Casino Royale (James Bond Novels)
The allure of James Bond was best described by Raymond Chandler,  who insisted that 007 is "what every man would like to be and  what every woman would like to have between her sheets." Who can  argue with that? This month marks the 40th anniversary of the  film release of Dr. No, which was the first Bond adventure to  make the big screen, and two big coffee-table books are being  published to honor the occasion (LJ 10/1/02, p. 96). Shockingly,  Fleming's original novels have gone out of print, but Penguin  here reproduces a trio of the British secret agent's early  outings, released in 1952, 1958, and 1959, respectively,  sporting stylish cover art. These stories were racy for the  nifty Fifties but are quite tame by today's standards. Still,  they can be fun.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.