The seventh novel in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series was first published in 1959 and, interestingly was originally titled, “The Richest Man in the World”. I think we can all agree that “Goldfinger” is a much better title. The plot surrounds the investigation by Bond into the gold smuggling activities of Auric Goldfinger, also suspected by MI6 of being connected to SMERSH, the Soviet counter-intelligence organization. But Bond is only handed the assignment after first encountering Goldfinger in Miami, catching him cheating at cards. It was a portent of things to come as Mr. Goldfinger is perhaps the biggest cheater and most warped and maniacal character in all of the Bond series.

Many readers cite this one as their favorite Bond novel and it’s easy to see why. It has an intriguing plot revolving around the massive greed and absurd love of gold by Auric Goldfinger, a great bad guy sidekick (OddJob), several women in need of seduction (including the lesbian Pussy Galore), capture and escape sequences, and a super fantastic plan to knock off Fort Knox. And let’s not forget the 18 holes of golf which the author manages to make as exciting as a high stakes poker match in Monte Carlo. It’s a fun read, indeed.

As usual, I must caution those readers who are incapable of enjoying a work of fiction while considering the era in which it was written. Ian Fleming’s characters reflect common attitudes of the late 1950‘s including sexism, racism, and particular to this book, homosexuality. If you simply can’t wrap your head around that then I suggest you limit yourself to the Bond novels written by other authors of more recent vintage.