the means to solve the problem. By accepting the assistance of the don, John is indebted to him. As such, Sutter defends Bellarosa regarding the murder charge, further entangling him in the life of the Mafia don.

Frank Bellarosa uses the people around him for his own gain, though he admires John Sutter and considers him a friend. In order to gain John Sutter as a defense attorney, Bellarosa is more than happy to cause the tax problems that require John to sell his summer home, losing a small piece of the life that John Sutter still enjoyed. When directly accused of orchestrating the tax audit in order to have Sutter come to him for help, Bellarosa does not deny his actions. Despite this, John Sutter still helps the don, having grown to enjoy the excitement and danger surrounding 'the bishop'.

Throughout the novel John and Susan struggle with their relationship and their lives, neither very happy with where things are or where they are going. Despite this they still love each other, and each suggest at different times that they should escape somewhere, away from Frank Bellarosa, though for various reasons they never do. As the two Sutter's become more involved with Bellarosa and his life, John steps away from the people that he has considered his friends for years, even cutting himself off from his family and Susan's Sutter seems to have realized that he was no better than they were, and if one good thing came of his association with Frank, it was John's ability to see they type of person he had become.

John represents Bellarosa in a bail hearing regarding the murder of Juan Carranza, a Columbian drug dealer, perjuring himself in order to be sure that Frank does not have to spend any time in jail. John meets the men that Bellarosa associates with and gets a better idea of the life of the Mafia don, realizing that Bellarosa is nothing like the fumbling man who is trying to fit into the life of those on the gold coast. Bellarosa is intelligent, and dangerous, as is being associated with him. John finds this out first hand when someone attempts to murder Bellarosa while the Sutter's and Bellarosa's enjoy an evening out. Though wearing a bulletproof vest, Frank suffers other injuries, and it is John's care that allows for Frank's survival.

Frank's empire crumbles while he is recuperating, and he is protected by the federal agents he once despised. Seeing no other option, Frank gives them the information they seek, providing information about his Mafia family and associates. His possessions are seized by the government, and the great estate of Alhambra is taken apart piece by piece. Bellarosa offers John anything he wants, knowing that John had saved his life. John's request is simple. Sutter tells Frank to end his affair with Susan, and tell her that she will not be running away to Italy with Bellarosa. Frank does not argue the point but simply tells John that he will do as he asked.

In the end, Frank's inability to control his wants and needs is his undoing. Susan Stanhope Sutter kills Frank with his own weapon, one that he had asked her to hold for him. It was not the Mafia that brought about his death, it was a woman. Ironically, Bellarosa had once told John to be careful of the women that he chose to have a relationship with, as they could result in a man's downfall. Susan claims that she had killed Frank for John, in order to free him from the don's clutches. Susan is found not guilty of the murder charges against her and moves away from the area with her parents. John Sutter still loves his wife, and she him, but their lives have been forever changed by their association with Frank Bellarosa. John Sutter winds up living in the gatehouse of the Stanhope Estate with Ethel Allard, the widow of George and lover of Augustus Stanhope.

John has plans for the future, and considers them while walking the once again ruined estate of Alhambra. Sutter is considering buying another boat, having destroyed his to keep the IRS from claiming it and sailing around the world. Once his journey is complete, he might dock in Hilton Head, the home of his in-laws and Susan, to see if their love can survive the time they have spent with Frank Bellarosa.

http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-the-gold-coast/

From DeMilles Website

Welcome to the Gold Coast, that stretch on the North Shore of Long Island that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America. Here two men are destined for an explosive collision: John Sutter, Wall Street lawyer, holding fast to a fading aristocratic legacy; and Frank Bellarosa, the Mafia don who seizes his piece of the staid and unprepared Gold Coast like a latter-day barbarian chief and draws Sutter and his regally beautiful wife, Susan, into his violent world. Told from Sutter's sardonic - and often hilarious - point of view, and laced with sexual passion and suspense, THE GOLD COAST is Nelson DeMille's captivating story of friendship and seduction, love and betrayal.

http://www.nelsondemille.net/books/gold_coast.asp?id=desc

Novel, Cassino Royale - Ian Fleming

Casino Royale

As my books and Music are not part of the core purpose of this Blog, I have developed some separate Pages for these. within this Blog, but meantime will park here:

Casino Royale,  Ian Fleming's first James Bond novel.

A Ripping Yarn from the early fifties.

Which was reminiscent of two other books I have recently read and have not reviewed, Graham Greene's Confidential Agent and Paris After the Liberation by Antony Beevor  and Artemus Cooper.

Very early Bond, with the seedy post war France as a setting and early intense Cold War themes. Bond in these novels is far more fragile and human than the movies. His over indulgence in alcohol, cigarettes, gambling food and sex is excessive and is seen as a vice and a flaw in his character. He is a professional and believes his attention to detail is his edge, Is still an alpha male. But, seriously considers retirement after being tortured and really falls for Vespa and does want to marry and be normal. But, she betrays him and he is slow to see it. So, is embittered and wants to take revenge against SMERSH, women and authority in general.

Here is the Book Rags review:

Casino Royale by Ian Fleming is a spy thriller set during the Cold War. It tells the story of one man, James Bond, and his evolution into a committed spy and secret agent. Bond accepts a mission to defeat a Russian agent, Le Chiffre, in a card game. He escapes death several times but eventually defeats Le Chiffre. This is just the beginning of Bond's journey. Other events lead to his renewed commitment to his job, which is a lifestyle more than a profession. The story is full of car chases, torture and sex as Bond's evolution into an international spy is revealed.

There are several story lines in the book. The main story is between James Bond, British secret agent 007, and Le Chiffre, an agent controlled by the Communist Russians. Le Chiffre has used Soviet money meant for a Communist controlled trade union to invest in brothels. This gets him into trouble when the French outlaw prostitution. The Soviet arch-spy agency SMERSH may be on his trail and if they catch him they will kill him. Le Chiffre's last resort is to remake the money through gambling. He goes to the Casino Royale in the north of France. Bond is an excellent gambler and his mission is to defeat Le Chiffre at the baccarat table and bankrupt him.

Bond checks into the hotel and prepares his operation. He has help from his partners including the beautiful Vesper Lynd, French agent Mathis and American CIA man Felix Lieter. Before Bond has a chance to face off with Le Chiffre, the Soviets make an attempt on his life. He survives a bomb blast unscathed. He makes it to the casino and confronts Le Chiffre. After tense drama, Bond manages to beat Le Chiffre in baccarat and bankrupts him.

After his win Bond takes Vesper out for a drink. She is lured into the parking lot and kidnapped by Le Chiffre. Bond pursues her and, after he crashes his car, is captured himself. Bond is tortured by Le Chiffre. Before he has a chance to break Bond, a SMERSH agent finds Le Chiffre and kills him. Bond and Vesper manage to escape but Bond is seriously injured. He spends three weeks in the hospital. While in the hospital Bond contemplates his future as a spy. When he is finally released, he starts a romantic relationship with Vesper. They take a vacation at a seaside inn.

They start a passionate relationship and Bond decides he will ask Vesper to marry him. Before he has the chance he catches Vesper making a secret phone call and acting duplicitously. Bond is frustrated and their relationship becomes strained. It comes to a head when Bond demands to know her secret. She promises to tell him the next day. They make passionate love and Bond retires to his own room. In the morning he finds Vesper, dead from a suicide. She was a double agent working for the Russians. This infuriates Bond and he recommits to his life as a spy.

http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-casino-royale/

Then here is from more background from good old Wikipedia:

Plot

M, the Head of the Secret Service, assigns James Bond, Special Agent 007, to play against and bankrupt Le Chiffre, the paymaster for a SMERSH-controlled trade union, in a high-stakes baccarat game at the Royale-les-Eaux casino in northern France. As part of Bond's cover as a rich Jamaican playboy, M also assigns as his companion Vesper Lynd, personal assistant to the Head of Section S (Soviet Union). The French Deuxième Bureau and the CIA also send agents as observers. The game soon turns into an intense confrontation between Le Chiffre and Bond; Le Chiffre wins the first round, bankrupting Bond. As Bond contemplates the prospect of reporting his failure to M, CIA agent Felix Leiter helps Bond and gives him an envelope with thirty-two million francs and a note: "Marshall Aid. Thirty-two million francs. With the compliments of the USA." The game continues, despite the attempts of one of Le Chiffre's minders to kill Bond. Bond eventually wins, taking from Le Chiffre eighty million francs belonging to SMERSH.

Desperate to recover the money, Le Chiffre kidnaps Lynd and subjects Bond to brutal torture, threatening to kill them both if he does not get the money back. In the midst of the torture session, a SMERSH assassin bursts in and kills Le Chiffre as punishment for losing the money. The agent does not kill Bond, saying that he has no orders to do so, but cuts a Cyrillic 'Ш' (sh) to signify the SHpion (Russian for spy) into Bond's hand so that future SMERSH agents will be able to identify him as such.

Lynd visits Bond every day as he recuperates in the hospital, and he gradually realises that he loves her; he even contemplates leaving Her Majesty's Secret Service to settle down with her. When Bond is released, they spend time together at a quiet guest house and eventually become lovers. One day they see a mysterious man named Gettler tracking their movements, which greatly distresses Lynd. The following morning, Bond finds that she has committed suicide. She leaves behind a note explaining that she had been working as an unwilling double agent for the MVD. SMERSH had kidnapped her lover, a Polish RAF pilot, who had revealed information about her under torture; SMERSH then used that information to blackmail her into helping them undermine Bond's mission, including her own faked kidnapping. She had tried to start a new life with Bond, but upon seeing Gettler – a SMERSH agent – she realised that she would never be free of her tormentors and that staying with Bond would only put him in danger. Bond informs his service of Lynd's duplicity, coldly telling his contact, "The bitch is dead now."

Characters and themes

When I wrote the first one in 1953, I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened; I wanted him to be a blunt instrument ... when I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, (James Bond) is the dullest name I ever heard.
— Casino Royale, Chapter 7: Rouge et Noir

The lead character of Casino Royale is James Bond, an agent of the "Secret Service". For his protagonist, Fleming appropriated the name of James Bond, author of the ornithology guide, Birds of the West Indies. Fleming explained to the ornithologist's wife that "It struck me that this brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon and yet very masculine name was just what I needed, and so a second James Bond was born". He further explained that:

In the first draft of Casino Royale he decided to use the name James Secretan as Bond's cover name while on missions.

According to a Fleming biographer, Andrew Lycett, "within the first few pages Ian [Fleming] had introduced most of Bond's idiosyncrasies and trademarks", which included his looks, his Bentley and his smoking and drinking habits.The full details of Bond's martini were kept until chapter seven of the book and Bond eventually named it "The Vesper", after Vesper Lynd.

'A dry martini,' he said. 'One. In a deep champagne goblet.'

'Oui, monsieur.'

'Just a moment. Three measures of Gordon's, one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it very well until it's ice-cold, then add a large thin slice of lemon peel. Got it?'

'Certainly monsieur.' The barman seemed pleased with the idea.

'Gosh, that's certainly a drink,' said Leiter.

Bond laughed. 'When I'm ... er ... concentrating,' he explained, 'I never have more than one drink before dinner. But I do like that one to be large and very strong and very cold, and very well-made. I hate small portions of anything, particularly when they taste bad. This drink's my own invention. I'm going to patent it when I think of a good name.'

Speaking of Bond's origins, Fleming said that "he was a compound of all the secret agents and commando types I met during the war", although Fleming himself gave many of his own traits to the character.Bond's tastes are often taken from Fleming's own,as is some of his behaviour: Fleming used the casino to introduce Bond in his first novel because "skill at gambling and knowledge of how to behave in a casino were seen ... as attributes of a gentleman".Lycett sees much of Bond's character as being much "wish fulfilment" by Fleming.Continuation Bond author, Jeffery Deaver says that Bond "is a classic adventure-story hero. He confronts evil. Simple as that." Deaver also clarifies the point, saying that Bond is not a superhero, but that he is very human, doubting himself and making errors.Bond's superior, M, was largely based on Fleming's superior officer in Naval Intelligence during the war, Admiral Sir John Godfrey; Godfrey was known for his bellicose and irascible temperament.  One of the likely models for Le Chiffre was the influential English occultist, astrologer, mystic and ceremonial magician Aleister Crowley, whose physical features are similar to Le Chiffre's; his tastes, especially in sado-masochism, were also akin to those of Le Chiffre and, as Fleming biographer Henry Chancellor notes, "when Le Chiffre goes to work on Bond's testicles with a carpet-beater and a carving knife, the sinister figure of Aleister Crowley is there lurking in the background."

Casino Royale was written shortly after, and was heavily influenced by, World War II.  As the power of British Empire was beginning to decline, journalist William Cook observed that "Bond pandered to Britain's inflated and increasingly insecure self-image, flattering us with the fantasy that Britannia could still punch above her weight."In 1953, when Casino Royale was published, coal and many items of food were still rationed,and Bond was "the ideal antidote to Britain's postwar austerity, rationing and the looming premonition of lost power", according to historian and The Times journalist Ben Macintyre. The communist influence of Le Chiffre, with the overtones of a fifth column struck a chord with the largely British readership as Communist influence in the trade unions had been an issue in the press and parliament at the time. Britain had also suffered from defections to the Soviet Union from two MI5 operatives who were part of the Cambridge Five spy ring that betrayed Western secrets to the Soviets, thus Lycett observes that Casino Royale can be seen as Fleming's "attempt to reflect the disturbing moral ambiguity of a post-war world that could produce traitors like Burgess and Maclean".

The question of Anglo-American relations was also raised within the novel, where Bond and Leiter's warm relationship was not mirrored in the wider US-UK association.Christopher Hitchens observed that "the central paradox of the classic Bond stories is that, although superficially devoted to the Anglo-American war against communism, they are full of contempt and resentment for America and Americans".Fleming was aware of this tension between the two countries, but he did not focus on it too strongly. Academic and writer Kingsley Amis, in his exploration of Bond in The James Bond Dossier, pointed out that "Leiter, such a nonentity as a piece of characterization ... he, the American, takes orders from Bond, the Britisher, and that Bond is constantly doing better than he".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casino_Royale_(novel)