James Bond: The Legacy 007

James Bond: women want him, and men want to be him. It's hard to do justice to such a mythic character, but documentary producers Cork and Scivally manage just that with this volume, a tasty feast for any 007 aficionado. An oversized book with more than 550 illustrations, it's essentially a lengthy love letter to one of the greatest film franchises of all time. The authors occasionally drift into the melodramatic (e.g., ""What would a world be like without Bond?"" they wonder), but also bring a host of juicy behind-the-scenes tales to the table, including battles with UK censors over the moniker Pussy Galore, one of the most celebrated of all Bond seductresses. Of course, the book touches on Bonds through the ages, from the incomparable Sean Connery to the underrated Roger Moore to today's hunk, Pierce Brosnan. Although much of today's superspy adulation is directed toward Austin Powers, Mike Meyers's campy Bond knock-off, sometimes, only the original will do. This snazzy book adroitly fits the bill.