Classic Debate: Ian Fleming vs John le Carré
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Welcome to Intelligence Squared. I'm Connor Boyle. For the Sunday debate, this week, an archive lesson pitting two masters of Cold War fiction, or at least that's what they claimed, against one another. Ian Fleming, creator of James Bond, versus John Lakare, author of Tinker, Taylor, Soldier, Spy, and many others. Works of spy novel author John Le Carre, often occupying the murky worlds of intelligence gathering between the Cold War superpowers of East and West, still feels timely today, as the world considers what to do with another tyrant in the Kremlin. Le Carre is also the subject of two new books out this month, A Private Spy and A Secret Heart. Ian Fleming was the creator of the world's favorite spy, of course, James Bond, and in 2016 we gathered a panel of expert speakers and great actors to debate which spy master comes out on top. Here's our host, the author and critic, Erica Wagner, with more. Mm.
I'm really delighted to be here tonight. When we will see Whether our conversation remains as martini ice cool as one of our authors tonight. Or grows a smoking gun hot. As the other. For this evening we will be pitting against each other the two giants of espionage, Ian Fleming.
And John McCarry. In one corner. Ian Fleming. Goldfinger? Doctor No.
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