Books on Pierce Brosnan

These are biographies published on the life of actor Pierce Brosnan. More books with Pierce as Bond are also available.

Pierce Brosnan: The Biography, by York Membery. London: Virgin; Berlin: Henschel, 1997-98. 2nd edition, Virgin, Fall 2002. Paperback, October 2003.

[Membery 2002 book]

1997 edition: 210 pages, 10 pages of black & white photos. 2002 edition: 256 pages.
This 1st edition was published in 3 versions: a British hardcover, a revised British paperback (which was sold in the US) and a German translation in trade paperback. An updated edition was published in 2002.
Not authorized. This book has great photos, most uncovered by the author. This is a more fun and trashy tome compared to the overly-serious Carrick book. But it is riddled with errors. Shares the same problem as Carrick's book, that it is written from a British perspective, when PB has spent the last 2 decades in the US. Totally misses a lot of interesting stuff, that is commonly known in the US. This is the book with the "I thought I was gay" story.

Order the 2003 paperback from Amazon.com or Amazon UK
Order the 2002 hardcover from Amazon.com or Amazon UK

Order used copies from

Pierce Brosnan by Peter Carrick. London: Robert Hale, 2000. New edition, Citadel Press, 2002.

[Carrick book]

2000 edition: 224 pages with 16 pages of black and white photos (mostly film publicity stills). 2002 edition: 230 pages.

Not authorized, the author has drawn on mostly British film magazines and newspapers for his sources, and perpetuates many of Membery's [above] errors. The 1st edition unimaginatively uses the same cover photo as Membery's too. Rather dry, more respectful and less trashy (but less fun) than Membery. Focuses on PB's film and tv roles. But do we really need a 4 page discussion on Mars Attacks? No. As I was reading this, I was struck by the things that were left out. This book suffers, as does Membery's, from the British perspective.

The author missed a lot of PB interviews (obviously not having the benefit of owning a huge video and magazine collection beginning in 1983 like I do). Some topics PB himself has widely discussed from his own life that are never even mentioned here are dyslexia, euthanasia, and his back injury (which had an impact on GE). And those are things off the top of my head. Carrick talks about what a huge success "Remington Steele" was (it wasn't - for most of it's run, it solidly brought up the middle of the pack in the Nielsen ratings, and only made the Top 10 after it's initial cancellation in 1986). Carrick also says that PB became as big a celebrity as Larry Hagman's JR Ewing, but a few pages later calls PB someone whose name was "vaguely familiar" when they began casting for Bond in 1994. The latter may be true, but the former wasn't, even in the days before 800 tv channels and the web. Live Wire was never released in movie theaters in the US, as both Carrick and Membery assert (it debuted on HBO on cable TV in 1992). Most of the chapter on Cassie's illness came from an interview she and PB did with the National Enquirer in 1989 to keep the tabloids off their backs.

Order the US hardcover or US paperback from Amazon.com or the British paperback from Amazon UK

Order used copies from

Pierce Brosnan: Mehr als James Bond by Karsten Prüssmann. Munich, Germany: Heyne, c1999.

[Prussmann book]

Paperback, 252 pages with lots of black and white photos (mostly film/tv publicity stills) throughout. In German.
There are actually some cool photos that are rarely seen in the US, including a publicity still from The Fourth Protocol of Pierce looking very butch sitting on a motorcycle wearing black leather pants and jacket with boots. Also of interest are the video jackets for The Heist and The Deceivers. Most of the book discusses individual films and tv appearances. Oddly enough, there is a big section on the tv film The Hearst and Davies Affair, which Pierce wasn't in. Hel-looo. His character name is given as Paul Tomlinson, which was, of course, his character in Victim of Love (which has a later chapter).

Order from Amazon Germany

Order used copies from

Acting Irish in Hollywood: From Fitzgerald to Farrell, by Ruth Barton. Irish Academic Press, 2006.

The first academic study of Irish film stars in Hollywood, contains 10 essays on leading Irish stars: Barry Fitzgerald, George Brent, Maureen O'Sullivan, Maureen O'Hara, Constance Smith, Richard Harris, Stephen Rea, Gabriel Byrne, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Farrell. Drawing on theories of emigration, ethnicity, gender and performance, this study is both analytical and historical. It discusses the reception of these actors in America and the kind of roles they have played, paying particular attention to the history and evolution of the Irish stereotype in Hollywood cinema.

Order from Amazon.com or Amazon UK


[Hollywood Irish]

Hollywood Irish: Gabriel Byrne, Liam Neeson, Pierce Brosnan, Stephen Rea, Aidan Quinn, and Patrick Bergin in Their Own Words, edited by Aine O'Connor. Roberts Rineheart, 1997.

Published in Ireland as Leading Hollywood (Wolfhound Press, 1996).
Frank and intimate interviews with "Ireland's best loved movie stars," the 6 actors discuss their childhoods, stardom, acting, success, Hollywood and how their Irish identity has shaped them. A companion to a TV series.

Order from Amazon.com or Amazon UK


Actors as Artists, by Jim McMullan and Dick Gautier. Tuttle, 1992; Rainbow Bridge, 1994.

This book contains reproductions of artwork from many actors, including Pierce.

Order from Amazon.com or

Goodbye to Catholic Ireland, by Mary Kenny. Dublin: New Island, 2000.

Contains a variety of views on the legacy of Catholic Ireland. Includes a really depressing 2 page interview with Pierce on his childhood in Ireland and experience with the Christian Brothers.

Order from Amazon UK or
[ Brosnan main page | James Bond 007 main page | Site Map ]
This page copyright © 2006 by Kimberly Last