The story behind James Bond and his weapon of choice

When Ian Fleming created the James Bond character, he equipped him with a .25 calibre Beretta M418. Avid Bond fan Geoffrey Boothroyd objected to this choice (too light, limited stopping power) and wrote a letter to Fleming:

I have, by now, got rather fond of Mr. James Bond. I like most of the things about him, with the exception of his rather deplorable taste in firearms. In particular, I dislike a man who comes into contact with all sorts of formidable people using a .25 Beretta. This sort of gun is really a lady’s gun, and not a really nice lady at that. If Mr. Bond has to use a light gun he would be better off with a .22 rim fire; the lead bullet would cause more shocking effect than the jacketed type of the .25.

May I suggest that Mr. Bond be armed with a revolver?

Great story.