Buster Crabb (Ian Fleming's Favourite Spy, The Inspiration for James Bond)

Commander Lionel "Buster" Crabb was the inspiration for James Bond. Fleming’s favorite real-life spy, Crabb was a drinker and a gambler, who loved women, fast cars, and gadgets. A British naval frogman and bomb disposal expert, he worked directly under Fleming during World War II at Naval Intelligence and went on to conduct covert operations for both SIS and MI5. Elements from Crabb’s dangerous missions and eccentric lifestyle were later incorporated into Fleming’s novels. His inventions also sparked the role of Q; Miss Moneypenny was based on Crabb’s aunt, Kitty Jarvis; and his underwater battle with enemy divers became a crucial scene in Thunderball. Crabb disappeared in 1957 following a secret dive beneath a Russian warship. One year later, a decapitated and handless body was found, sparking a major row between the government, the secret services, and the Admiralty that still smoulders today. Award-winning writer Don Hale painstakingly reveals details on Crabb’s life and death in a new edition updated with additional information, and exclusive drawings and wartime photographs from the late Noel Ashford, who trained with Crabb.