James Bond was named after the author of Birds of the West Indies, first published in 1936 — a book that happened to be on Ian Fleming's desk back in 1953 when he began to write Casino Royale while staying at Golden Eye, his villa in Jamaica.
The character of Bond was modeled after the playboy-gambler-spy Dusan Popov whom Fleming had seen gamble in Portugal, placing a massive bet in order to get a rival to withdraw from the baccarat table — the very set-up used as a plot device in Casino Royale.
Dusan Popov, it should be noted, was a triple agent -- a Serbian who posed as a double agent for Germany and, while working for Germany, did work for MI6 during the war.
Popov was part of the Twenty Committee, so named because the Roman number for twenty is XX, or a "double cross".
Popov traveled widely and was sent to the US by the German Abwehr military intelligence network. One of his assignments was to answer detailed questions about US defences at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Dusan Popov, it should be noted, was a triple agent -- a Serbian who posed as a double agent for Germany and, while working for Germany, did work for MI6 during the war.
Popov was part of the Twenty Committee, so named because the Roman number for twenty is XX, or a "double cross".
Popov traveled widely and was sent to the US by the German Abwehr military intelligence network. One of his assignments was to answer detailed questions about US defences at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
Popov notified the FBI that Pearl Harbor was in jeapardy on August 12, 1941, but FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover did not trust Popov, finding him too flamboyant and, as a triple agent, a likely liar.
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