The Diary of Samuel Pepys Book

I cannot tell you whether this is the best biography of Ian Fleming -- because it's the only one of the several big books on Fleming that are out there that I've read -- but it is comprehensive. I learned a great deal about the man who created James Bond.

He set out to write the definitive spy novel. Critics say he didn't achieve that, but he came up with a character who became a cultural icon, and that's no mean achievement. In truth, the Bond movies did that. Fleming didn't write the film scripts; other did. But they couldn't have done it had not Fleming created Bond who propelled forward a platform of a dozen books that are his and an extensive shelf of Bond novels written by others commission by Fleming's estate.

Fleming once was a spy, though more in management for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division than a field agent. He also was a journalist and superb storyteller, so he had the stuff and talent to write the books.

But he was far from a nice man -- selfish, an alcoholic, a rake who bedded a lot of women during his lifetime, often the wives of friends. Fleming achieved the success he was looking for, but he did not enjoy it because no critic considered him a great writer. Fleming's success was in creating a fabulous money-making machine.

Do know that at moments this can be a challenging book to read. Biographer Andrew Lycett is a Britisher, so some of the expressions he uses we Americans won't understand. Example: "Still Ian could not resist cocking a snook at anyone who tried to tell him what to do."

Cocking a snook?