Book Recommendation

A new feature for this blog will be short reviews of books I am reading or have already read that I think rational people would enjoy. To kick off this feature I have selected the first James Bond novel written by Ian Fleming, Casino Royale. All of the James Bond novels are exciting page turner adventure stories that encapsulate the actual internal dynamics of James Bond's life and romances, which tend to be cheapened by the movies. James Bond also doesn't skate by bad guys in these novels as he seems to in the movies, he is often beaten, tortured, shot, stabbed, etc. throughout the series, but he always pulls himself together or is saved by friendly agents before it is too late. I thoroughly enjoyed all of these novels and Casino Royale is the place to start since the stories are told in chronological order and because it is James Bond's first major adventure. The baccarat scene with the villain Le Chiffre and the final confrontation between Bond and Le Chiffre are beautifully written passages that put you into the story with the penultimate British secret agent, James Bond.