Fleming's Wars The History Behind the Fiction of Ian Fleming's James Bond

Imagination is one of the most fundamental roots of what it is to be human. Yet, in the 1930s and 1940s, the world faced the blitzkrieg of a tyrant known for burning books and suppressing the very crucial elements of humanity. Through the fog of war, one man’s ingenuity helped to combat that grave threat with his innovative plots against the Nazi war-machine. His creativity would continue as the West again faced a potential threat in the form of nuclear annihilation and the destruction of Western ideals and values. That imaginative man was Ian Fleming, and his creation came in the form of Bond, James Bond. Through the devastation of World War II and amidst potential destruction at the hands of the Soviet Union, Ian Fleming’s creativity gave the West a hero; that hero was found in the form of 007 James Bond. Though works of fiction, the James Bond novels were based largely upon both real people and historical events. Ian Fleming masterfully crafted a world that combined fiction and history to deliver a powerful Cold War allegory. Fleming's imagination, inspired by his Naval Intelligence career, placed James Bond as the representative of Britain’s resolve during the Second World War. This first section of this book focuses on four periods of Fleming’s life, and the internal and external wars he faced: 1) his early life in the shadow of his late father 2) his time as an amateur spy during the buildup to World War II 3) his imaginative plots during World War II 4) his impact on Cold War culture. These periods of his life are examined to showcase the impacts they had on the creation of James Bond and the impact James Bond had on the Cold War. The second section of this book analyzes the World War II and Cold War history that inspired Fleming’s 007 novels. The section also highlights the British resolve that embodied the will of 007.Finally, this work examines the legacy of Fleming and Bond that endures nearly seven decades later.