One of the bibles of my youth was 'Birds of the West Indies,' by James Bond, a well-known ornithologist, and when I was casting about for a name for my protagonist I thought, 'My God, that's the dullest name I've ever heard,' so I appropriated it. Now the dullest name in the world has become an exciting one.

Mine’s Bond – James Bond.

When I wrote the first [Bond novel] in 1953, I wanted Bond to be an extremely dull, uninteresting man to whom things happened... when I was casting around for a name for my protagonist I thought by God, [James Bond] is the dullest name I ever heard.

It’s just that I’d rather die of drink than of thirst.

A gentleman's choice of timepiece says as much about him as does his Saville Row suit.

Hope makes a good breakfast. Eat plenty of it.

There is only one recipe for a best seller and it is a very simple one. You have to get the reader to turn over the page.