Ridgewood Public Library : The Real James Bond Author Event Tonight at 7pm

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Author Jim Wright shares the entertaining story shares the entertaining adventures of this Philadelphia orinthologist whose name was indeed stolen by fellow birder and Jamaica visitor Ian Fleming.

Whatever happened to him actually outshines anything I’ve had my James Bond do. —Ian Fleming

James Bond: author, ornithologist, marksman, and . . . identity-theft victim? When James Bond published his landmark book, Birds of the West Indies, he had no idea it would set in motion events that would link him to the most iconic spy in the Western world and turn his life upside down. Born into a wealthy family but cut off in his early twenties, James Bond took off to the West Indies in search of adventure. Armed with arsenic and a shotgun, he took months-long excursions to the Caribbean to collect material for his iconic book, Birds of the West Indies, navigating snake-infested swamps, sleeping in hammocks, and island-hopping on tramp steamers and primitive boats. Packed with archival photos, many never before published, and interviews with Bond’s colleagues, here is the real story of the pipe-smoking, ruthless ornithologist who introduced the world to the exotic birds of the West Indies.