Previous month:
December 2021
Next month:
February 2022

January 2022

James Bond & Infectious Agents

Jim Bond Medical certificate from 1929 trip
In researching "the Real James Bond,"   I learned that the famed ornithologist had malaria and a few other diseases on his expeditions to the West Indies.

I came across a medical form from a doctor attesting that Bond had no "loathsome, or dangerous, or contagious, or infectious disease."

But what about the cinematic 007?

With all that travel, all those "unbridaled" hookups, all that blood, just how often might he have been exposed to deadly agents of a medical sort.

You can read more here, in "No time to die: An in-depth analysis of James Bond's exposure to infectious agents," an article in Travel Medicine and Infectious Disease:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1477893921002167.

Jim Bond Medical certificate from 1929 trip (1)

 


Remembering Jim Steinman

Jim Steinman intervi
A long time ago, I was the film critic for The Record in northern New Jersey. One of the perks was to interview people in the entertainment field who fascinated me.

When the movie "A Small Circle of Friends" came out in 1980, I was fortunate to interview Jim Steinman, a terrific guy who was forthright and easygoing despite his fame at the time.

When I heard today that he died, I went back and dug out the clipping of that interview. I know it's not exactly James Bond, but I thought it was worth posting.  Sadly, with the passing of Meat Loaf, I thought it was worth posting once more/

Continue reading "Remembering Jim Steinman" »


Two Signed Bond Books for (Only?) $12,000

Screen Shot 2022-01-13 at 9.14.11 PM
Came across this webpage offering two signed Bond books for $12,322.92:

https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31058760520&ir&clickid=09CwdxyQJxyIWsjTq9SrI0ZtUkG3NaXGNz4ezc0&cm_mmc=aff-_-ir-_-59145-_-77797&ref=imprad59145&afn_sr=impact

The more-valuable book is the one signed by ornithologist James Bond. The last one I saw for sale went at auction for $5,000 including a buyer's premium in 2020. (If I were rich, I would have bid on it.) Taken at face value.

The perfect companion book is a signed "How 007 Got His Name" by Mrs. James Bond (Mary Bond).

While supplies last.

Screen Shot 2022-01-17 at 8.11.47 AM

 

 

 

 


A Wonderful Review in Birding Magazine

Screen Shot 2022-01-09 at 9.03.25 AM

The Real James Bond just got a terrific review in the December issue of Birding Magazine...

The reviewer is Julia Zarankin. Here's a sample: Screen Shot 2022-01-09 at 9.16.44 AM

Jim Wright’s The Real James Bond is, in and of itself, a fantastic work of detective sleuthing that uncovers the unlikely connecting threads between the titan of spy fiction and the ornithologist whose field guide to the birds of the Caribbean became a “bible for birders visiting the region.”

A slim volume, the book is a treasure-trove of information, curious anecdotes, photographs, meditations on the connection between birders and intelligence work, and even provides all the required geographic coordinates should an inquisitive reader wish to walk in the footsteps of both Ian Fleming and Jim Bond himself.

You can read the review online here, beginning on the right hand-hand page (the rest of the issue is pretty cool, too):

https://www.aba.org/birding-magazine-december-2021/#86

An easier-to-read version of the review is here:

https://www.aba.org/an-ode-to-unsung-ornithological-hero/


Happy Birthday, (the real) James Bond!

JB's bitrhplace today                                            Photo credit: Jim Wright

The real James Bond was born on January 4, 1900, in this pale brick townhouse on Pine Street near Rittenhouse Square in Philadelphia.

He worked for the better half of the 20th Century at the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia (when he wasn't exploring the West Indies).

Bond is the scientist of the day on the following blog post, written by Bill Ashworth of the Linda Hall Library in Kansas City, Missouri:

https://www.lindahall.org/james-bond/

Happy birthday, Jim!


Jim Bond's College Days

Harrow note about Bond
Came across this fascinating blog post about Jim Bond's stay at Cambridge's Trinity College, including a "recommendation from his boarding school, Harrow.

Definitely worth a read, here:

https://trinitycollegelibrarycambridge.wordpress.com/2021/10/08/james-bond-at-trinity/