Top that, Mr. Goldfinger!

Paul Davis, last heard from in these parts when he called my attention to Ian Fleming's 1958 interview with Raymond Chandler, weighs in this time with links to an article from Science Daily about James Bond's evil adversaries and to an earlier piece of his own.

Are Fleming's Dr. No, Ernst Stavro Blofeld, and Goldfinger really over the top in a world that has given us Al Capone, Martin Borman and Osama bin Laden? "And how about Manuel Noriega?" Paul writes. "Here was an island military dictator and major drug smuggler who wore red bikini underwear to ward off evil spirits. Top that, Mr. Goldfinger!"

Paul adds in a follow-up note that the BBC is rebroadcasting Alex Jennings reading You Only Live Twice and keeping each installment available for seven days. You can also catch most of Casino Royale – as I am doing at this moment. And this reading of the book, I will say, makes Le Chiffre's motivation rather clearer than does the recent movie remake with Daniel Craig. That motivation is simple, fiendish, and ingeniously human.

© Peter Rozovsky 2008