Buy used:
$15.48
$3.99 delivery May 21 - 28. Details
Used: Very Good | Details
Sold by Goodwill Industries of SWFL
Condition: Used: Very Good
Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Ian Fleming
+ Follow
More books from this author
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

From Russia with Love (James Bond (Original Series)) Paperback – October 16, 2012

by Ian Fleming (Author)
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 4,299 ratings
See all formats and editions

James Bond is marked for death by the Soviet counterintelligence agency SMERSH in Ian Fleming’s masterful spy thriller, and the novel that President John F. Kennedy named one of his favorite books of all time.

SMERSH stands for “Death to Spies” and there’s no secret agent they’d like to disgrace and destroy more than 007, James Bond. But ensnaring the British Secret Service’s most lethal operative will require a lure so tempting even he can’t resist. Enter Tatiana Romanova, a ravishing Russian spy whose “defection” springs a trap designed with clockwork precision. Her mission: seduce Bond, then flee to the West on the Orient Express. Waiting in the shadows are two of Ian Fleming’s most vividly drawn villains: Red Grant, SMERSH’s deadliest assassin, and the sinister operations chief Rosa Klebb―five feet four inches of pure killing power.

Bursting with action and intrigue, From Russia with Love is one of the best-loved books in the Bond canon―an instant classic that set the standard for sophisticated literary spycraft for decades to come.

The text in this edition has been restored by the Fleming family company Ian Fleming Publications, to reflect the work as it was originally published.

Read more Read less
Previous page
  1. Book 5 of 14
    James Bond (Original Series)
  2. Print length
    181 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publication date
    October 16, 2012
  5. Dimensions
    5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1612185479
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1612185477
  8. See all details
Next page
The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Mr. Fleming…has never concocted a richer brew.” ―The New Yorker

“The espionage novel has been brought up to date by a superb practitioner of that nearly lost art: Ian Fleming.” ―The Los Angeles Times

“Fleming’s tautest, most exciting and most brilliant tale.” ―The Times Literary Supplement

“One of the most outrageously entertaining thrillers ever contrived.” ―Daily Telegraph

“Highly polished, irresistible.” ―The Sunday Times

“Stupendous.” ―The Observer

“If there’s a better writer of pure thrillers than Fleming, the name escapes me.” ―Boston Globe

“Ian Fleming writes with a kind of pushing, bloodcurdling elegance. His thrillers are models of fastidious murder.” ―The New York Times

“Fleming is intensely observant, acutely literate and can turn a cliché into a silk purse with astute alchemy.” ―The New York Herald Tribune

“Fleming could write about a stroke in golf, a finesse in bridge, or the engine of a Lancia Flaminia Zagato Spyder the way John Updike can write about copulation: endlessly, and amazingly, entertainingly.” ―New York magazine

“Mr. Fleming is in a class by himself.” ―The Daily Mail

About the Author

Ian Fleming was born in London on May 28, 1908. He was educated at Eton College and later spent a formative period studying languages in Europe. His first job was with Reuters News Agency where a Moscow posting gave him firsthand experience with what would become his literary bête noire―the Soviet Union. During World War II he served as Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence and played a key role in Allied espionage operations.

After the war he worked as foreign manager of the Sunday Times, a job that allowed him to spend two months each year in Jamaica. Here, in 1952, at his home “Goldeneye,” he wrote a book called Casino Royale―and James Bond was born. The first print run sold out within a month. For the next twelve years Fleming produced a novel a year featuring Special Agent 007, the most famous spy of the century. His travels, interests, and wartime experience lent authority to everything he wrote. Raymond Chandler described him as “the most forceful and driving writer of thrillers in England.” Sales soared when President Kennedy named the fifth title, From Russia With Love, one of his favorite books. The Bond novels have sold more than one hundred million copies worldwide, boosted by the hugely successful film franchise that began in 1962 with the release of Dr. No.

He married Anne Rothermere in 1952. His story about a magical car, written in 1961 for their only son Caspar, went on to become the well-loved novel and film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Fleming died of heart failure on August 12, 1964, at the age of fifty-six.

Learn more about Ian Fleming at www.ianfleming.com.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Thomas & Mercer; James Bond 007 edition (October 16, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 181 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1612185479
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1612185477
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 1 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 4,299 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Ian Fleming

Ian Fleming

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Ian Fleming was a British author and journalist. His first novel, Casino Royale (1953), introduced spy hero, James Bond, agent 007, to the world. It was the first of fourteen James Bond books which have gone on to sell over 60 million copies worldwide and be translated into 20 languages. Beginning with the movie adaptation of Dr No in 1961, the series also sparked the longest-running film franchise in history. Both Fleming and his fictional counterpart have become synonymous with style, glamour and thrilling adventures, as well as universally recognised phrases such as “My name’s Bond, James Bond” and “shaken and not stirred”.

Fleming was born in London in 1908. In the 1930s he worked at Reuters news agency before joining Naval Intelligence as an officer during the Second World War. His talent for writing fast and engaging prose, along with his knowledge of espionage and his fertile imagination led to the creation of James Bond, arguably one of the most-famous fictional characters of all time. He also wrote children’s classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.

Fleming was married to Ann Rothermere with whom he had a son, Caspar. He died in 1964.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
4,299 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Bill Williams
5.0 out of 5 stars A taut, suspenseful thriller!
Reviewed in the United States on June 2, 2013
Verified Purchase
In "From Russia with Love," the fifth book in Ian Fleming's classic saga of secret agent James Bond, we find 007 on his most exciting mission to date: intercept a Russian decoder from the hands of SMERSH, the organization that has vowed to take down Britain's most well known spy.

Fleming actually divides the book into two parts. The first section introduces us to Red Grant, a ruthless mercenary with only one agenda in mind: to kill. His back story serves the novel well, as it leads into his recruitment by the dangerous Rosa Klebb into SMERSH for one purpose: eliminate James Bond at any cost. To that end Klebb brings in the beautiful Tatiana Romanova and convinces her to fall in love with Bond, thereby setting him up for the inevitable kill at Grant's hands.

The second half brings Bond into action, nursing a wounded heart after the departure of Tiffany Case (from the previous entry "Diamonds are Forever") and given a new assignment: intercept the Spektor decoder and the agent assigned to deliver it. What Bond doesn't anticipate is falling for Tatiana Romanova, and neither does she. From there it's a one-way trip into excitement, leading to a ride on the Orient Express and a date with danger.

It's all here. When I read this novel, of course I was influenced by the popular film version, and I could see all of the excitement that Sean Connery and cast brought to the screen. It becomes very evident that the film stayed right on track with the original novel, right down to Bond's violent confrontation with Red Grant, and Fleming doesn't miss a beat in the sheer brutality of their fight (neither does the film version). Granted, there are some differences between both versions, particularly at the end. And unlike the film, Fleming doesn't wrap things up in a pretty bow.

It's no wonder that JFK liked the novel so much because of its realistic portrayal of spy versus spy warfare that dominated the Cold War. And the subsequent film version brought those same qualities to light as well. This is credit to Fleming's training in World War II in Russian intelligence. We're given only a glimpse of it in the novel (and film), which later echoes in Tom Clancy's debut novel "The Hunt for Red October". Now that would have been a great fantasy pairing for a novel or two!

"From Russia with Love" is vintage 007 at his most exciting. All you need now is some John Barry music and a trustworthy Walther PPK to go with you on the journey.
3 people found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Hendricks Book Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars …exciting espionage tale during the Cold War.
Reviewed in the United States on August 13, 2022
Verified Purchase
Book Review – From Russia with Love – Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming's “From Russia with Love” novel turns out to be one of the most heralded of the Fleming books and films. This book is not the typical James Bond film where Bond is the swaggering, infallible, womanizing spy. Simply put, the book, brings readers closer to the James Bond-style fans are familiar with. Even though still a few years away from the big screen version, Bond is finally developed with the personality that Sean Connery would later refine and make his own in the movies. Interestingly though, in the book, Bond is overshadowed in the story by Ali Karim Bey – the head of the British Secret Service’s ‘Station T’ in Istanbul, Turkey. Bey is the largest personality in the book, and Fleming had a lot of pleasure developing his character. Furthermore, this is the first-time readers get to spend time with the villains without Bond being in the picture. Bond doesn't really get any character time until chapter 11, leaving room for Fleming to show readers how things are done behind closed doors at the international criminal organization – SMERSH, which introduced characters that would later be translated more accurately for the film. The only major difference is that the film has these characters defecting from SMERSH to operate with SPECTRE, another global criminal organization that doesn't appear later in the books until “Thunderball.” It was once kidded that Bond was the worst secret agent ever because everyone knew everything about him. And this may be the book that inadvertently set that stereotype into motion. This time SMERSH is out for vengeance, seeking to murder 007 and his reputation. The plotline is a bit hard to swallow, but the story is told with such enthusiasm, readers won’t care once things are set into motion. That enthusiasm changed everything, and it could have been because Fleming’s character development of the villains made for a better story. He also spent a lot of time on a complex plot that may be one of the most complex plots of the Bond series. It is certainly a realistic Bond narrative and an exciting espionage tale set in the Cold War period. Fleming’s craft was on full display in this novel because he put together a great narrative, with memorable characters, wonderful dialogue, and mixed great interchanges with actionable movement. He also had strong character descriptions, and excellent scene imageries. Fleming’s writing ramped up the suspense throughout the book and he produced a well-varied and well-paced read. I enjoyed the book and although with some minor differences, absolutely loved the movie with Sean Connery as James Bond, 007.
One person found this helpful
Helpful
 Report
Michael Iffland
5.0 out of 5 stars Bond paperback
Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2024
Verified Purchase
Perfect packaging, book in excellent condition
Helpful
 Report
ken chasteene
5.0 out of 5 stars nice
Reviewed in the United States on March 5, 2024
Verified Purchase
another great book to read, then watch the movie......
Helpful
 Report

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
janson mancheski
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a short story collection featuring James Bond. Not a full Bond novel.
Reviewed in Canada on November 20, 2021
Verified Purchase
I enjoyed this book as a pleasant change of pace in Flemming's James Bond saga. The author shows his versatility as an evolving writer who doesn't have to rely on a set formula to create interesting works of fiction.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Fantasticspidy
5.0 out of 5 stars The story and the book quality are good
Reviewed in India on March 22, 2022
Verified Purchase
Great scene by ian
Report
claude
5.0 out of 5 stars Un bon roman d'espionnage.
Reviewed in France on November 2, 2019
Verified Purchase
L'écriture de I. Fleming est fluide, les peintures des acteurs vous permettent de les "visualiser", et on sent que l'action est racontée par quelqu'un qui connait vraiment le métier.
Pas besoin d'aller voir les films débiles de la saga, qui n'ont rien de commun avec le caractère imaginé par l'auteur.
IF doit se retourner dans sa tombe....
Report
Sandberger77
5.0 out of 5 stars There is only one Bond
Reviewed in Germany on July 18, 2017
Verified Purchase
Eine wunderbare Auflage von "Vintage Books", des 1957 erstmals erschienenen Bond-Klassikers von Ian Fleming.
Jeder James-Bond-Fan, besonders Film-Fan, sollte unbedingt das Original von Fleming lesen. Nur so versteht man Flemings Insiderwissen und atmosphärische Beschreibungen über die Welt der Geheimnisse und der Geheimen. Nur so kann man die zahlreichen Unterschiede zwischen der Handlung und den Charaktären im Original-Buch gegenüber der späteren Adaption als Film-Drehbuch erkennen und verstehen. Buch und Film bleiben mitunter getrennte Welten mit einem unterschiedlich nuancierten Bond. Aber nur das Buch bleibt das Original.
One person found this helpful
 Report
Shanti
5.0 out of 5 stars Tops
Reviewed in Australia on July 19, 2021
Verified Purchase
Exactly as described in perfect condition, great read in comparison to the film 🤣
Report