For several minutes he stood speechless, his eyes dazzled by the terrible beauty of the greatest weapon on earth

Hes a self-made millionaire, head of the Moonraker rocket programme and loved by the press. So why is Sir Hugo Drax cheating at cards? Bond has just five days to uncover the sinister truth behind a national hero, in Ian Flemings third 007 adventure.

Ian Lancaster Fleming was born in London in 1908. His first job was at Reuters news agency after which he worked briefly as a stockbroker before working in Naval Intelligence during the Second World War. His first novel,Casino Royale, was published in 1953 and was an instant success. Fleming went on to write twelve other Bond books as well as two works of non-fiction and the childrens classicChitty Chitty Bang Bang. The Bond books have sold over sixty million copies and earned praise from figures such as Raymond Chandler who called Fleming the most forceful and driving writer of thrillers in England and President Kennedy who namedFrom Russia with Loveas one of his favourite books. The books inspired a hugely successful series of film adaptations which began in 1962 with the release ofDr No, starring Sean Connery as 007. Fleming was married to Anne Rothermere with whom he had a son, Caspar. He died in 1964. www.ianfleming.com

There is only one Bond.