Birds of the West Indies
Encyclopedia
Birds of the West Indies (ISBN 0-618-00210-3) is a book containing exhaustive coverage of the 400+ species of birds found in the Caribbean Sea
, excluding the ABC islands, and Trinidad and Tobago
, which are considered bio-geographically as part of South America
.
Written by ornithologist James Bond
, the book was first published in 1936
by the Academy of Natural Sciences
as part of the International Series. It has been reprinted several times since then, including as one of the Peterson Field Guides
series (PFG 18), a September 1, 1999 edition from Houghton Mifflin
and a March 4, 2002 edition from Collins
. The book contains approximately 256 pages.
The book was the only text exclusively devoted to the avifauna of the region for many decades until A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies (ISBN 0-691-08736-9), by Herbert Raffaele et al.., was published in 1998.
for the name of his popular British
secret agent, Commander James Bond
.
Fleming, a keen bird watcher while living at his estate in Jamaica
, owned the book. He later explained that the author's name was "brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon, and yet very masculine – just what I needed." [8] Fleming once said in a Reader's Digest interview: "I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, and 'James Bond' was much better than something more interesting, like 'Peregrine Carruthers.' Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure — an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department." The book has since become a collector's item amongst Bond fans and was featured as an homage in the twentieth James Bond film, Die Another Day
when Bond poses as an ornithologist while in Cuba
.
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
, excluding the ABC islands, and Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...
, which are considered bio-geographically as part of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
.
Written by ornithologist James Bond
James Bond (ornithologist)
James Bond was a leading American ornithologist whose name was appropriated by writer Ian Fleming for his fictional spy, James Bond.-Biography:...
, the book was first published in 1936
1936 in literature
The year 1936 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Life magazine is first published.* The Carnegie Medal for excellence in children's literature is established in the UK.-New books:...
by the Academy of Natural Sciences
Academy of Natural Sciences
The Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, formerly Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, is the oldest natural science research institution and museum in the New World...
as part of the International Series. It has been reprinted several times since then, including as one of the Peterson Field Guides
Peterson Field Guides
The Peterson Field Guides are a popular and influential series of American field guides intended to assist the layman in identification of birds, plants, insects and other natural phenomena. The series was created and edited by renowned ornithologist Roger Tory Peterson...
series (PFG 18), a September 1, 1999 edition from Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
and a March 4, 2002 edition from Collins
HarperCollins
HarperCollins is a publishing company owned by News Corporation. It is the combination of the publishers William Collins, Sons and Co Ltd, a British company, and Harper & Row, an American company, itself the result of an earlier merger of Harper & Brothers and Row, Peterson & Company. The worldwide...
. The book contains approximately 256 pages.
The book was the only text exclusively devoted to the avifauna of the region for many decades until A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies (ISBN 0-691-08736-9), by Herbert Raffaele et al.., was published in 1998.
James Bond
Birds of the West Indies is known not only for its exhaustive study of Caribbean birds, but also for its author, whose namesake became famous as the fictional Agent 007 of Her Majesty's Secret Service. The name of the book's author, the ornithologist James Bond, was used by Ian FlemingIan Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
for the name of his popular British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
secret agent, Commander James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
.
Fleming, a keen bird watcher while living at his estate in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, owned the book. He later explained that the author's name was "brief, unromantic, Anglo-Saxon, and yet very masculine – just what I needed." [8] Fleming once said in a Reader's Digest interview: "I wanted the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name I could find, and 'James Bond' was much better than something more interesting, like 'Peregrine Carruthers.' Exotic things would happen to and around him, but he would be a neutral figure — an anonymous, blunt instrument wielded by a government department." The book has since become a collector's item amongst Bond fans and was featured as an homage in the twentieth James Bond film, Die Another Day
Die Another Day
Die Another Day is the 20th spy film in the James Bond series, and the fourth and last film to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond; it is also the last Bond film of the original timeline with the series being rebooted with Casino Royale...
when Bond poses as an ornithologist while in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
.
See also
- James BondJames BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
, the character, and James BondJames Bond (ornithologist)James Bond was a leading American ornithologist whose name was appropriated by writer Ian Fleming for his fictional spy, James Bond.-Biography:...
, the ornithologist - Inspirations for James BondInspirations for James BondA number of real-life inspirations have been suggested for James Bond, the sophisticated fictional character and British spy created by Ian Fleming. Although the Bond stories were often fantasy-driven, they did incorporate some real places, incidents and, occasionally, organisations such as...
- Ian FlemingIan FlemingIan Lancaster Fleming was a British author, journalist and Naval Intelligence Officer.Fleming is best known for creating the fictional British spy James Bond and for a series of twelve novels and nine short stories about the character, one of the biggest-selling series of fictional books of...
External links
- http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=CnYMX70y1oAC&dq=birds+of+the+west+indies&pg=PP1&ots=cewqVEyxp2&source=citation&sig=zj-gcUd_9LxcLb6Ku55X12B8TT0&hl=en&prev=http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Birds+of+the+West+Indies&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-GB:official&client=firefox-a&sa=X&oi=print&ct=result&cd=2&cad=bottom-3resultsA Field Guide to the Birds of the West Indies by James Bond, published by HMCo Field Guides, 1999] (Limited view)