Equipping James Bond

Guns, Gadgets, and Technological Enthusiasm

André Millard (University of Alabama at Birmingham)

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English

Johns Hopkins University Press
10 January 2019

Literary studies: from c 1900 -; Espionage & secret services; Chemical & biological weapons; Nuclear weapons; History of engineering & technology

James 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 a world threatened by nuclear bombs, poison gas, and attacks from space.

As a modern and modernizing hero, Bond has to keep up with the times. His film franchise is committed to equipping both Bond and his adversaries with the latest technological gadgets. Simultaneously, Millard stresses, the villains and threats that Bond faces embody contemporary fears about the downside of technological change. Taking a wide-ranging look at factual (and fictional) technology, Millard views the James Bond universe as evidence for popular perceptions of technological development as both inevitably progressive and apocalyptically threatening.

By: André Millard (University of Alabama at Birmingham)
Imprint: Johns Hopkins University Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 23mm
Weight: 431g
ISBN: 9781421426648
ISBN 10: 1421426641
Pages: 224
Publication Date: 10 January 2019
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Introduction 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

André Millard is a professor of history at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He is the author of Beatlemania: Technology, Business, and Teen Culture in Cold War America and Magic City Nights: Birmingham’s Rock ’n’ Roll Years.

Reviews for Equipping James Bond: Guns, Gadgets, and Technological Enthusiasm

""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 Times