Thunderball.

FLEMING, Ian.

Item Number: 4331

London: Jonathan Cape, 1961.

First edition, binding A of the ninth James Bond novel. Octavo, original black boards titles to the spine in gilt. Fine in a fine first-issue dust jacket with just a touch of shelfwear to the crown of the spine. Dust jacket art by Richard Chopping.

"Thunderball represented a new departure [for the Bond series], with the introduction of SPECTRE and of Ernst Blofeld, a commanding villain who was to reappear. This gave a measure of continuity to the later Bond novels Thunderball worked well as an adventure story the theme of the theft of atom bombs seemed pertinent and modern" (Black, 49, 55). "A thriller, a chiller and a pleasure to read" (New York Times). It was adapted twice to the screen: under the present title in 1965 and as Never Say Never Again in 1983—each time starring Sean Connery.