You Only Live Twice

First edition cover - published by Jonathan Cape.
Author	Ian Fleming
Cover artist	Richard Chopping (Jonathan Cape ed.)
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Series	James Bond
Genre(s)	Spy novel
Publisher	Jonathan Cape
Publication date	March 16, 1964
Media type	Print (Hardcover and Paperback)
ISBN	NA
Preceded by	On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Followed by	The Man with the Golden Gun

You Only Live Twice is the eleventh novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. First published by Jonathan Cape on March 16, 1964, it holds the distinction of being the last novel written by Fleming to be published in his lifetime. The novel The Man with the Golden Gun (1965) and the short story collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights were later published posthumously. For the Ian Fleming novel, see You Only Live Twice. ... Image File history File links FlemingYOLT.jpg‎ James Bond 007 - You Only Live Twice - First edition with artwork by Richard Chopping © 1964 Jonathan Cape This image is of a book cover, and the copyright for it is most likely owned either by the artist who created the cover or the... Ian Lancaster Fleming (May 28, 1908 – August 12, 1964) was a British author, journalist and Second World War Navy Commander. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Country (disambiguation). ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... 007 redirects here. ... The spy fiction genre (sometimes called political thriller) first arose just before the First World War, at about the same time, the first organized intelligence agencies were being formed. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ... Jonathan Cape has been since 1987 an imprint of Random House. ... is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... See also: 1963 in literature, other events of 1964, 1965 in literature, list of years in literature. ... Hardcover books A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with cloth, heavy paper, or sometimes leather). ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... ISBN redirects here. ... For the James Bond film, see On Her Majestys Secret Service (film). ... For other things with this same title, see The Man with the Golden Gun. ... Ian Lancaster Fleming (May 28, 1908 – August 12, 1964) was a British author, journalist and Second World War Navy Commander. ... 007 redirects here. ... Jonathan Cape has been since 1987 an imprint of Random House. ... is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... See also: 1963 in literature, other events of 1964, 1965 in literature, list of years in literature. ... For other things with this same title, see The Man with the Golden Gun. ... Octopussy and The Living Daylights (sometimes published as Octopussy) is the fourteenth and final James Bond book written by Ian Fleming. ...

You Only Live Twice is the concluding chapter in what is known as the "Blofeld Trilogy." The trilogy began with Thunderball, and after the interlude novel The Spy Who Loved Me, resumed with On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It marks the final appearance of Ernst Stavro Blofeld and references to his criminal organisation, SPECTRE in Fleming's novels. Thunderball is the eighth novel by Ian Fleming based on the fictional British Secret Service agent Commander James Bond. ... For the James Bond film, see The Spy Who Loved Me (film). ... For the James Bond film, see On Her Majestys Secret Service (film). ... Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character from the James Bond universe. ... Spectre, taken from the Battle for Wesnoth computer game. ...

In 1966, it was adapted by writer Roald Dahl as the fifth entry in the official EON Productions James Bond film series and first released theatrically on June 12, 1967. It starred Sean Connery in his fifth appearance as James Bond 007. Shortly after release, Connery stepped down from the role leading to the hiring of George Lazenby for 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Connery later returned officially one last time in Diamonds Are Forever (1971). You Only Live Twice is the first Bond movie to greatly deviate from the source material. Other than the Japanese setting and several characters, the two stories are very different. Roald Dahl (IPA: ) (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short story author and screenwriter of Norwegian parentage, famous as a writer for both children and adults. ... EON Productions is a film production company known for producing the James Bond film series. ... Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930) is a retired Scottish actor and producer who is perhaps best known as the first actor to portray James Bond in cinema, starring in seven Bond films. ... George Robert Lazenby (born September 5, 1939) is an Australian actor best known for portraying James Bond only once in the 1969 James Bond film, On Her Majestys Secret Service. ... For the Ian Fleming novel, see On Her Majestys Secret Service. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The title is often mistaken as being the work of a Japanese poet named Matsuo Bashō; however, the unique title comes from a haiku that James Bond wrote for his friend Tiger Tanaka. It is also mentioned in the novel that it isn't a haiku at all, that in actuality it is a failed attempt by Bond after being taught the basics for creating a haiku. A statue of Bashō in Hiraizumi, Iwate. ... For the operating system, see Haiku (operating system). ...

In the epigraph and later explained in the novel, the haiku is listed as being "after Basho", meaning written in the poet's style. In literature, an epigraph is a quotation that is placed at the start of a work or section that expresses in some succinct way an aspect or theme of what is to follow. ...

“ You only live twice:
Once when you're born
And once when you look death in the face.”

You Only Live Twice, epigraph

Plot summary

2003 Penguin Books paperback edition

James Bond, his career fading after the wedding-day murder of his wife Tracy Bond, is promoted by M to a special branch of MI6. M was actually going to offer him dismissal from the secret service, but later changed his mind as a "last chance" opportunity for Bond to shape up. Bond is subsequently re-numbered as 7777 ("four sevens"), and assigned an impossible mission: Convincing the head of Japan's secret intelligence service, Tiger Tanaka, to provide information about an informant within the Soviet Union, information referred to as Magic 44. In exchange, Tanaka asks Bond to kill Dr. Guntram Shatterhand, who operates a politically embarrassing "Garden of Death" where people go to commit suicide, and where they die whether they later decide they want to or not. Bond accidentally discovers that Shatterhand is his nemesis Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and gladly takes the mission, keeping his knowledge of Blofeld a secret so that he can exact revenge for his wife's death. Aided by former Japanese movie star Kissy Suzuki, and, with make up and training, Bond attempts to live and think as a Japanese in order to penetrate Shatterhand's castle. Bond is renamed by Tiger while on this mission as Taro Todoroki. This image is a book cover. ... This image is a book cover. ... It has been suggested that Penguin Modern Poets, Penguin Great Ideas be merged into this article or section. ... Tracy Bond (born Teresa Draco, aka Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo) is a fictional character in the James Bond film and novel On Her Majestys Secret Service (OHMSS). ... M is a fictional character in Ian Flemings James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. ... The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 (Military Intelligence, Section 6). ... Old Shatterhand is a fictional character in over 70 western novels by German writer Karl May (1842-1912). ... Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character from the James Bond universe. ...

Bond becomes an expert in sword fighting, karate and judo. He also learns how to calm his senses with the practice of Yoga.

Bond ultimately exacts revenge on Blofeld in a sword duel, he kills Blofeld by strangling him, but, on escaping, suffers a head injury leaving him an amnesiac living as a Japanese fisherman/merchant with Kissy, while the rest of the world believes him dead. While Bond's health improves Kissy conceals his true identity so as to keep him forever to herself. Kissy eventually sleeps with Bond and becomes pregnant and hopes that Bond would propose marriage after she found the right time to tell him (the novel never progresses to this). At the novel's end, Bond browses through some of Kissy's personal papers and finds a newspaper article about Vladivostok, making him wonder if the far-off Russian city is the key to his missing memory. For other uses, see Amnesia (disambiguation). ... Vladivostok (Russian: ) is the administrative center of Primorsky Krai, Russia, situated close to the Russo-Sino border and North Korea. ...

Differences from Movie

• The entire plot has been changed – from Bond on a diplomatic mission and trying to avenge his wife's murder (the preceding novel, OHMSS, having not yet been filmed) to preventing World War III being triggered through the kidnapping of space capsules in Earth orbit.
• Further, the Magic 44 plot device is dispensed with entirely, as are elements such as Blofeld's Garden of Death and alias as Dr. Shatterhand. In both the movie and book, however, Blofeld does have a pool filled with piranahs.
• Bond finally killed Blofeld in the book, it being the conclusion of the literary 'Blofeld trilogy' begun with Thunderball. The films moved his death to For Your Eyes Only
• Absent from the movie is Irma Bunt (from OHMSS) featured in the book (and was also presumably killed in revenge). The movie does, however feature the similarly German named Helga Brandt (though she is a beautiful young enemy agent rather than Blofeld's frumpy old wife), who is added to the movie, but not present in the novel.
• The literary Bond temporarily received a new number, 7777; in the movie, he was still 007.
• Bond received amnesia at the end of the book, which saw him living in Japan rather than returning to his life in the Service as a result.
• Bond did not go through a fake marriage with Kissy Suzuki as in the movie. His cover simply operated on the assumption that he was an Ama fisherman, and had been living with her and her family (dead in the film) for an indeterminate period of time.
• The literary Dikko Henderson – Australian, garrulous – becomes the film's reserved, English Henderson. The character featured a lot more and did not die in the book.
• In the movie, Tanaka said it would be most unwise for him, as head of the Japanese Secret Service, to travel the streets (thus his private metro train), which is something Bond and Tanaka did for half the novel.
• The title referred in the novel to the haiku written by Bond under Tanaka's tuition; there was no haiku featured in the film, and the reference was used instead for a new plot where 007 was pretending to be dead (while the theme song interpreted the sentiment differently again).
• The movie makes little reference to how death and suicide was honored in Japan. The only film reference was Osato saying that a man Bond claimed fell in pulverizer had an "honorable death."
• Aki, one of two principal Bond girls in the film is not in the book.
• The book features a briefing by M in London, while in the movie this occurs on a submarine off the coast of Hong Kong (neither location being shared by both book and movie).

On Her Majestys Secret Service is the eleventh novel in Ian Flemings James Bond series. ... Thunderball is the eighth novel by Ian Fleming based on the fictional British Secret Service agent Commander James Bond. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Irma Bunt is the main henchwomen in the James Bond film On Her Majestys Secret Service. ... Helga Brandt, as played by Karin Dor in You Only Live Twice. Helga Brandt was played by Karin Dor is the second villain of the James Bond film You Only Live Twice. ... Ama Ama divers (Japanese: 海 士(for Men) / 海 女(for Women)) are Japanese female divers famous for diving for pearls. ...

Similarities to Film

As the film is so different from the book, it may be easier to point out the similarities

• Both feature the characters of James Bond, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Kissy Suzuki, Tiger Tanaka, Dikko Henderson, M, and Moneypenny.
• Both are principally set in Japan.
• Both feature Tanaka entertaining Bond in a Japanese bath house and in his home (though these two locations are one and the same in the movie).
• Both place Tanaka's secret headquarters in association with a subway station.
• Both feature a knife-wielding enemy thug in a leather hat and surgical type anti-pollution mask (he kills Henderson in the movie and habitually follows Bond in the book)
• Both involve a ninja force training in a Japanese castle
• Both make some reference to sumo wrestling.
• Both feature Bond being transformed to resemble a Japanese.
• Both involve Ama diving girls and Bond integrating himself into the Ama community as cover.
• Both feature Bond swimming to the shores of Blofeld's lair with Kissy.
• Both feature Bond climbing into Blofeld's lair with the aid of ninja supplied wall-walking equipment.
• Both feature a piranha stocked pond at Blofeld's lair into which people are thrown.
• Both feature Bond falling down a trap door (the chute to Tanaka's headquarters in the movie and the oubliette of Blofeld's castle in the book.
• Both feature Bond being captured and lectured by Blofeld in the enemy lair.
• Both feature Bond in a fight with a samurai sword-wielding enemy (a get-away driver in the movie and Blofeld in the book).
• Both feature Bond fighting with a bamboo staff (against a training camp infiltrator in the movie and Blofeld in the book)
• Both feature Blofelds lair being destroyed by geothermic activity (an explosive charge detonated volcanic eruption in the movie and an over-pressurized geyser eruption in the book).
• Both feature an obituary for Bond and the false idea that he is dead.

Characters in You Only Live Twice

• James Bond

• M

• Ernst Stavro Blofeld

• Tiger Tanaka

• Kissy Suzuki

• Irma Bunt

• Dikko Henderson

Commander James Bond, CMG, RNVR is a fictional character created by novelist Ian Fleming, and the protagonist of the James Bond series of novels and films. ... M is a fictional character in Ian Flemings James Bond series, as well as the films in the Bond franchise. ... Ernst Stavro Blofeld is a fictional character from the James Bond universe. ... Tiger Tanaka is the head of the Japanese Secret Service, who aids James Bond in finding and defeating Ernst Stavro Blofeld, using a team of ninja-like warriors to invade the villain´s lair in an inactive volcano. ... Kissy Suzuki is a Bond Girl in You Only Live Twice. ... Irma Bunt is the main henchwomen in the James Bond film On Her Majestys Secret Service. ... Richard Lovelace Dikko Henderson is a character in the James Bond novel You Only Live Twice. ...

Trivia

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

1965 paperback edition by Pan Books.

• Fleming did not resolve the issue of Kissy's pregnancy in the remaining Bond stories he wrote before his death. In 1997, Raymond Benson wrote a short story sequel to You Only Live Twice, titled "Blast from the Past," although the story falls into neither Gardner's or Benson's Bond continuum. It features the first and only appearance of Bond's son. It has been rumored that one of the conditions behind the Fleming estate's granting the James Bond license to John Gardner was that any resulting offspring would not be mentioned.

Raymond Benson has said that the Fleming estate would not allow him to use any Bond offspring as a character either, so instead he uses Bond's son as a corpse, and not a character, in Blast From the Past Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (378x628, 64 KB)James Bond 007 - You Only Live Twice © 1965 Pan Books. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (378x628, 64 KB)James Bond 007 - You Only Live Twice © 1965 Pan Books. ... 1961 Pan Books edition of Ian Flemings James Bond novel Goldfinger is an example of the type of publication for which Pan Books became popular. ... Raymond Benson (born September 6, 1955) is an American author best known for being the last official author of the adult James Bond novels. ... In the late 1990s, Raymond Benson, who at the time was the official novelist of the James Bond literary franchise, became the first author since Bonds creator, Ian Fleming, to write officially sanctioned short stories featuring the superspy. ...

Adaptations

In the early 1990s the novel was adapted into a 90 minute radio play for BBC Radio 4 with Michael Jayston playing James Bond. Michael Jayston (born 29th October, 1935 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire) is a British actor. ...

Publication history

• March 16, 1964, Jonathan Cape, hardcover, first British edition.
  • Cover by Richard Chopping.
  • First state's copyright page notes: "First Published 1964," second state's notes: "First Published March 1964." 56,000 printed combined.
• August 1964, New American Library, hardcover, first American edition.
• July 1965, Signet Books, paperback, first American edition, ISBN 0-451-08503-5
• 1965, Pan Books, paperback, first British edition, ISBN 0-330-10434-9
• 1978, Triad/Panther, paperback, British, ISBN 0-586-04520-1
• 1982, Triad/Granada, paperback, British, ISBN 0-586-04520-1
• 1988, Coronet Books, paperback, British, ISBN 0-340-42563-6. Introduction by Anthony Burgess.
• April 4, 2002, Viking/Penguin, hardcover, British, ISBN 0-670-91042-2
• September 2003, Penguin Books, paperback, American, ISBN 0-14-200327-1
• October 26, 2006, Penguin Books, paperback, British, ISBN 0-14-102826-2. Introduction by Mo Hayder

is the 75th day of the year (76th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also Nintendo emulator: 1964 (emulator). ... Jonathan Cape has been since 1987 an imprint of Random House. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... New American Library (aka NAL) began publishing paperbacks in the 1940s. ... New American Library (aka NAL) began publishing paperbacks in the 1940s. ... 1961 Pan Books edition of Ian Flemings James Bond novel Goldfinger is an example of the type of publication for which Pan Books became popular. ... Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hodder Headline. ... Anthony Burgess (February 25, 1917 – November 22, 1993) was a British novelist, critic and composer. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Viking Press was founded on March 1, 1925, in New York City, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim. ... It has been suggested that Penguin Modern Poets, Penguin Great Ideas be merged into this article or section. ... It has been suggested that Penguin Modern Poets, Penguin Great Ideas be merged into this article or section. ... is the 299th day of the year (300th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... It has been suggested that Penguin Modern Poets, Penguin Great Ideas be merged into this article or section. ... Mo Hayder is an acclaimed British crime novelist, author of the novels Birdman, The Treatment and Tokyo (known in some countries as The Devil of Nanking). ...

Comic strip adaptation

Main article: James Bond (comic strip)

Ian Fleming's novel was adapted as a daily comic strip published in the British Daily Express newspaper, and syndicated worldwide. The adaptation ran from May 18, 1965 to January 8, 1966, was written by Henry Gammidge and illustrated by John McLusky. It was the final James Bond strip for Gammidge, while McClusky returned to illustrating the strip in the 1980s; the strip was reprinted by Titan Books in 2004. Starting in 1958 and continuing to 1983, James Bond, the fictional character created by author Ian Fleming appeared in 52 comic strips that were syndicated in British newspapers, 7 of which were initially published abroad. ... This article is about the comic strip, the sequential art form as published in newspapers and on the Internet. ... For other uses, see Daily Express (disambiguation). ... is the 138th day of the year (139th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ... John McLusky, born the son of creole lesbians, lived a life of prostitution and debauchery. ... Titan Books is a UK publisher of graphic novels. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the segment featuring Bond's obituary there is a reference to "sensationalistic novels" written about Bond's adventures (as in the novel's plot summary, above), wherein artist McLusky uses actual covers of Fleming's books.

References

External links

• Ian Fleming bibliography of first editions - illustrated