"Monumental . Mr. Shakespeare is so adept . at distilling complex history and conjuring cinematic images." - Wall Street Journal "Prodigiously researched . Shakespeare''s surely definitive account [is] . a rich and fully fleshed portrait." - Air Mail "This is a marvellous book about Ian Fleming, but it''s also one of the most engaging portraits of a particular period of British history that I have read in a long time.
" - Antonia Fraser "A book so buoyant and delicious that you feel it will be a friend for life." - Telegraph "This excellent biography is as worldly and clever as one could wish." - Spectator "Elegant and painstakingly researched." - The Observer "While Fleming has been the subject of several biographies, they seem slight in comparison with Shakespeare''s study, which has the depth and texture typically associated with literary fiction. In Shakespeare''s hands, Fleming''s world comes vividly to life." - Salon "In this outstanding biography . Shakespeare constructs an exhaustive portrait of the author''s life and influences. Clocking in at just under nine hundred pages, Ian Fleming: The Complete Man leaves no stone unturned.
It''s the definitive biography of an endlessly fascinating subject." - Esquire "[Shakespeare] is the first Fleming biographer to get his hands on just about everything Fleming wrote, which helps to make this biography somehow both capacious and breathlessly entertaining . This is certainly the most three-dimensional portrait of [Fleming]." - Los Angeles Times "Shakespeare . was given unprecedented access to Fleming''s papers. Out of his research, he''s written a highly detailed, generally very admiring portrait of a cultured, problematic, creative man from a different era." - Bloomberg "Ian Fleming: The Complete Man attempts to peel back the layers, debunk the myths, and make sense of the contradictions . [Shakespeare] has produced the most thorough biography of Fleming yet .
Hugely compelling . a bold reassessment of an intriguing person." - Washington Examiner "Exemplary . This will stand as the definitive biography of [Ian Fleming]." - Publishers Weekly "Immensely detailed . A dazzling, even dizzying achievement." - Washington Post "Magisterial . Shakespeare''s hugely compelling biography is a bold reassessment of an intriguing person.
" - Washington Examiner "Shakespeare has the rare ability to reinvigorate subjects that had seemed exhausted. If, like me, you thought you knew all there was to be known about Ian Fleming, prepare for a surprise . Written with such brio that the pace never slackens." - Adam Sisman "What a masterful and definitive study this is, enhanced by a novelist''s skill in making it so eminently readable and page-turning. I learned a great deal that I did not know. It is compulsively absorbing." - David Stafford "Fresh . Insightful .
Shakespeare leaves no stone unturned in this exhaustive, highly readable biography." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Nicholas Shakespeare''s magisterial Ian Fleming: The Complete Man will surely be the last word on James Bond''s creator. Shakespeare''s intimate grasp of Fleming''s social milieu makes this superb biography even more authoritative." - The Spectator (US) "Using rare access to the Fleming archive, Shakespeare fashions an exciting and often sad portrait of the man. It is rich in detail . The book is terrific." - Chicago Tribune "Ian Fleming: The Complete Man takes a deep dive into the life of the author who created James Bond . Drawing on never-before-accessed private archives, the book contains new insights into Fleming''s career, friendships, and love affairs.
" - MovieMaker "A monumental record of Fleming''s life. The completeness of the book is beyond doubt. Shakespeare leaves no future biographer much to discover. Fleming''s place in history is assured." - Sunday Times (London) "A sustained and engrossing homage to the Olympic icon of a beleaguered Britain, and a writer damned to fame. With scarcely a dull page, it''s a chip off the old block . steeped in exceptional research . stitches up the loose ends of Fleming''s story into a satisfying 21st-century biography.
" - The Independent "A definitive biography that deepens and reshapes previous versions of Fleming''s life . light-footed and swift-moving despite its copious research . Shakespeare''s Fleming rises from these richly textured pages as a more substantial and sympathetic figure than the preening snob of myth." - Financial Times "Ian Fleming: The Complete Man is packed with women, their characters and stories carefully filled in . highly accomplished and readable." - New Statesman "The most comprehensive picture yet of Bond''s creator . Definitive." - The Economist "Fascinating, well researched, neatly written.
" - Literary Review.