American Rivals of James Bond

This is a critical history of spy fiction, film and television in the United States, with a particular focus on the American fictional spies that rivaled (and were often influenced by) Ian Fleming’s James Bond. James Fenimore Cooper’s Harvey Birch, based on a real-life counterpart, appeared in his novel The Spy in 1821. While Harvey Birch’s British rivals dominated spy fiction from the late 1800s until the mid–1930s, American spy fiction came of age shortly thereafter. The spy boom in novels and films during the 1960s, spearheaded by Bond, heavily influenced the espionage genre in the United States for years to come, including series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and Matt Helm. The author demonstrates that, while American authors currently dominate the international spy fiction market, James Bond has cast a very long shadow, for a very long time.

Graham Andrews lives in Brussels, Belgium.

Graham Andrews
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 264
Bibliographic Info: notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-7368-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4763-0
Imprint: McFarland

Preface 1
Introduction: Enter Ian Fleming 3
One. The Brave and the Bold 13
Two. The War That Did Not End War 22
Three. Pulps and Serials 33
Four. Hugh North Sees It Through 49
Five. Thank You, Mr. Marquand 64
Six. The War That Changed War 82
Seven. Assignment—Edward S. Aarons 99
Eight. Hamilton and Helm 112
Nine. Killmasters—and Mistresses! 125
Ten. Heavy Hitters 143
Eleven. Agents in the Outfield 169
Twelve. Multimedia Master Spies 185
Thirteen. Up Until Today 221
Epilogue: The Shape of Spies to Come? 241
Chapter Notes 243
Bibliography 255
Index 257

• “[A]ssiduously researched and enthusiastically written”—Crime Time

• “[A] thorough history of spies and secret agents of all kinds in pop culture…[it’s] readable, it’s quite entertaining at times, it’s most certainly informative, and clearly well-researched”—Forces of Geek.