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The Bourne Identity
  

The Bourne Identity (Paperback)

by Robert Ludlum (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (207 customer reviews)

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Product Details


Product Description

From AudioFile

This production epitomizes the best and worst of audiobooks. Take Robert Ludlum's bestselling spy novel, hire storyteller Darren McGavin to read it, delete mammoth chunks of the book to allow it to fit on two cassettes, and then add unnecessary music, and you have this production of THE BOURNE IDENTITY. Darren McGavin knows how to tell a story, and he does his best with what's left of the book, but the abridgment leaves so much out that it's difficult to understand the twists of the plot. For those who want a quick listen, this recording will do. For fans of Ludlum or McGavin, it's like ordering a sandwich and being served only the bread. D.J.S. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.


Product Description

Jason Bourne.

He has no past. And he may have no future. His memory is blank. He only knows that he was flushed out of the Mediterranean Sea, his body riddled with bullets.

There are a few clues. A frame of microfilm surgically implanted beneath the flesh of his hip. Evidence that plastic surgery has altered his face. Strange things that he says in his delirium -- maybe code words. Initial: "J.B." And a number on the film negative that leads to a Swiss bank account, a fortune of four million dollars, and, at last, a name: Jason Bourne.

But now he is marked for death, caught in a maddening puzzle, racing for survival through the deep layers of his buried past into a bizarre world of murderous conspirators -- led by Carlos, the world's most dangerous assassin. And no one can help Jason Bourne but the woman who once wanted to escape him. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

207 Reviews
5 star:
 (135)
4 star:
 (43)
3 star:
 (9)
2 star:
 (11)
1 star:
 (9)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (207 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most helpful customer reviews

 
5.0 out of 5 stars Wooo Hooo. Just brilliant., Mar 7 2009
By John K. Parnell (Millbrook Cornwall) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Bourne Identity (Hardcover)
This is what spy and action books are all about. This is the ultmate action spy book. The author is just brilliant, How Ludlum writes is beyond me, he seems to write with a paint brush. You can see the picture appear.
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5.0 out of 5 stars absolutely amazing, Sep 11 2007
By Melanie (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
This book was absolutely amazing! I can't get over the amount of detail that Robert Ludlum put into the plot of this book. It's a non-stop action packed story with a bit of mystery tied in. I could not put it down.
I wanted to read the book before seeing the movie and I am glad I did, as I hear that they are very different from one another. The characters in the story are very believable and you can't help but want Jason and Marie to succeed.

The story is about a man "Jason Bourne" who wakes up and can't remember who he is. However his body is covered in scars and bullet wounds and a piece of microfilm with a Swiss bank account number was surgically removed from his hip. While Jason is trying to get to the bottom of who he is, he finds that he has been targeted by "Carlos" the world's most lethal assassin.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Bourne's identity IS thrills, chills ... and kills!, Jul 9 2007
By The Detective (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
For those who have seen the movie before reading the novel (as I have), you won't be spoiled. The films are inspired by his world, but due to the changing times and the limitations of having only a few hours to tell a story on-screen there was some necessary editing and updating.

The novel itself will not let you go. It's the kind of story that draws you in, enticing you with what is to come. Set during the post-Vietnam era when the Cold War still raged and America was coping with the aftermath of the their Indochina adventures, a mysterious man with an aptitude for disguise and killing is found in the ocean - his memory seemingly erased. He has no idea who he is, except for the nightmares that slowly creep up on him. This was also the era of Carlos the Jackal, a real-life terrorist who had developed a legend as the world's greatest assassin. Ludlum turns this legend into reality, and Bourne must survive both the betrayal and complicity of the U.S. government agencies that trained and used him -- and the henchmen of Carlos himself. The government wants Bourne dead because of the secrets he may reveal; Carlos wants him dead because of his perceived threat to his operations. With the help of Marie, a brilliant Canadian economist who find herself drawn into the terrifying world of espionage, Bourne must piece together his lost identity and relive demons from his merciless past -- all this while dodging the state-sanctioned killers and Carlos-funded thugs who stalk him across Europe and beyond.

Reading this novel, I found that the issues it explores are just as current today than when Ludlum first wrote it two decades ago. Governments' motives are still in question, the line between justice and vengeance is even murkier and the price of loyalty can be as high (or as low) as an individual or nation is willing to pay for it. Bourne has no qualms about using his training to thwart the very government that exploited his skills. The relentless pursuits, shocking revelations and geopolitical face-saving of Bourne's former handlers culminate in a no-holds barred confrontation at the epicentre of Treadstone, the above-the-law covert government agency responsible for "creating" Bourne to carry out work that flies in the face of the values his nation supposedly stands for.

It's your choice if you want to read the novel first or see Matt Damon take on the role on DVD: they complement each other and won't spoil your enjoyment of both. When you enter the world of Jason Bourne, you will likely develop some post-novel paranoia and glance nervously at the guy in the trenchcoat across the street from you. Any novel that accomplishes that gets 5 stars from me.
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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Bourne an American Intelligence Professor
Lustbader is an acomplished writer with a similar style to Robert Ludlum. Jason Bourne is a hero just the way you remember him. Read more
Published on Jun 8 2005 by Brad Morgan

5.0 out of 5 stars The one that started it all!
Ludlum surpasses not only himself but all other spy thriller writers for all times to come. I started in 1977 with Scarlatti Inheritance and have ever since been hooked to Ludlum... Read more
Published on Jul 9 2004 by Bill Pullman

5.0 out of 5 stars Just darn fun
While I'm usually one for a bestseller or Oprah pick like "Da Vinci Code" or "Bark of the Dogwood," I do veer off my chosen path and read a mystery or thriller such as those... Read more
Published on Jun 28 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Good film, great book!
The Matt Damon film was one of my favourite films until I read this book.

Simply put, it's awsome, it wrecks a great film by being better than a movie can ever be. Read more

Published on Jun 18 2004 by Simon

4.0 out of 5 stars Smashing Spy Thriller
Setting the standard for international spy thrillers, Robert Ludlum succeeds again at packing more thrills into several hundred pages than one would conceive possible. Read more
Published on Jun 18 2004 by M. Bernstein

4.0 out of 5 stars Suspense and Surprise....
A surprise at every turn, Mr Ludlum makes me want to keep reading from page to page, chapter to chapter, and on into the next 2 books in this trilogy. Read more
Published on Jun 9 2004 by Jason Johnston

4.0 out of 5 stars Really good
One of my main criteria for enjoying a book is to be surprised by the events. Seeing the movie first usually ruins that for me (and recently I have not found out about the book... Read more
Published on Jun 1 2004 by Brendan

5.0 out of 5 stars A man without a past ...
I bought this book mostly because I didn't want to lose the opportunity of reading the book before the release of a film based on Ludlum's book, "The Bourne identity". Read more
Published on Jun 1 2004 by bel_78

4.0 out of 5 stars Bourne is a man on the run, but who is he running from?
Jason Bourne is a man with extraordinary skills. He has an altered appearance, access to millions of dollars and can get more using his many talents. Read more
Published on April 20 2004 by AliGhaemi

5.0 out of 5 stars Novel Writing At It's Best!!!
Robert Ludlun takes you from all of France to Switzerland to the USA in this vivid, imaginative novel. Read more
Published on April 14 2004 by A. PRICE

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