Book Review: Thrilling Cities by Ian Fleming

In 1959, The Sunday Times sent Ian Fleming — yes, the James Bond one — around the world to write about the planet’s most “thrilling cities.” What came back is one of the silliest travel books ever committed to print, and I mean that as roughly 70% compliment. I write city guides on this blog myself, so consider this review professional courtesy between colleagues, sixty-something years apart.

The itinerary: Hong Kong, Macau, Tokyo, Honolulu, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, New York, then a European lap through Hamburg, Berlin, Vienna, Geneva, Naples, and Monte Carlo. Fleming treats every stop like a Bond location scout — casinos, gangsters, nightlife, intrigue, at least one meal described like a mission briefing.

What I Loved About Thrilling Cities by Ian Fleming

Fleming is a hilarious wannabe spy. He clearly embellishes — every taxi driver is a potential informant, every casino hums with menace, every city gets graded on its capacity for danger — and the embellishment is the entertainment. As a James Bond fan, I loved watching him collect his raw material: you can see the novels being researched in real time. And since I write city guides for this blog, I felt a real kinship across the decades. (Fleming was considerably more enthusiastic about Hong Kong than I was, for the record.)

What I Didn’t Love About Thrilling Cities

It is deeply, unmistakably a product of 1963. The casual chauvinism, the womanizing, the sweeping pronouncements about entire nations — it’s all extremely Of Its Era, and your mileage will vary on how much of the ridiculousness reads as comedy versus how hard you wince. I took it as a period piece and laughed. If dated attitudes sink a book for you, this one goes down in chapter one.

Final Thoughts on Thrilling Cities

Four stars for the comedy, the time capsule, and the Bond-fan archaeology. Read it in tandem with The Spy and the Traitor (reviewed yesterday) for a perfect double feature: the real Cold War spy story first, then the man who turned the aesthetic into an empire, being ridiculous in fourteen cities.

My final score: 4 out of 5 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Do I recommend this book? 👍 Yes!

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