It should have been the Arabian Nights, but to Bond, seeing it first above the tops of trams and above the great scars of modern advertising along the river frontage, it seemed a once beautiful theatre-set that modern Turkey had thrown aside in favour of the steel and concrete flat-iron of the Istanbul-Hilton Hotel, blankly glittering behind him on the heights of Pera.

In 1941–42 Admiral Godfrey put Fleming in charge of Operation Golden Eye a plan to maintain an intelligence framework in Spain in the event of a German takeover of the territory. Post-war
Upon Fleming's demobilisation in May 1945 he became the Foreign Manager in the Kemsley newspaper group which at the time owned The Sunday Times. Much of the trip was spent identifying opportunities for 30AU in the Pacific although the unit ultimately saw little action because of the Japanese surrender.

It was a success with three print runs being commissioned to cope with the demand. In 2008 The Times ranked Fleming fourteenth on its list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". He was also involved in the planning and oversight of two intelligence units 30 Assault Unit and T-Force.