The Science of James Bond: The Super-Villains, Tech, and Spy-Craft Behind the Film and Fiction

by Mark Brake

Overview

Spy-Fi Culture with a License to Kill

From Sean Connery to Daniel Craig, James Bond is the highest-grossing movie franchise of all time. Out-grossing Star Wars, Harry Potter, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the world’s most iconic and international secret agent has a shelf life of almost six decades, from Dr. No to Spectre. As nuclear missile threats are replaced by a series of subtler threats in a globalized and digital world, Bond is with us still.

In The Science of James Bond, we recognize the Bond franchise as a unique genre: spy-fi. A genre of film and fiction that fuses spy fiction with science fiction. We look at Bond’s obsessions with super-villains, the future, and world domination or destruction. And we take a peek under the hood of trends in science and tech, often in the form of gadgets and spy devices in chapters such as:

• Goldfinger: Man Has Achieved Miracles in All Fields but Crime!
• You Only Live Twice: The Race to Conquer Space
• Live and Let Die: Full Throttle: Bond and the Car
• Skyfall: The Science of Cyberterrorism
• And more!

This is the only James Bond companion that looks at the film and fiction in such a spy-fi way, taking in weapon wizards, the chemistry of death, threads of nuclear paranoia, and Bond baddies’ obsession with the master race!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781510743809
Publisher:	Skyhorse
Publication date:	02/18/2020
Series:	The Science of
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	232
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Mark Brake developed the world’s first science and science fiction degree in 1999 and launched the world’s first astrobiology degree in 2005. He’s communicated science through film, television, print, and radio on five continents, including for NASA, Seattle’s Science Fiction Museum, the BBC, the Royal Institution, and Sky Movies.
Mark Brake developed the world’s first science and science fiction degree in 1999. He also launched the world’s first astrobiology degree in 2005. He’s communicated science through film, television, print, and radio on five continents, including for NASA, Seattle’s Science Fiction Museum, the BBC, the Royal Institution, and Sky Movies. He was one of the founding members of NASA’s Astrobiology Institute Science Communication Group. He has written more than a dozen books, including Alien Life Imagined for Cambridge University Press in 2012. Mark also tours Europe with Science of Doctor Who, Science of Star Wars, and Science of Superheroes road shows.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Spy-Fi Culture with a Licence to Kill ix

Part I 1962-1977 1

Dr. No (1962): Beware of the Black-Gloved Boffin 3

From Russia with Love (1963): Bumping off Bond and Killing Castro 13

Goldfinger (1964): Man Has Achieved Miracles in All Fields but Crime! 25

Thunderball (1965): Making a Mint out of Crime 33

You Only Live Twice (1967): The Race to Conquer Space 41

On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969): Guns, Germs, and Super-Villains 49

Diamonds Are Forever (1971): Bond's Battle with Weapon Wizards 57

Live and Let Die (1973): Full Throttle: Bond and the Car 65

The Man with the Golden Gun (1974): Notes from a Dying Planet 77

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977): A New Atlantis 87

Part II 1979-2002 97

Moonraker (1979): Divining the Master Race 99

For Your Eyes Only (1981): The Threads of Nuclear Paranoia 109

Octopussy (1983): Political Science: When Two Tribes Go to War 117

A View to a Kill (1985): Death to Silicon Valley! 123

The Living Daylights (1987): Masters of War 133

Licence to Kill (1989): The Chemistry of Death 139

GoldenEye (1995): Star Wars and Space Forces 145

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997): Information Wants to Be Free 153

The World Is Not Enough (1999): Black Gold Means Blood 161

Die Another Day (2002): Second Suns and Artificial Daylight 167

Part III 2006-2019 173

Casino Royale (2006): Tradecraft Science: Bond versus Bourne 175

Quantum of Solace (2008): The Irresistible Rise of Corporate Power 185

Skyfall (2012): The Science of Cyberterrorism 189

Spectre (2015): New World Order of Spying: A More Fascist Future? 197

Index 205

Editorial Reviews

A scholar and authority on how science fiction can influence the course of science and define our popular perceptions.” —Booklist Online

"It is rare to find someone of Mark's universal talents in science." —Roy Davies, BAFTA-nominated editor of BBC's Timewatch

"Entertaining and insightful. A joy for fans of both science and fiction." —Gareth L. Powell, award-winning author of Ack-Ack Macaque

From the Publisher