The James Bond Bedside Companion

by Raymond Benson

  James Bond's cultural interests are not very extensive. His reading habits only serve either functional or recreational purposes. His bookshelf at home includes Tommy Armour on How to Play Your Best Golf All the Time and Ben Hogan's Modem Fundamentals of Golf. Scarne on Cards is a particular favorite and reference guide for cheating and gambling, and Patrick Leigh-Fermor's The Traveller's Tree provides handy information on Haitian voodoo cults. He is especially fond of Eric Ambler thrillers, and is reading The Mask of Dimitrios en route to Istanbul in FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE. Bond claims that he only reads The Times, but has been caught on occasions with The Daily Express, Country Life, and the Evening Standard. The Daily Gleaner amuses him when he's in Jamaica. And from what the reader can gather, Bond has little or no taste in art, music, or theater.

  Bond is an outstanding athlete. An expert swimmer both below the surface and above, Bond excels in every sort of water sport. He is able to swim a couple of miles without tiring. He is an avid skier, and has won something called a "Golden K." He actually learned the sport at the Hannes Schneider School at St. Anton in the Arlberg. Bond seems to have a thorough knowledge of every kind of game imaginable; but his favorite, other than card games, is golf. His favorite course is the Royal St Mark's at Sandwich. Bond also enjoys mountain climbing, a fondness he acquired as a youth in Kitzbuhel.

  James Bond has no real hobbies, but he does love fast cars. The early novels feature Bond driving one of the last of the 4 1/2-litre Bentleys with a supercharger by Amherst Villiers. Bond kept it serviced every year, allowing a former Bentley mechanic in London to tend it with "jealous care." It was a battleship-grey convertible coupe and was capable of reaching ninety miles per hour with thirty in reserve. But the Bentley met its maker when Hugo Drax's henchman, Krebs, caused it to collide with a heavy roll of newsprint.

  The remainder of Fleming's novels featured Bond in a Mark II Continental Bentley which he acquired after its previous owner crashed into a telephone pole. Bond bought the car and had the bend in the chassis straightened and fitted with new power: a Mark IV engine with 9.5 compression. Fleming spends an entire page of Chapter 7 in THUNDERBALL describing the outstanding features of the car and adding that "she went like a bird and a bomb and Bond loved her more than all the women at present in his life, rolled, if that were feasible, together." Bond demands that his car start immediately (in all types of weather), and, after that, by all means stay on the road.

  During the Goldfinger affair, Bond is issued a company car in the form of an Aston Martin D.B. III fitted with some unusual specifications. Although not the armory appearing in the film version, the D.B. III includes switches to alter the type and color of Bond's front and rear lights if he was tailing or being followed at night; reinforced steel bumpers; a trick compartment in which to keep a long-barrelled Colt .45; and a radio pick-up tuned to receive an apparatus called the Homer. One must assume Bond was forced to return the Aston Martin to the company car pool after the case, since he never uses it again in subsequent adventures. He resumes life with his beloved Bentley, and is surprised when it reaches a speed of 125 m.p.h. for the first time (while chasing his future wife on the road to Royaleles-Eaux). He worries about the crankshaft bearings for a moment, but later Bond hears "no expensive noises."

  The famous Aston Martin D.B.V used in the films Goldfinger, Thunderball, and On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Note machine guns behind the front parking lights and the bulletproof shield behind the back windshield. (Photos courtesy of Aston Martin Lagonda Inc.)

  The later Bond films feature a Lotus Esprit which is able to dive like a submarine. (Photo courtesy of Rolls-Royce Motors Inc.)

  John Gardner's Bond drives a Saab 900 Turbo with interesting accessories. Note "secret" compartments, fire-extinguishing system, and blinding headlight behind license plate. (Photos courtesy of Saab-Scania of America, Inc.)

  John Gardner's Bond now drives a Saab 900 Turbo. It, too, is equipped with accessories, such as the capacity to blind tailing drivers with extremely bright rear lights. It has its own fire extinguishing system, and contains a secret compartment in which to hide large prints of art or other items.

  Unlike the accusations Q makes about 007's treatment of his equipment in the films, the Bond of the novels is a perfectionist in his care for and use of weaponry. From the very beginning, the point is made clear:

  His last action was to slip his right hand under the pillow until it rested under the butt of the .38 Colt Police Positive with the sawn barrel. Then he slept...

  (CASINO ROYALE, Chapter 1)

  This fanatical practice has saved Bond's life more than once, even though it causes his bed partners some dismay. During THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, Vivienne Michel wonders why Bond sleeps with his body away from hers, with his right hand under the pillow. She discovers the reason a little while later, after Bond has had to use the gun on a gangster attempting to break into their cabin:

  Now I realized why he had lain like that, with his right hand doubled under the pillow. I guessed that he always slept like that I thought his must be rather like a fireman's life, always waiting for a call. I thought how extraordinary it must be to have danger as your business.

  (THE SPY WHO LOVED ME, Chapter 14)

  Bond takes care to clean his weapons regularly, always making sure each part is in working order. In the first five novels, Bond's standard equipment consisted of a very flat .25 Beretta automatic with a skeleton grip inside a light chamois leather holster slipped over his left shoulder so that it hung about three inches below his armpit But Major Boothroyd and M put a stop to Bond's use of the Beretta after it snagged in Bond's jacket during an attempted draw in FROM RUSSIA, WITH LOVE. In DOCTOR NO, Boothroyd calls the Beretta a "ladies' gun," much to Bond's dismay. M's orders are final, and Bond is forced to continue the series with a Walther PPK 7.65mm. It's about a .32 caliber as compared with the Beretta's .25. The Walther is carried in a Bems-Martin triple-draw holster made of stiff saddle leather. For a longer range, Bond is issued a Smith & Wesson Centennial Aiiweight This .38 caliber revolver is hammerless, so it won't catch in clothing.

  Beretta .25. Bond used this gun in Ian Fleming's first five novels. It had a blue finish, a 2" barrel and is 4.75" over-all. To the best of our knowledge, the "Jetfire" model was used. A silencer was also used twice with the gun. (Photo courtesy of Beretta U.S.A. Corp.)

  Walther PPK, 7.65mm, with a blue finish. Bond used this model in a .32 calibre, rather than a .22 calibre, as shown here. Fleming stated that Bond's model had a spur at the bottom of the clip (this helped in gripping the weapon). The model used in the films does not have a spur. The Walther PPK has a 3.27" barrel, and is 6.1" over-all. The gun was used in the remaining Fleming books. (Photo courtesy of Interarrns Inc.)

  Smith & Wesson Centennial Airweight Revolver, Model 42, which holds five .38 Special rounds. Bond is issued this gun along with the Walther PPK in DOCTOR NO. Although Fleming appropriated the revolver for long-range shooting, it is actually a short-range gun and disappeared from the books probably because the author was embarrassed by this technical error. (Photo courtesy of Smith & Wesson Inc.)

  The modern version of the Berns-Martin "triple-draw" holster, now called the Bianchi Model 9R. Bianchi Gunleather acquired the Berns-Martin design. (Photo courtesy of Bianchi Gunleather.)

  John Gardner's Bond is issued a Browning 9mm in LICENSE RENEWED. The gun has a blue finish and carries a seven-shot clip (but also has an eighth round in the breech). (Photo courtesy of Browning Inc.)

  John Gardner's Bond illegally keeps a Ruger Super Black-hawk .44 Magnum Revolver in a secret compartment of his Saab. The gun has a blue finish and is a six-shot model with a 7.5" barrel. (Photo courtesy of Sturm, Ruger & Company, Inc.)

  FOR SPECIAL SERVICES finds Bond using a Heckler & Koch VP70 automatic, a rapid-firing weapon. This model was replaced by the P7 in ICEBREAKER. (Photo courtesy of Heckler & Koch, Inc.) (Thanks to Lloyd Jones for technical information.)

  John Gardner's Bond is issued a Brow
ning 9mm in the 1980s, which has been replaced by the Heckler & Koch VP70, and, in ICEBREAKER, by the H&K P7. He also keeps an unauthorized Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum in a secret compartment in his Saab. Throughout the years, Bond has occasionally used the previously mentioned .38 Colt Police Positive; a .45 Colt; a Savage 99F with a Weatherby 6 x 62 telescope; and a Winchester .308 caliber International Experimental Target rifle.

  Bond likes to spend the money he makes. In MOONRAKER, he muses that it is his ambition to have "as little as possible in his banking account when he was killed, as, when he was depressed he knew he would be, before the statutory age of forty-five." Bond tells his future father-in-law, Marc-Ange Draco, that "too much money is the worst curse you can lay on anyone's head. . . that is the only kind of money to have—not quite enough." But Bond does enjoy spending money won from gambling—something he calls "found money."

  Bond had always been a gambler. He loved the dry riffle of the cards and the constant unemphatic drama of the quiet figures round the green tables. He liked the solid, studied comfort of cardrooms and casinos, the well-padded arms of the chair, the glass of champagne or whisky at the elbow, the quiet unhurried attention of good servants. He was amused by the impartiality of the roulette ball and of the playing cards—and their eternal bias. He liked being an actor and a spectator and from his chair to take part in other men's dramas and decisions, until it came to his own turn to say that vital "yes" or "no," generally on a fifty-fifty chance.

  Above all, he liked it that everything was one's own fault. There was only oneself to praise or blame. Luck was a servant and not a master. Luck had to be accepted with a shrug or taken advantage of up to the hilt. But it had to be understood and recognized for what it was and not confused with a faulty appreciation of the odds, for, at gambling, the deadly sin is to mistake bad play for bad luck. And luck in all its moods had to be loved and not feared. Bond saw luck as a woman, to be softly wooed or brutally ravaged, never pandered to or pursued.

  (CASINO ROYALE, Chapter 7)

  This philosophy of Bond's runs throughout the novels thematically. Too often Bond must depend on luck to bring him through a crisis or a decision. Though he hates to admit it, luck plays an important part in his work as a secret agent

  For miscellany's sake, Vivienne Michel notes that Bond's handwriting is very clear and even, and that Bond uses a real pen and not a ball-point One of Bond's favorite expressions is "So that's the score!" and it should be noted that James Bond is not too shy to sing aloud. He first meets Honeychile Rider in DOCTOR NO by joining her in a verse of "Marion."

  TASTE IN FOOD, DRINK, AND DRUGS

  Quite naturally, Ian Fleming's taste for luxurious meals, fine liquor, and elegant surroundings is shared by James Bond. Bond explains himself to Vesper Lynd over dinner in CASINO ROYALE:

  "You must forgive me," he said. "I take a ridiculous pleasure in what I eat and drink It comes partly from being a bachelor, but mostly from a habit of taking a lot of trouble over details. It's very pernickety and old-maidish really, but then when I'm working I generally have to eat my meals alone and it makes them more interesting when one takes trouble."

  (CASINO ROYALE, Chapter 8)

  Later on, Fleming emphasizes Bond's particularities:

  James Bond was not a gourmet In England he lived on grilled soles, oeufs cocotte and cold roast beef with potato salad. But when travelling abroad, generally by himself, meals were a welcome break in the day, something to look forward to, something to break the tension of fast driving, with its risks taken or avoided, the narrow squeaks, the permanent background of concern for the fitness of his machine.

  (ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE, Chapter 2)

  James Bond is actually a gourmand. Only Bond would insist that his eggs be boiled precisely for three and a third minutes. Breakfast is Bond's favorite meal of the day. When he's in England, the breakfast is always the same and consists of very strong coffee (from De Bry in New Oxford Street, brewed in an American Chemex) of which he drinks two large cups, black and without sugar. That single egg is a very fresh, speckled brown egg from French Marans hens owned by some friend of his housekeeper, May, in the coutry. It is served in a dark blue egg cup with a gold ring around the top. It amuses Bond to maintain that there is such a thing as "the perfect boiled egg." Next comes two thick slices of whole-wheat toast, "a large pat of deep yellow Jersey buffer and three squat glass jars containing Tiptree 'Little Scarlet' strawberry jam; Cooper's Vintage Oxford marmalade and Norwegian Heather Honey from Fortnum's." Breakfast is a ritual for Bond, and his day never seems to go well without it.

  Bond likes scrambled eggs, too, although he usually has these for lunch rather than breakfast Bond always relays specific orders on how to make his special scrambled eggs, usually eaten with smoked salmon. Fleming provides the recipe in a short story entitled "007 in New York," which appears in his travelogue, THRILLING CITIES:

  Scrambled Eggs "James Bond"

  For FOUR individualists:

  12 fresh eggs

  salt and pepper

  5-6 oz. fresh butter

  Break the eggs into a bowl. Beat thoroughly with a fork and season well. In a small copper (or heavy-bottomed saucepan) melt four oz. of the butter. When melted, pour in the eggs and cook over a very low heat, whisking continuously with a small egg whisk.

  While the eggs are slightly more moist than you would wish for eating, remove pan from heat, add rest of butter and continue whisking for half a minute, adding the while finely chopped chives or fines herbes. Serve on hot buttered toast in individual copper dishes (for appearance only) with pink champagne (Taittainger) and low music.

  ("007 in New York," THRILLING CITIES)

  The time Bond spends with Felix Leiter on a case is usually over a meal. While snooping in Harlem, Leiter insists on having "the national dish"—Little Neck clams and fried chicken Maryland with bacon and sweet corn. These men are always attempting to impress each other by ordering the other man's meal before he can speak to the waiter. On one occasion in New York, while Bond is in the washroom of Sardi's (one of his favorite New York establishments), Leiter "takes a chance" and orders smoked salmon and Brizzola (Leiter insists it's the best cut of beef, straight cut across the bone, roasted and then broiled). Bond is pleased with the meal, and is impressed that the Brizzola is so tender he can cut it with a fork. At a "Chicken in the Basket" in upstate New York, the men enjoy scrambled eggs and sausages with hot buttered rye toast Bond likes these little American roadside eateries, and Fleming's descriptive powers add to their "flavor."

  But the men show an extreme distaste for the commercialism of the tourist traps in the Bahamas. At the Royal Bahamian in Nassau, Bond and Leiter are disgusted by the menu:

  From the pretentious dishes, "For Your Particular Consideration," printed in Ornamental Gothic, Bond chose Native Seafood Cocktail Supreme followed by Disjointed Home Fán Chicken, Sauté au Cresson, which was described in italics as "Tender Farm Chicken, Broiled to a Rich Brown, Basted with Creamery Butter and Disjointed for Your Convenience. Price 38/6 or dollars 5.35." Felix Leiter went for the Baltic Herring in Sour Cream followed by "Chopped Tenderloin of Beef, French Onion Rings (Our Renowned Beef is Chef-Selected from the Finest Corn-fed, Mid-Western Cattle, and Aged to Perfection to Assure You of the Very Best). Price 40/3 or dollars 5.65."

  When they commented sourly and at length about the inflated bogosity of tourist-hotel food and particularly the mendacious misuse of the English language to describe materials which had certainly been in various deep-freezes for at least six months, they settled down on the balcony to discuss Bond's findings of the morning.

  (THUNDERBALL, Chapter 12)

  During the above meal, Felix Leiter throws down his knife and fork and says, "This is hamburger and bad hamburger. The French onion rings were never in France, and what's more, they're not even rings. They're oval."

  When he's in Jamaica, Bond enjoys something called "paw-paw with a slice of green lime, a dish piled with
red bananas, purple star-apples, and tangerines, scrambled eggs and bacon, Blue Mountain coffee, Jamaican marmalade (almost black), and guava jelly." The Blue Mountain coffee is supposedly the "best in the world."

  The dinner meals are always something exquisite. On his first date with Vesper Lynd, he tells her to order expensively. Vesper tells the waiter:

  "I'd made two choices," she laughed, "and either would have been delicious; but behaving like a millionaire occasionally is a wonderful treat, and if you're sure. . . well, I'd like to start with caviar and then have a plain grilled rognon de veau with pommes souffles. And then I'd like to have fraises des bois with a lot of cream. Is it very shameless to be so certain and so expensive?" She smiled at him inquiringly.

  "It's a virtue, and anyway it's only a good plain wholesome meal." He turned to the maitre d'hotel. "And bring plenty of toast."

  "The trouble always is," he explained to Vesper, "not how to get caviar, but how to get enough toast with it