Rating: 
Summary: More than just another pretty face...
Review: Okay, James Bond films range from the great to the absolutely lame. Let's not kid ourselves that these movies are great art. What they are, though, is a cultural fact of life. I winced when I saw the title - Bond Girls. Sure, maybe it's retro, hip, funky, but one figures that this book is bound to be anything but. This isn't a ultra-cooler-than-thou exploration of sex and sexuality that doesn't explore. In fact, the book's "style" has all the sex appeal of a museum exposition. The photos are fine, but too rarely illuminating. So, why five stars? Well, the simple truth is that it is a very good read. The book is divided into two main sections - about half deals with the fictional characters and half deals with the women who brought them to the screen. One gets the feeling that Cork wrote the history and d'Abo (an actress who appeared in one Bond film) wrote of the real world. The first part is grade A film history/analysis. A few films are trashed, but the essential appeal of the women in the Bond films is laid bare without seeming to drool over the subject matter nor patronize the reader. As a woman, I could read it without rolling my eyes. Always a challenge. The second half has the more compelling material. No, we don't find out who slept with who, but d'Abo does strike this interesting tone, letting the women reveal how they were swept off their feet by the whirlwind of 007 and then deposited back into the real world. What happens when you get to play a Cinderella-like role, d'Abo asks, and then have everyone expect you to live up to the fantasy for the rest of your life? It is an interesting, strange, and somewhat captivating story, and it ends the book on an unexpected note of having to find a balance between the fantasy of Bond and the reality of life. The last chapter opens with a compelling photo of the golden girl from Goldfinger - a cover of Life magazine. The cover headline sums up the fate of the "Bond Girls" when it calls her a "gilded victim." These actresses have been victims of publicity machines (one complains that a publicist made up quotes for her), and of a pop culture juggernaut. But they have also "bonded" together (I hated writing that pun) and, as they say, have formed a sisterhood. It turns out they are the ones who like the term "Bond Girl". Recommendation: Get it for the Bond fan you know, then borrow it and read it.
Rating:
Summary: This is why we're Bond fans!
Review: The announcement of who was going to be next Bond girl was always as much of a thrill to me as hearing the plotline for the upcoming film, and "Bond Girls Are Forever" manages to capture that behind-the-scenes excitement. Great stills, great anecdotes. I'm a purest who loves the early Bond girls best -- Ursula Andress and the phenomenal "Thunderball" quintet, Jane Seymour and Barbara Bach -- and this book not only covers the early girls in great detail, it also has interesting material on the later Bond girls. It's a featured item on my Bond bookshelf.
Rating:
Summary: A 5 star book of female 10
Review: This a great book of magnifecent women.
Rating:
Summary: THEY DID IT AGAIN !
Review: This a terrific book to have displayed on your coffee table. It certainly opened my eyes to the Bond films and the women in them. Well written and certainly easy on the eyes. My only complaint was the lack of photos of Teri Hatcher- her one photo was not enough.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific!
Review: This a terrific book to have displayed on your coffee table. It certainly opened my eyes to the Bond films and the women in them. Well written and certainly easy on the eyes. My only complaint was the lack of photos of Teri Hatcher- her one photo was not enough.
Rating:
Summary: Facts and Fantasies
Review: This is a book that not only imparts knowledge, but also creates dreams.
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