John Pearson worked with Ian Fleming, the dashing creator of James Bond, as an assistant when Fleming was writing a column for a British paper in the early sixties. The James Bond movies had finally taken off and Fleming was able to enjoy just a taste of the fabulous success which to this day has not flagged a whit fifty years later.When Ian Fleming died of poor health and a weak heart in 1964, Pearson decided to write his biography, and did so, drawing upon not only his personal memories and observations, but the timely interviews of dozens of the players in Fleming's life and career. The result, "The Life of Ian Fleming," published in 1966, is a perfect study of a man, his life, and his work. Long out of print, it has been revived due to the astonishing success of James Bond and the ever growing interesting in his creator, and at $2.99 for a Kindle edition, how can you go wrong?Was Ian Fleming a great writer, or even a master of the spy genre? I have to say no, he wasn't. The Bond books are simple, almost crude, and James Bond is barely given a real presence, (Fleming himself worried about that) but remains through every book as a two dimensional figure. If not for the overlaying presence of Sean Connery (or pick your own favorite Bond) the books would be outdated and out of print long ago.However, what Ian Fleming did possess was the imagination, style, and experience, to not only create James Bond, but to lay out the basic guidelines for a successful James Bond experience. As complicated and technologically outrageous as the films have become, they have remained true at their core to the essence of the Bond books. Ian Fleming lives on, not only in the Bond movies, but in the myriad movie and television hybrids inspired by his creation.Popular myth has it that Ian Fleming--itself as fantastic and romantic a name as James Bond--was a "spy" during the second world war and used his wartime experiences in his writing. Well, yes and no, and mainly no. But I'll let John Pearson tell the story himself, which he does in great detail. Ian Fleming's life turns out to be interesting and intriguing, and the man himself as much a character as his famous creation.Ironically, I give this book four stars instead of five only because it really did its job TOO well. There was far more information on Ian Fleming that I feel is necessary for me to absorb. Not to say that the next reader won't absorb it all greedily, but a book half the size of this and with half the information would have been about the right size for my taste and interest.I will point out that it is important always to research, find, write about and publish all that can be obtained about public figures, and it is best to let the reader pick and choose what is important, rather than assume to edit a public life down to a wikipedia entry. The more information the merrier! So good work, John Pearson, and well done. I heartily recommend this book to anyone with an interest in Bond and his creator, the suave and illusive Ian Fleming.