# Question re: James Bond BOOKS **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 22, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-james-bond-books/381393 "2006-11-22T05:12:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-james-bond-books/381393/1 "2006-11-22T05:12:34Z")
In which of the original Ian Fleming books, and in which chapter(s), could I find the best description (if any) of how the Double-O branch of MI6 is organized, and how Bond qualified for it in the first place? Given the reboot of “Casino Royale,” I’d like to take a look. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-james-bond-books/381393/2 "2006-11-22T05:36:52Z")
I a sorry to have to tell you that you will not find this information in any Ian Fleming novel. James Bond is presented to us, fully formed, in the first novel, Casino Royale. The mundane details of the 00 section are not discussed anywhere (I see to remember a short chapter in “From Russia With Love” where James Bond is reduced to serving on some paperwork committee, but that’s it as far as I can tell.) ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-james-bond-books/381393/3 "2006-11-22T13:47:55Z")
There’s precious little about the actual mechanics in Fleming’s Bond books, as AW has stated. I don’t think any of the other writers of Bond books (Gardner, Amis, Benson, or even the weird Wood) got into it, either. You might try Pearson’s “biography” of James Bond, which tries to cover everything not in Fleming’s books. But it’s not “canon”, of course: > **[James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Bond:_The_Authorised_Biography_of_007)** > > James Bond: The Authorized Biography of 007 (laterJames Bond: The Authorised Biography) by John Pearson, is a fictional biography of James Bond, first published in 1973; Pearson also wrote the biography The Life of Ian Fleming (1966). > The Authorized Biography of 007 was not commissioned by Glidrose Publications. It originated as a spoof novel for publisher Sidgwick & Jackson. However, Pearson knew Peter Janson-Smith, the Glidrose chairman, who gave permission for the work to be published. Cons... ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-james-bond-books/381393/4 "2006-11-22T14:26:35Z")
[QUOTE=Elendil’s Heir] In which of the original Ian Fleming books, and in which chapter(s), could I find the best description (if any) of how the Double-O branch of MI6 is organized, and how Bond qualified for it in the first place? Given the reboot of “Casino Royale,” I’d like to take a look. [/QUOTE] There is actually a brief description of how Bond qualified for the Double-0 section in one of the books (I think it was in the book _Casino Royale_, when Bond is talking with the French guy in the hospital while recovering from having his balls bashed). Bond says he shot a cypher expert in some skyscraper in concert with another shooter. The other guy shot a hole in the window, and then Bond “got him in the mouth when he turned to gape at the window”. Then he (Bond) killed another double agent or something. Bond attacked him at night, with a knife, and “it took him a long time to die”. From the descriptions in other books, Bond spends most of his non-mission time in the 00 section reading reports and training. Bond is the senior guy in 00 - 008 is junior, and 0011 is the newest member. I remember Bond reading about “Philipon - a Japanese murder drug” in one of the novels. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Rieux](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@Dr.Rieux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Rieux)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2006, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-re-james-bond-books/381393/5 "2006-11-22T15:22:34Z")
\*Moonraker \* has a chapter about a routine day at the office for Bond. The other double-ohs are mentioned, as is their shared secretary.