Ian Fleming’s 1954 novel Live and Let Die places household-name super-spy James Bond on the trail of Harlem kingpin (and likely Soviet spy) Mr. Big. Jack and Kate follow Bond from smoky jazz nightclubs to a Florida retirement community and on to the Caribbean as he relentlessly wanders directly in his enemies’ lines of fire.
What is it with British pulp authors and their diligent recording of their characters’ dietary choices? How does an enthusiasm for jazz become a life-saving trait? And what the hell is keelhauling anyway? All these questions and more will be explored in this episode of Bad Books for Bad People.