Published by Jonathan Cape (U.K.), 1964. 1st Edition. First Printing. 254pp. Near fine full calf leather with gilt border and original Chinese characters laid-in. Gilt titles. Internally fine. WITH A SET OF COMEMORATIVE STAMPS OF THE BOND ACTORS.
You Only Live Twice is the eleventh novel and twelfth book in Ian Fleming's James Bond series of stories. It was first published by Jonathan Cape in the United Kingdom on 26 March 1964 and quickly sold out. It was the last novel Fleming published in his lifetime. He based his book in Japan after a stay in 1959 as part of a trip around the world.
The novel deals with the change in Bond from an emotionally shattered man in mourning, to a man of action bent on revenge, to an amnesiac living as a Japanese fisherman. Through the mouths of his characters, Fleming also examines the decline of post-Second World War British power and influence, particularly in relation to the United States. The book was popular with the public, with pre-orders in the UK totalling 62,000; reviewers were more muted in their reactions, with many critical of the extended sections of what they considered a travelogue. ( Wiki )
