Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born: Ian Fleming's Jamaica
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Narrated by:
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Roy McMillan
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By:
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Matthew Parker
About this listen
Amid the lush beauty of Jamaica's northern coast lies the true story of Ian Fleming's iconic creation: James Bond.
For two months every year, from 1946 to his death 18 years later, Ian Fleming lived at Goldeneye, the house he built on a point of high land overlooking a small white-sand beach on Jamaica's stunning north coast. All the James Bond novels and stories were written there.
This audiobook explores the huge influence of Jamaica on the creation of Fleming's iconic postwar hero. The island was for Fleming part retreat from the world, part tangible representation of his values, and part exotic fantasy. Goldeneye also examines Fleming's Jamaican friendships - his extraordinary circle included Errol Flynn, the Oliviers, international politicians, and British royalty as well as his close neighbor, Noël Coward - and traces his changing relationship with Ann Charteris (and hers with Jamaica) and the emergence of Blanche Blackwell as his Jamaican soul mate.
Goldeneye also compares the real Jamaica of the 1950s during the buildup to independence with the island's portrayal in the Bond books, to shine a light on the attitude of the likes of Fleming and Coward regarding the dramatic end of the British Empire.
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Joan Didion lived a life in the public and private eye with her late husband, writer John Gregory Dunne, whom she met while the two were working in New York City, when Didion was at Vogue and Dunne was writing for Time. They became wildly successful writing partners when they moved to Los Angeles and cowrote screenplays and adaptations together. Didion is well known for her literary journalistic style in both fiction and nonfiction.
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Riveted for 1591 miles
- By Kaysi12 on 04-11-16
By: Tracy Daugherty
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Mark Twain: Man in White
- The Grand Adventure of His Final Years
- By: Michael Shelden
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 17 hrs
- Unabridged
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Pulitzer Prize finalist Michael Shelden illuminates Mark Twain’s twilight years in this brilliant account of the legendary author’s life. Drawing heavily on Twain’s own letters and journals, Mark Twain: Man in White recounts both Twain’s private family experiences and his larger-than-life public image.
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Fantastic book
- By Tad Davis on 08-23-10
By: Michael Shelden
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Eleanor and Hick
- The Love Affair That Shaped a First Lady
- By: Susan Quinn
- Narrated by: Kimberly Farr
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1932 Eleanor Roosevelt entered the claustrophobic, duty-bound existence of the first lady with dread. By that time she had put her deep disappointment in her marriage behind her and developed an independent life - now threatened by the public role she would be forced to play. A lifeline came to her in the form of a feisty campaign reporter for the Associated Press: Lorena Hickok. Over the next 30 years, until Eleanor's death, the two women carried on an extraordinary relationship.
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An Icon who was real.
- By Francine Fields on 08-17-17
By: Susan Quinn
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Empire of Self
- A Life of Gore Vidal
- By: Jay Parini
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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The product of 30 years of friendship and conversation, Jay Parini's Empire of Self probes behind the glittering surface of Gore Vidal's colorful life to reveal the complex emotional and sexual truth underlying his celebrity-strewn life. But there is plenty of glittering surface as well - a virtual who's who of the American Century, from Eleanor Roosevelt and Amelia Earhart through the Kennedys, Princess Margaret, and the creme de la creme of Hollywood.
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Well done!
- By Christopher on 03-22-16
By: Jay Parini
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Gertrude Bell
- Queen of the Desert, Shaper of Nations
- By: Georgina Howell
- Narrated by: Corrie James
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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She has been called the female Lawrence of Arabia, which, while not inaccurate, fails to give Gertrude Bell her due. She was at one time the most powerful woman in the British Empire: a nation builder, the driving force behind the creation of modern-day Iraq. Born in 1868 into a world of privilege, Bell turned her back on Victorian society, choosing to read history at Oxford and going on to become an archaeologist, spy, Arabist, linguist, author, poet, photographer, and legendary mountaineer.
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Shattering The Glass Ceiling in Britain
- By Nostromo on 08-05-18
By: Georgina Howell
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Travelers in the Third Reich
- The Rise of Fascism: 1919-1945
- By: Julia Boyd
- Narrated by: Christa Lewis
- Length: 13 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Travelers in the Third Reich is an extraordinary history of the rise of the Nazis based on fascinating firsthand accounts, drawing together a multitude of voices and stories, including politicians, musicians, diplomats, schoolchildren, communists, scholars, athletes, poets, fascists, artists, tourists, and even celebrities like Charles Lindbergh and Samuel Beckett. Their experiences create a remarkable three-dimensional picture of Germany under Hitler - one so palpable that the listener will feel, hear, even breathe the atmosphere.
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Why must I write a review to have my rating count?
- By Saint Exupery on 03-04-23
By: Julia Boyd
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When Paris Sizzled
- The 1920s Paris of Hemingway, Chanel, Cocteau, Cole Porter, Josephine Baker, and Their Friends
- By: Mary McAuliffe
- Narrated by: Saskia Maarleveld
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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When Paris Sizzled vividly portrays the City of Light during the fabulous 1920s, les Annees folles, when Parisians emerged from the horrors of war to find that a new world greeted them - one that reverberated with the hard metallic clang of the assembly line, the roar of automobiles, and the beat of jazz. Mary McAuliffe traces a decade that saw seismic change on almost every front, from art and architecture to music, literature, fashion, entertainment, transportation, and, most notably, behavior.
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Informative, but no sizzle
- By OzEnigma on 06-01-17
By: Mary McAuliffe
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Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Life
- By: Gerald Martin
- Narrated by: Sean Crisden
- Length: 22 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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In his novels and short stories, Gabriel García Márquez has transformed the particulars of his own life and the lives of his fellow Colombians into wondrous fiction. While telling the story of the sloppily dressed, skinny young man who rose from obscurity as a provincial journalist to international fame as the progenitor of a new literature, Gerald Martin also considers the tensions in García Márquez's life between celebrity and the personal quest for literary quality, between politics and writing, and between the seductions of power, solitude, and love.
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Great content, somewhat disappointing narrator.
- By Paola Herrington on 01-08-13
By: Gerald Martin
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Emily Post
- Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners
- By: Laura Claridge
- Narrated by: Christine Williams
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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From the excesses of the late 19th-century Gilded Age, through the horrors of World War I, to the transformations of the Roaring 20s that gave birth to her magisterial Etiquette, Emily Post unfailingly took the measure of her era. A Baltimore blue blood with a populist heart, she helped the masses live the American dream with her hugely popular book, which has been continuously in print for over 85 years.
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Typical for Emily Post
- By Stephanie on 01-07-19
By: Laura Claridge
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Clementine
- The Life of Mrs. Winston Churchill
- By: Sonia Purnell
- Narrated by: Susan Lyons
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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By Winston Churchill's own admission, victory in the Second World War would have been "impossible without her". Until now, however, the only existing biography of Churchill's wife, Clementine, was written by her daughter. Sonia Purnell finally gives Clementine her due with a deeply researched account that tells her life story, revealing how she was instrumental in softening FDR's initial dislike of her husband and paving the way for Britain's close relationship with America.
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Exasperating At Times But Very Good--
- By Gillian on 04-09-18
By: Sonia Purnell
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Mark Twain
- A Life
- By: Ron Powers
- Narrated by: Ron Powers
- Length: 10 hrs and 54 mins
- Abridged
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Mark Twain founded the American voice. His works are a living national treasury: taught, quoted, and reprinted more than those of any writer except Shakespeare. His awestruck contemporaries saw him as the representative figure of his times, and his influence has deeply flavored the 20th and 21st centuries.
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Buy the Book
- By W.Denis on 10-22-05
By: Ron Powers
What listeners say about Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born: Ian Fleming's Jamaica
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- James E. Bearss
- 12-21-22
Goldeneye
I Love Bond. I never knew that much about Ian Fleming. And now I do. I love Bond even more.
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- Kindle Customer
- 06-17-21
An unbelievable creation story!
There were many incredible moments in this book, it doesn't pull any punches at all!
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- Y. Scott
- 11-18-22
This book made my visit to Goldeneye special
I finished this book before I visited Goldeneye in Jamaica. I also read (and re-read) 007 novels while I was there. I found so many interesting information and helped me understand Ian Fleming and 007 novels.
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- Anonymous User
- 09-13-21
Stunningly Good!!
So I met Chris Blackwell back in 1994… was told that he was the son of wealthy rum importers turned to music… Bob Marley… Robert Palmer… U2… I wish somebody would have told me… Ian Fleming and James Bond
I loved how Mr Parker kept jumping centuries since that I could understand the historical significance of all parties and country
I would recommend this to anyone… from those interested in romance… tragic romance… empires… spy novels… and just plain Hollywood what?!?!
Absolutely loved it!
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-02-22
utterly enjoyable
loved it. was hoping it wouldn't end. submerges you in a time and place romanticized.
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- BDHumbert
- 12-30-15
What a great discovery!
I had my doubts about this book. I am a huge Bond fan and love even the bad movies. The author does a wonderful job weaving together Bond, Fleming, Jamaica, and the Brits that entertains and informs
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- Catherine Puma
- 07-30-21
Extremely Interesting Literary and Political Work!
This is an exceptionally researched, well structured, and well-read analysis of Ian Fleming as a man, author, and advocate for Jamaica's beauties. Matthew Parker weaves discussion of Fleming's personal life with literary review of the James Bond series and the sociocultural & political backdrop of Jamaica with such skill that the reader doesn't fell as if one if being jerked from topic to topic. It flowed really well, and I almost couldn't put it down!
As a graduate student studying Caribbean coral ecology, I was thrilled to hear just how much Fleming was obsessed with exploring the reef within sight of his Goldeneye estate. So much of his love for the island was tied to its natural wonders, and I simply adored all of those passages.
However, Parker doesn't pull punches when it comes to pointing out Fleming and the British empire's relationship with Jamaica. Parker's biography of Fleming includes his alcoholism, sexism, racism, cigarette chain-smoking, and severe nostalgia for colonialism. Parker deftly criticizes British media and authorities for not respecting Jamaican self-governance, employment, or representation. All of Parker's statements are backed up with quotes and references from the period, which is essential for quality non fiction.
I recommend this to any fan of Jamaica, the Bond books, the Bond movies, Ian Fleming as a character, colonial and post-colonial British history, and the history of anthropogenic impacts on Caribbean coral reefs. I have read "Casino Royale" but nothing else in the series, but I am familiar with nearly all of the Bond films produced with Sean Connery onward (apparently there were 2 bad ones before Sean Connery which no one remembers lol). I definitely have a better sense of how important the Bond franchise is to the British and American psyche, as well as Jamaica's importance in the fall of the British empire.
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- Kindle Customer
- 01-28-22
I really enjoyed this.
This is a comprehensive account of Ian Fleming. Its also a compendium of all of the James Bond books. Ever since I viewed No Time to Die, I have been curious about Fleming. This volume provides many answers.
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- Allen
- 07-02-15
Ian Fleming lead a fascinating life.
In Jennet Conant's fine book, "The Irregulars" (I heard the audio edition several years ago) she briefly mentions Ian Fleming during his "spy" days spent in the USA when Britain was trying to get us into WW2. Matthew Parker's book "Goldeneye" deals with the years after the war when Fleming decided move to Jamaica and write books. The sub-title "Where Bold was Born" is figuratively true. Every James Bond story was written during Fleming's times in Goldeneye - the name of his house on the island.
There is a much name dropping as Jamaica was the place for the wealthy and the famous to go to get away. Noel Coward had a particularly active role in Ian and Ann Fleming's life. You may be surprised at how much 'hanky-panky' was considered normal in the 50s and 60s.
The ebook was available, but the audio was not synchronized to the book, so I usually sat with the ebook and my ear buds and leafing along. The audio was wonderful, however, during those 4:00 AM waking hours that I sometimes have. I suggest getting the ebook or the printed edition just for all of the photographs. (Always a problem with audio books)
My only dilemma now is whether or not to listen/read the new versions of the James Bond books. I may have to revisit at least a couple of them: "Casino Royale' the first book and perhaps "Moonraker" the only adventure set entirely in England.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Darren Sapp
- 02-10-17
Fleming, Ian Fleming
If you could sum up Goldeneye: Where Bond Was Born: Ian Fleming's Jamaica in three words, what would they be?
Peek Behind Curtain
What did you like best about this story?
Bond fans will love this behind-the-scenes look into the creation of culture's most famous spy. I would have liked a little more on Fleming's WWII service as that likely shaped much of his writing.
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