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Thrilling Cities (1963)
| Author: |
Ian Fleming |
| Published: |
1963 (UK, Jonathan Cape) |
| MI6 Rating: |
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History
Thrilling Cities is a collection of non-fiction travel
memoirs of the creator of James Bond, originally written
for The
Sunday
Times between
1959
-1960
whilst Ian
Fleming was writing "Goldfinger" and the short stories
contained within "For Your Eyes Only". At the behest
of Times travel
editor Leonard Russell, Fleming's travels took in thirteen
cities around the world including Hong Kong,
Tokyo, Los Angeles, New York and Monte Carlo.
The book was published by Glidrose Productions first in
Great Britain in 1963, followed by an American edition
in 1964. One of Fleming's
finest works, which reads just as easily as any of his
fiction, the UK version has a large number
of photos including a priceless
one of Lucky Luciano standing with Fleming. The US editions
feature drawings by Milton Glaser at the beginning of
each chapter. Fleming includes an 'Incidental
Intelligence' section at the end of each chapter that lists
notable hotels, dining, and night spots. The book
version includes material originally removed by the editors
of The Times, which Fleming claimed had been properly 'impurgated'
in the book.
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Above: 1st edition Signet paperback (USA) |
The 1959 Journey
Fleming's first trip involved a tour of the Far East and the
United States. During the Asian portion of Fleming's trip, he
was assisted by Times Asian correspondent
Richard Hughes and Tokyo journalist "Tiger" Saito. Fleming's impressions
of these two men are reflected in the creations of Dikko Henderson and Tiger
Tanaka for Fleming's James Bond novel "You Only Live Twice".
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As Fleming's essay on New York City
was intensely critical, the editors of the American edition
of Thrilling Cities asked
him to provide some extra material as some form of mitigation. Fleming
obliged with "007 in New York", a short story describing James
Bond's impressions of New York City while waiting to perform an inconsequential
assignment. The episode, which is actually a shaggy dog story in disguise,
is most notable for including the recipe for "Scrambled Eggs James
Bond." "007 in New York" was considered a 'lost' Bond story
for years because it was not reprinted outside reissues of the American
edition of Thrilling Cities until 1999, when the London Sunday Times reprinted
the story. In 2002 it was added to new Penguin editions of the short story
collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights.
Left: The UK Pan paperback cover artwork
for Thrilling Cities (Part 1)
The 1960 Journey
The initial series having been considered a success, Fleming was commissioned
to make a sequel journey, this time using an automobile to tour Europe. Fleming
toured and wrote essays on the following cities: |
Part 1 - The 1959 Journey
- Hong Kong
- Macao
- Tokyo
- Honolulu
- Los Angeles & Las Vegas
- Chicago
- New York
Part 2 - The 1960 Journey
- Hamburg
- Berlin
- Vienna
- Geneva
- Naples
- Monte Carlo
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Right: The UK Pan paperback cover artwork
for Thrilling Cities (Part 2)
"Scrambled Eggs James Bond"
For four individualists:
12 fresh eggs
Salt and pepper
5-6 oz. of fresh butter. |
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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 the pan from heat, add rest of butter
and continue
whisking for half a minute, adding the while finely chopped chives
or fines herbs. Serve on hot buttered toast in individual copper
dishes (for appearance only) with pink champagne (Taittinger)
and low music.
Above: 1st edition
Jonathan Cape hardback (UK), Book club edition The Reprint
Society hardback (UK), 1st edition New American Library
hardback (USA)
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Publication Timeline
| 1963 |
1st edition Jonathan Cape hardback (UK)
- Jacket artwork by Paul Davis, includes an erratum slip
on page 223 |
| 1964 |
October 2 - Thrilling Cities: Part I - 1st edition Pan
paperback (UK)
Book club edition The Reprint Society hardback (UK)
- special edition only made available to World Books members
1st edition New American Library hardback (USA)
Library edition Amereon House hardback (USA) |
| 1965 |
Thrilling Cities: Part II - 1st edition Pan paperback (UK)
June - 1st edition Signet paperback (USA) |
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