The Science of James Bond by Lois H. Gresh and Robert Weinberg

James Bond may be the world's most famous superspy of the movies, but how much of what appears in the movies is even possible in this world? In the past, we've been treated to a spaceship that swallowed up other space ships, jetpacks, watches with a wide variety of spy stuff stuck inside. Pens that shoot acid, have microdots or homing beacons inside... and not to mention the cars! Fast cars. Classy cars. Cars that become submarines, shoot rockets, or are able to become functionally invisible.

But that begs the question- how much of this stuff is actually possible? This book examines the gadgets and technology of Bond from 20 different movies, from Dr. No to Die Another Day and covers everything from the "Gene Replacement Therapy" in Die Another Day to the various secret bases of the Bond Villains and why some of the plots are more ridiculous by Science standards than thrilling or threatening,.

Just to take one example, in Moonraker, as Hugo Drax is waiting for his laser cannon to destroy another space ship, a space shuttle from the US, Bond, who has been captured, is looking around for a means of distraction and/or escape, when he spots a large black button labelled "Emergency Stop. Do not press unless station secured". He proceeds to press it, causing retrorockets to fire and make the station stop rotating. Everyone is thrown around like tenpins, and Drax is thrown far away, allowing Bond and Holly Goodhead escape in the confusion.

But why would a space station need such an "emergency" button? It's never explained, and in reality, wouldn't be there. It's there because Bond needs a way to escape, and for no other reason. Other movies have the same problems, from impractical plots, like starting a Global nuclear war for pay (Nowhere to hide from the fallout), to stealing all the gold from Fort Knox (too heavy, and where do you put it?).

This book examines most, if not all, the inventions we see Bond using, or which are used on him, from geiger-counter watches, to cars that become underwater submarines. In some cases the results are surprising (Cars that become airplanes do exist, but they tend to resemble planes even when in car form). In other cases, unsurprising (personal jetpacks can be made, but are highly impractical- tending to burn the operator's legs, and though many have claimed to be able to produce them, claims are easy to make. The reality? Not so much.).

I enjoyed this book, which gives an overview of the Bond series, which went from the straight-spy genre with a few unusual cars and guns, to the glam superspy with tons of gadgets from Q branch, in films that are more about thrills than spying. They also tell us why real spies don't use super-special guns and/or tons of gadgets- anonymity. If authorities find a super-special gun left behind at the scene of an assassination- a spy who is known to carry such a weapon is automatically suspect. That's why Bond's preferred weapon through most of the series is a Walther PPK- carried by tons of people, and not automatically suspect as "That's only carried by James Bond!"

Because of the changes to the Bond franchise, Bond has become less of an example of what a real spy is like, and more like a fantasy of what a spy is like. Seemingly well-known and recognized by spies from other spying agencies. A spy, who in real life must remain unseen (Or passed over as uninteresting) and unknown. would find it impossible to do his or her job if they acted like James Bond. However, spies do have access to some real life-equipment that is out of this world... just not applicable to a Bond flick, like the umbrella-gun that fired a capsule filled with ricin that killed Ukrainian defector Gyorgy Markos.

Bond may not have a weapon like that, but this book provides a look at the ones he does have- and why some of the bases used by the Bond villains are silly as well as being impractical (Hugo Drax's space station may be functionally invisible to detection, but all those shuttles docked at it won't be!). Anyone who is interested as to whether the gadgets Bond uses are practical will find this book interesting and amusing. Recommended.