First published in 1963, Thrilling Cities grew from a series of journeys Ian Fleming undertook for The Sunday Times. Beginning in 1959, he travelled through fourteen cities including Hong Kong, Tokyo, Honolulu, Las Vegas, New York, Berlin, Vienna, Naples and Monte Carlo, recording his personal impressions of each destination.

Fleming generally avoids conventional sightseeing in favour of restaurants, nightlife, hotels, criminal underworlds, local personalities and less familiar parts of urban life. His accounts combine observation with anecdotes, opinions and practical information, giving the book the character of both travel journalism and a personal tour of international city life. The writing reflects Fleming’s particular tastes and the social attitudes of its period, while also documenting cities undergoing significant post-war change. Taken together, the essays provide a distinctly subjective portrait of international travel and urban culture at the turn of the 1960s.