Thunderball

JAMES BOND IS HOT ON THE TRAIL OF TWO STOLEN ATOM BOMBS Upon M's insistence, James Bond takes a two-week respite in a secluded natural health spa. But amid the bland teas and tasteless yogurts, the iconic secret agent stumbles onto the trail of a lethal man with ties to a new secret organization called SPECTRE. When SPECTRE hijacks two A-bombs, a frantic global search for the weapons ensues in this high-stakes espionage novel, and M's hunch that the plane containing the bombs will make a clean drop into the ocean sends Bond to the Bahamas to investigate. On the island paradise, 007 finds a wealthy pleasure seeker's treasure hunt and meets Domino Vitali, the gorgeous mistress of Emilio Largo, otherwise known as SPECTRE's Number 1. But as powerful as he is, Emilio works for someone else: Ernst Stavro Blofeld, a peculiar man with a deadly creative mind.

Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in London in 1908. His first job was at Reuters news agency, after which he worked briefly as a stockbroker before working in Naval Intelligence during World War Two. His first novel, Casino Royale, was published in 1953 and was an instant success. Fleming went on to write thirteen other Bond books as well as two works of nonfiction and the children's classic Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The Bond books have earned praise from figures such as Raymond Chandler, who called Fleming “the most forceful and driving writer of thrillers in England” and President Kennedy, who named From Russia with Love as one of his favorite books. The books inspired a hugely successful series of film adaptations that began in 1962 with the release of Dr. No. He was married to Ann O'Neill, with whom he had a son, Caspar. He died in 1964.