The Bourne Identity
by Robert Ludlum
published
March 1st 1981
(first published 1980)
by Bantam
edit
binding
Mass Market Paperback, 544 pages
isbn
0553260111
(isbn13: 9780553260113)
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 S...more
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 S...more
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of this book.
discuss this book
| topics | replies | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Next Best Boo...: Your Latest Splurge | 3417 | 1403 | 25 minutes ago | |
| Room 110, Period 2: Letter Two - Due 10 /24/08 | 15 | 21 | 3 hours, 43 min ago | |
| Best Spy novel and worst film adaptation ever | 3 | 21 | 03/03/2008 06:53AM |
groups with this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
Where's the love? Add this book to your favorite list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 6828)
All ratings |
5 stars (1601)
|
4 stars (2260)
|
3 stars (1201)
|
2 stars (280)
|
1 star (92)
|
avg 3.95
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
someone who likes thriller-y stuff
I loved the movie and heard that I the book was comparatively awesome. And it was.
The thing is: I haven't the faintest idea how the movie came out of the book. Beyond the premise of a man fished from the sea with no memory but incredible ingrained abilities and talents that make it look like he's really probably and assassin with no amnesia, and the fact that the first act after the prologue occurs in Zürich and deals with a Swiss bank, nothing is the same.
Sure, there's a girl named Mar...more
The thing is: I haven't the faintest idea how the movie came out of the book. Beyond the premise of a man fished from the sea with no memory but incredible ingrained abilities and talents that make it look like he's really probably and assassin with no amnesia, and the fact that the first act after the prologue occurs in Zürich and deals with a Swiss bank, nothing is the same.
Sure, there's a girl named Mar...more
Like this review?
yes
(2 people liked it)
add a comment
Usually it makes sense to compare books to other books, and even then it can be a case of comparing apples to oranges. But given the popularity of the movie trilogy, it makes better sense to compare this novel with the films that likely introduced Jason Bourne to readers well before they get to the book's opening sentence. Apples to pomegranates? Maybe.
Anyway, on to the source material.
The book isn't nearly as fast-paced as the movie, and that's a bad thing. Though Ludlom perfected the p...more
Anyway, on to the source material.
The book isn't nearly as fast-paced as the movie, and that's a bad thing. Though Ludlom perfected the p...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in January, 2008
As spy novels come, this one is pretty good. It has an intriguing premise, interesting characters and enough creepy details, action and plot twists to make you want to find out what happens next. In short, it's a definite page turner, and that, I believe, is the main prerequisite in this genre, with which I'm not terribly familiar.
The story, for those of you who haven't seen the rather loose film adaptation, is as follows. A youngish, bullet-riddled man is found more dead than alive on a bea...more
The story, for those of you who haven't seen the rather loose film adaptation, is as follows. A youngish, bullet-riddled man is found more dead than alive on a bea...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
2 comments
Read in October, 2007
Not like the movie -- well, maybe a LITTLE like the movie. But it was set in a different time with different politics and different technology. I still recommend it. I've never been much of a thriller reader, but I loved the Bourne movies, so I decided to give the books a try. Very good story, with lots of action and some nice twists. I do think Ludlum could do a better job with dialogue, though. Some things the characters say (or even think) just don't feel natural. Yeah, I know. It's j...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
Fans of the movie, 16 and up
This book was so different from the movie ! ( But then again when are they ever the same ? ) I really enjoyed the story , I now wish the movie had kept a few more things in it. I thought marie was a much better character. I love the way it ended.
HOWEVER : There is a TON of swearing ! And I do mean a TON !
That was very disapointing . :( but, I now have a fully edited book if someone wants to swap/sell with me. :)
I just got a black pin coverd the words. I would have given this story a 5 if ...more
HOWEVER : There is a TON of swearing ! And I do mean a TON !
That was very disapointing . :( but, I now have a fully edited book if someone wants to swap/sell with me. :)
I just got a black pin coverd the words. I would have given this story a 5 if ...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
I read a couple Ludlum books when I was younger {The Matarese Circle comes to mind] that I enjoyed at the time. However, once you have read one of his books, you basically have read them all.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
2 comments
Thanks to my brother, Scott, for giving me his copy of this book while i was thirteen. I became hooked on the spy/espionage novel at that point. I was perhaps, too enamored with Jason Bourne at the time as his world swept over me and my imagination. Doesn't every kid like to play the spy game?
On my fourteenth birthday friends and my adult leader from church had planned to come to my home to kidnap me for a birthday celebration. My parents were even involved in making sure i was home at the ...more
On my fourteenth birthday friends and my adult leader from church had planned to come to my home to kidnap me for a birthday celebration. My parents were even involved in making sure i was home at the ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 2008
the bourne identity was a great thriller but otherwise a normal book. there was nothing great in it except that the story was good but the dialogues were hard to understand.
The main character in this book is Jason Bourne a person who does not know anything about his past. He has forgotten everything from his past and his memory only spans back to 6 months. He was found near port Noir in the sea with bullets in his body. He was rescued by two fisher men who had found him floating in the wat...more
The main character in this book is Jason Bourne a person who does not know anything about his past. He has forgotten everything from his past and his memory only spans back to 6 months. He was found near port Noir in the sea with bullets in his body. He was rescued by two fisher men who had found him floating in the wat...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
recommended to William by:
Alec my cousin
heres one of my reviews i did a long time ago.The Bourne Identitiy is an excellent book written by the famous Robert Ludlum. He also made movies following the book
the bourne identity, the bourne supremecy and the final the bourne ultimatum. Amazingly he even made a game out of it wow calle dthe bourne conspiracy. the bourne idenitity is about jason bourne a highly paid assasin who take out many targets and soon wants to change his ways and excape his past but sadly his past dosent want to exc...more
the bourne identity, the bourne supremecy and the final the bourne ultimatum. Amazingly he even made a game out of it wow calle dthe bourne conspiracy. the bourne idenitity is about jason bourne a highly paid assasin who take out many targets and soon wants to change his ways and excape his past but sadly his past dosent want to exc...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
read this once a long time ago and loved it...was very disappointed by the Hollywood move version that very loosely followed the book...got a craving to reread it and so here I am...a good, fast, entertaining read for anyone who enjoys suspense/thrillers with a little spy/action thrown in for a twist.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
1 comments
This is a good read. Ludlum really breaks new ground with his premise of an international spy who has amnesia. This a a great concept, a spy who tries to figure out who he is while he is on the run from seemingly everyone; a sure recipe for action which Ludlum delivers.
The book in no way keeps pace with the movie of the same name. The book is also far more complicated. If you liked the movie you should enjoy the book but you need to go into the read understanding that the Hollywood version is ...more
The book in no way keeps pace with the movie of the same name. The book is also far more complicated. If you liked the movie you should enjoy the book but you need to go into the read understanding that the Hollywood version is ...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in November, 2008
I've seen all three movies (and LOVED them) before I read the book, and many people warned me the book was VERY different from the movie. At the first part of the book I couldn't see it at all: amnesiac, killer instinct, drunk doctor, escapes from banks, hotels, etc. And then I kept reading. While many plot devices are the same I'm amazed at how they changed some details about the foundation of the story and kept some what was left on top. I thought there was no way I'd like the book as much...more
Like this review?
yes
2 comments
Read in January, 1989
I read this long before the movie... so I don't know which I liked better, anyway, Matt Damon confuses that whole issue. Great book and movie... though the movie departs from the book as always.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
The first of 3 books in the story of Jason Bourne. Overall, I liked this book a lot, but there were a few negatives:
First the good- Oh where to start? I love, love, love the story line. I loved the story line in the movies too, but this is a different story. Yes, Bourne is still an amnesiac operative loose and alone Europe, except in the books he's not just fighting off the American government, but the world famous assassin "Carlos". The story between Bourne and Carlos is excell...more
First the good- Oh where to start? I love, love, love the story line. I loved the story line in the movies too, but this is a different story. Yes, Bourne is still an amnesiac operative loose and alone Europe, except in the books he's not just fighting off the American government, but the world famous assassin "Carlos". The story between Bourne and Carlos is excell...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in June, 2008
recommends it for:
Lovers of spy novels
This is a good read. Ludlum really breaks new ground with his premise of an international spy who has amnesia. This a a great concept, a spy who tries to figure out who he is while he is on the run from seemingly everyone; a sure recipe for action which Ludlum delivers.
The book in no way keeps pace with the movie of the same name. The book is also far more complicated. If you liked the movie you should enjoy the book but you need to go into the read understanding that the Hollywood versi...more
The book in no way keeps pace with the movie of the same name. The book is also far more complicated. If you liked the movie you should enjoy the book but you need to go into the read understanding that the Hollywood versi...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Usually I read a book before I see the movie...but my interest in reading this trilogy peaked from seeing the movie (albeit, several years ago). I am not a huge conspiracy/thriller fan, but I really enjoyed this book (MINUS a few short scenes!).
The ending of this first novel left me hanging, like it should, so I suppose the next Bourne novel in the trilogy will shortly be checked out from my library. It is rather different from the movie, with a more intricate plot and more characte...more
The ending of this first novel left me hanging, like it should, so I suppose the next Bourne novel in the trilogy will shortly be checked out from my library. It is rather different from the movie, with a more intricate plot and more characte...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2000
I LOVED this series, they are MUCH better than the movies. But then again the movies don't even remotely resemble the books.
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
add a comment
Read in December, 1996
As hard as it may be to believe, I grew up reading this. Local libraries had ample supply of teen literature to interest the nine-year-old me, but good old Jason Bourne won out each time. When Wikipedia called it an "airport novel" I was scandalised and it was only with expanding literary tastes (and hopefully some semblance of maturation) that I was able to take the book from its pedestal.
Most of Robert Ludlum's stuff is fairly heavy in action and detail, and this is no exceptio...more
Most of Robert Ludlum's stuff is fairly heavy in action and detail, and this is no exceptio...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 1986
recommended to Sherri by:
my sisterrecommends it for: people who like action
I read the first two books in this series back-to-back and I loved them. I remember that I was surprised because I don't usually like spy-type books but these were different and I couldn't put this down. I didn't think of them again until the movies with Matt Damon came out.
I don't remember a lot about the specifics except that I loved it, it was about the big, bad Russians and didn't seem to be that much like the movie. I do know that the book was before cell phones, pc's and all of the ot...more
I don't remember a lot about the specifics except that I loved it, it was about the big, bad Russians and didn't seem to be that much like the movie. I do know that the book was before cell phones, pc's and all of the ot...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in August, 2008
Where to start?
I read this book because I love the "Bourne" movies so much, but I knew going in that the books are considerably different, supposedly still very good.
And to say the book is "different" from the movie is probably one of the biggest understatements of all time.
Compared to the movies, the book is slow paced. Bogged down in alot of details, annoyingly repeating descriptions and keyphrases, and a complicated plot that's difficult to follow due to it's ...more
I read this book because I love the "Bourne" movies so much, but I knew going in that the books are considerably different, supposedly still very good.
And to say the book is "different" from the movie is probably one of the biggest understatements of all time.
Compared to the movies, the book is slow paced. Bogged down in alot of details, annoyingly repeating descriptions and keyphrases, and a complicated plot that's difficult to follow due to it's ...more
Like this review?
yes
3 comments
