Year - 1959

Tease - "Keep away from Mr. Auric Goldfinger.  He is a most powerful man.  If he wished to crush you, he would only have to roll over in his sleep to do so."  OPERATION GRAND SLAM - Secret agent James Bond had been warned not to tangle with Goldfinger.  But the super criminal's latest obsession was too strong, too dangerous.  He had to be stopped.  Goldfinger was determined to take possession of half the supply of mined gold in the world - to rob Fort Knox!  For this incredible venture he had enlisted the aid of the top criminals in the U.S., including a bevy of beautiful thieves from the Bronx.  And he had conceived so foolproof a plan that it would take all of Bond's unique talents to make it fail - as fail it must.

Villain - Auric Goldfinger, is five feet tall and has a huge round head sitting on a thick blunt body.  Practically every part of his body is 'out of proportion'.  He has a fetish for sunburn because 'without the red brown camouflage the pale body would be grotesque'.  A multi-millionaire, he smuggles gold from one country to another by melting it down into parts of his Rolls Royce.  He cheats at every game that is played for high stakes.  He also likes to make love to women covered in gold paint.

Bond-Girl - Pussy Galore, is in her early thirties and has 'Rupert Brooke' good looks, high cheekbones and a beautiful jaw line.  She is aggressive and tough and exudes a 'sexual challenge all beautiful Lesbians have for men.'  She is also the head of her own 'all female' lesbian syndicate known as The Cement Mixers.

Minor Characters - Oddjob,  Jill Masterson,  Tilly Masterson,  M,  Felix Leiter

Plot - Stealing all the gold in Fort Knox and causing economic chaos in the West.

Highlights - Golf game with Goldfinger, Bond's family jewels threaten by a circular saw, climatic confrontation at Fort Knox and plane crash.

Opening Sentence - James Bond, with two double bourbons inside him, sat in the final departure lounge of Miami Airport and thought about life and death.

Trivia - The original title was going to be The Richest Man in the World.

Personal Comment About This Novel - Although the characters in this novel are top notch, I felt that Fleming had written his worse.  Perhaps it is because the movie is so well done, but this story is hard to believe.  Too many loop-holes and calculated mistakes make it hard for me to believe that Goldfinger would ever pull this caper off.

Jonathan Cape hardcover edition

Dr. Shatterhand's Scale from 1 - 10

"6"

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