Bond

Interesting Christopher Hitchens piece in The Atlantic Monthly about Ian Fleming, who is described as "sadist, a narcissist, and an all-around repressed pervert." I've read a few Bond books, at the request of my wife, who's a big fan (no, she's not a lesbian, not that I know of anyway). Subscriber-only link. Excerpt:

Thus, the central paradox of the classic Bond stories is that, although superficially devoted to the Anglo-American war against communism, they are full of contempt and resentment for America and Americans. And not just political contempt, or the penis envy of a declining power for a burgeoning one, but cultural contempt as well. And not just with cultural contempt in general, but more specifically disgust about America's plebeian interest in sex and consumerism, the two Bond staples. "Baseball, amusement arcades, hot dogs, hideously large bosoms, neon lighting" is how Tiger Tanaka mouths the anti-American trope in You Only Live Twice. And how does Bond react when praised by the exquisite Tatiana Romanova for his resemblance to an American film star? By barking, "For God's sake! That's the worst insult you can pay a man!"