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Bill Botten
William "Bill" Botten (born 19 May 1935) is a British illustrator, designer and artist known for the design of over 250 book covers. Early life Botten was born in London, England, and was evacuated to the Buckinghamshire countryside for the duration of the Second World War. He left school aged 16 for his first job as a studio boy at advertising agency George Street & Company in the City of London. He returned to Streets after National Service in the Royal Air Force in Iraq. Career After working as a designer at magazine publishers Fleetway Publications, London, he became Art Director at Sphere Books, a new paperback book publishers set up by Thomson Corporation in 1965. After a brief partnership with fellow designer Wilson Buchanan, he freelanced full time producing magazine adverts, exhibition stand designs and in the 1980s illustrations for the Avon Products cosmetics company. His most distinctive artistic legacy lies in the book jackets he designed for UK publishers, D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS). Following the Allied victory over the Central Powers in 1918, the RAF emerged as the largest air force in the world at the time. Since its formation, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history. In particular, it played a large part in the Second World War where it fought its most famous campaign, the Battle of Britain. The RAF's mission is to support the objectives of the British Ministry of Defence (MOD), which are to "provide the capabilities needed to ensure the security and defence of the United Kingdom and overseas territories, including against terrorism; to support the Government's foreign policy objectives particularly in promoting international peace and security". The R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crash (Ballard Novel)
''Crash'' is a novel by English author J. G. Ballard, first published in 1973 with cover designed by Bill Botten. It is a story about car-crash sexual fetishism: its protagonists become sexually aroused by staging and participating in real car crashes, inspired by the famous crashes of celebrities. In 1996, the novel was made into a film of the same name by David Cronenberg. Synopsis The story is told through the eyes of narrator James Ballard, named after the author himself, but it centers on the sinister figure of Dr. Robert Vaughan, a "former TV-scientist, turned nightmare angel of the expressways". James meets Vaughan after being injured in a car crash near London Airport. Gathering around Vaughan is a group of alienated people, all of them former crash victims, who follow him in his pursuit to re-enact the crashes of Hollywood celebrities such as Jayne Mansfield and James Dean, in order to experience what the narrator calls "a new sexuality, born from a perverse technolo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1935 Births
Events January * January 7 – Italian premier Benito Mussolini and French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval conclude Franco-Italian Agreement of 1935, an agreement, in which each power agrees not to oppose the other's colonial claims. * January 12 – Amelia Earhart becomes the first person to successfully complete a solo flight from Hawaii to California, a distance of 2,408 miles. * January 13 – A plebiscite in the Saar (League of Nations), Territory of the Saar Basin shows that 90.3% of those voting wish to join Germany. * January 24 – The first canned beer is sold in Richmond, Virginia, United States, by Gottfried Krueger Brewing Company. February * February 6 – Parker Brothers begins selling the board game Monopoly (game), Monopoly in the United States. * February 13 – Richard Hauptmann is convicted and sentenced to death for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh Jr. in the United States. * February 15 – The discovery and clinical development of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gouache
Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache has a considerable history, having been used for at least twelve centuries. It is used most consistently by commercial artists for posters, illustrations, comics, and other design work. Gouache is similar to watercolor in that it can be re-wetted and dried to a matte finish, and the paint can become infused into its paper support. It is similar to acrylic or oil paints in that it is normally used in an opaque painting style and it can form a superficial layer. Many manufacturers of watercolor paints also produce gouache, and the two can easily be used together. Description Gouache paint is similar to watercolor, but is modified to make it opaque. Just as in watercolor, the binding agent has traditionally been gum arabic but since the l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christopher Wood (writer)
Christopher Hovelle Wood (5 November 1935 – 9 May 2015) was an English screenwriter and novelist, best known for the ''Confessions'' series of novels and films which he wrote as Timothy Lea. Under his own name, he adapted two James Bond novels for the screen: '' The Spy Who Loved Me'' (1977, with Richard Maibaum) and '' Moonraker'' (1979). Wood's many novels divide into four groups: semi-autobiographical literary fiction, historical fiction, adventure novels, and pseudonymous humorous erotica. Life and career Family Christopher Wood was the son of Walter Leonard Wood and Audrey Maud (Hovell) Wood (born 1906). They were married in 1935. He was born in London borough of Lambeth. Wood had three children, one of whom is film producer and literary agent Caroline Wood. Wood died at his apartment in southwest France on 9 May 2015, and was survived by his son and daughter. However, his death was not widely known until Sir Roger Moore paid tribute to him on Twitter on 17 October. E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Icebreaker (novel)
''Icebreaker'', first published in 1983, was the third novel by John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape (cover design by Bill Botten) and is the first Bond novel to be published in the United States by Putnam, beginning a long-standing association. Part of the book takes place in Northern Europe, including Finland; to make his book as authentic as possible, Gardner even visited Finland. Plot summary Bond reluctantly finds himself recruited into a dangerous mission involving an equally dangerous and treacherous alliance of agents from the United States (CIA), the Soviet Union (KGB) and Israel ( Mossad). The team, dubbed "Icebreaker", waste no time double-crossing each other. Ostensibly their job is to root out the leader of the murderous National Socialist Action Army (NSAA), Count Konrad von Glöda. The Count, who leads this secret neo-Nazi org ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
For Special Services
''For Special Services'', first published in 1982, was the second novel by John Gardner (British writer), John Gardner featuring Ian Fleming's secret agent, James Bond. Carrying the Glidrose Publications copyright, it was first published in the United Kingdom by Jonathan Cape and in the United States by G. P. Putnam's Sons, Coward, McCann & Geoghegan. Cover designed by Bill Botten. ''For Special Services'' In June 1941 William Joseph Donovan, General William Donovan was appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt to the position of Office of the Coordinator of Information, Coordinator of Information (COI), a position that later transformed into the chairmanship of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). Upon request by Donovan, Ian Fleming was contacted to write a lengthy memorandum describing the structure and functions of a secret service organisation. Parts of this memorandum were later used in the official charter for the OSS, which was later dissolved after World War II in 1945. For a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Gardner (British Writer)
John Edmund Gardner (20 November 1926 – 3 August 2007) was an English spy and thriller novelist, best known for his James Bond continuation novels, but also for his series of Boysie Oakes books and three continuation novels containing Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's fictional villain, Professor Moriarty. Gardner, an ex-Royal Marine commando, was for a period an Anglican priest, but he lost his faith and left the church after a short time. After a battle with alcohol addiction, he wrote his first book, the autobiographical ''Spin the Bottle'', published in 1964. Gardner went on to write over fifty works of fiction, including fourteen original James Bond novels, and the novel versions of two Bond films. He died from suspected heart failure on 3 August 2007. Early life John Edmund Gardner was born on 20 November 1926 in Seaton Delaval, a small village in Northumberland. His parents were Cyril Gardner, a London-born Anglican priest who had been ordained in Wallsend in 1921, and L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Richard Chopping
Richard Wasey Chopping (14 April 1917 – 17 April 2008) was a British illustrator and author best known for painting the dust jackets of Ian Fleming's James Bond novels starting with '' From Russia, with Love'' (1957). Early life Chopping was born in Colchester, Essex and educated at Gresham's School, Holt. Illustrator He painted in the ''trompe-l'œil'' style, creating a realistic and almost three-dimensional appearance. Among his illustrations are nine covers from 1957 to 1966 for James Bond books by Ian Fleming and the cover of John Gardner's first Bond continuation novel, '' Licence Renewed'' (1981). Book covers *''Alde Estuary: The Story of a Suffolk River'' (1952; Norman Adlard & Co) *''The Saturday Book'' (1955; Hutchinson) *'' From Russia, with Love'' (1957; Jonathan Cape) *''The Tenth Aldeburgh Festival Programme Book'' (1957) *'' Goldfinger'' (1959; Jonathan Cape) *'' For Your Eyes Only'' (1960; Jonathan Cape) *'' Thunderball'' (1961; Jonathan Cape) *'' The Spy Who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ian Fleming
Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer who is best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his father was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Henley from 1910 until his death on the Western Front in 1917. Educated at Eton, Sandhurst, and, briefly, the universities of Munich and Geneva, Fleming moved through several jobs before he started writing. While working for Britain's Naval Intelligence Division during the Second World War, Fleming was involved in planning Operation Goldeneye and in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units, 30 Assault Unit and T-Force. He drew from his wartime service and his career as a journalist for much of the background, detail, and depth of his James Bond novels. Fleming wrote his first Bond novel, '' Casino Royale'', in 1952. It was a success, with three print runs being commissio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brian Aldiss
Brian Wilson Aldiss (; 18 August 1925 – 19 August 2017) was an English writer, artist, and anthology editor, best known for science fiction novels and short stories. His byline reads either Brian W. Aldiss or simply Brian Aldiss, except for occasional pseudonyms during the mid-1960s. Greatly influenced by science fiction pioneer H. G. Wells, Aldiss was a vice-president of the international H. G. Wells Society. He was (with Harry Harrison) co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group. Aldiss was named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America in 2000 and inducted by the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2004. He received two Hugo Awards, one Nebula Award, and one John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He wrote the short story "Supertoys Last All Summer Long" (1969), the basis for the Stanley Kubrick–developed Steven Spielberg film ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'' (2001). Aldiss was associated with the British New Wave of science fiction. Life and caree ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hello America
''Hello America'' is a science fiction novel by British writer J. G. Ballard, published in 1981. First edition cover designed by Bill Botten. The plot follows an expedition to a North America rendered uninhabitable by an ecological disaster following an energy crisis. Synopsis ''Hello America'' is set in 2114 AD, after an ecological collapse has rendered North America virtually uninhabitable. Most of the population evacuated to Europe and Asia. The bulk of the novel takes place when a European steamship, the SS ''Apollo'', sails to America to try to discover the cause of increased radioactive fallout in England. Each of the crew members has a secret agenda, and is subject to their own psychological yearnings. Most of the ''Apollos crew are descended from expatriate Americans who have become assimilated into European society, while still feeling some draw to their homeland. In the novel, the Soviet Union dammed the Bering Strait in the 1990s, thus changing global weather patt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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