Books

LIVE AND LET DIE in Bluebook for May, 1954, McCall Corporation, first edition, save for a somewhat innocuous store and date stamp (the latter revealing that this item was on sale on April 28th, a mere 24 days after the British edition), fresh and fine in full color, full wrap-around pictorial wraps. Also contains original publications by P. G. Wodehouse, Richard Matheson, John D. MacDonald, et.al. An unaccountably scarce publication most likely missing from most Ian Fleming / James Bond collections, especially in this marvelous condition, predating the American hard-cover edition by almost a year and published only 3 weeks after the British first edition (perhaps so as much of the novel takes place in New York, Florida and the Caribbean).

Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series of stories, and is set in London, the US and Jamaica. It was first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954. In the novel, Bond must defeat a dangerous drug lord with plans to finance Soviet espionage in America. The story was developed during Fleming's second stay in Jamaica, where he had extensive knowledge of the local scenery, wildlife, and underworld.

Identifying a first edition of 'Live and Let Die' by Ian Fleming can include looking for the publisher name 'Jonathan Cape' on the book's dust jacket or spine, no other printings mentioned, and checking the publication date.