Description
Book SynopsisJames Bond's amazing gadgets reveal both enthusiasm about technology and fear of its potential ramifications. The popularity of the 007 franchise depends on a seductive formula of sex, violence, and snobbery. Much of its appeal, too, lies in its gadgets: slick, somewhat improbable technological devices that give everyone's favorite secret agent the edge over his adversaries. In Equipping James Bond, André Millard chronicles a hundred-year history of espionage technology through the lens of Ian Fleming's infamous character and his ingenious spyware. Beginning with the creation of MI6, the British secret service, Millard traces the development of espionage technology from the advanced weaponry of the nineteenth century to the evolving threat of computer hacking and surveillance. Arguing that the gadgets in the books and films articulate the leading edge of technological awareness at the time, Millard describes how Bond goes from protecting 1950s England from criminal activity to saving
Trade Review"Equipping James Bond sheds fascinating light on . . . the weapons and technology depicted throughout the 007 books and films."
—Matthew Chernov, James Bond Radio
One of the best capsulized histories of technology in warfare I've ever read.
—John Greenya,
Washington TimesTable of ContentsIntroduction
1. The Technological Enthusiasts
2. The Secret Intelligence Service
3. The Great War and the Threat of Modernity
4. Imagining the Future: Technology on Film
5. Spy Films
6. Ian Fleming, Intelligence Officer
7. Equipment
8. Irregular Warriors
9. The Treasure Hunt
10. Nuclear Anxieties
11. Gadgets
12. Guns
13. The Special Relationship and the Cold War
14. The Technological Revolution
15. Into the Future
16. Keeping up with the Times
Notes
Index
