Lisa FunnellFor His Eyes Only: The Women of James Bond

A great book with a lot of thoughtful discussions surrounding the James Bond film franchise. I took a class and used this as the textbook. While a lot of the articles are similar in nature, each piece provides a thorough discussion of its topic. As one of the only academic books on the Bond movies, I think this book is a welcome addition to the bookshelves of any film buff or Bondian scholar out there.

I have not read “For His Eyes Only: The Women of James Bond” by Lisa Funnell, but I intend to and have read a great deal that has already been written about the world of James Bond. My reason for posting this is not based on the quality of the work, but because of the description which reads, “This academic study constitutes the first book-length anthology on femininity and feminism in the Bond series.” Only true if one trusts the accuracy of the Amazon description and the academic reviews of this book made by college and university scholars. Robert A. Caplen’s “Shaken & Stirred: The Feminism of James Bond” was released in 2010 and is likely the first scholarly look at the women of James Bond predating Funnell’s work by five years. Caplen’s book is a well researched 464 page academic study of femininity and feminism in the Bond series… Shaken & Stirred: The Feminism of James Bond

This book completely changed my life. Dr. Funnell is amazing and although the book was intended for academic purposes, it's become something I turn to regularly for help explaining feminism in James Bond. This collection of essays is beautifully edited, and it is a truly revolutionary work.

This is a revolutionary approach to James Bond scholarship. Thank you for editing such a useful anthology!

Is there a "gap in Bond scholarship" like Claire Hines declares in her review of this book? No, that statement is wrong and misleading. As another reviewer already noted, cultural historian Robert A. Caplen delved into the topic of feminism and James Bond several years ago with his work Shaken & Stirred: The Feminism of James Bond. That book is a comprehensive examination of the female representations in the Bond novels and films against the backdrop of the modern feminist movement.The Funnell book, by contrast, offers several essays by multiple authors, all of whom painstakingly quote and cite Funnell like it was a prerequisite for their participation. The result is a lot of forced writing, redundancy and detritus, and a condescending tone. I did not find this book insightful or original and would not recommend it.