Ian Fleming, Hugh Hefner, and the Spectre of American Manhood

In light of the newest James Bond installment, Spectre, hitting theaters last week (just in time for my birthday) I’ve been thinking a lot on Ian Fleming, the author of 14 Bond novels (though not, as it turns out, the author of the most 007 adventures—that distinction belongs to John Gardner, who wrote 16).

It’s important to recognize the significant differences between Fleming’s Bond, the 007 of the page, and the debonair Bond fashioned by Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli (and their descen...