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book cover for Sex for Dinner, Death for Breakfast: James Bond and the Body

Sex for Dinner, Death for Breakfast: James Bond and the Body

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Pub Date Sep 17 2025 | Archive Date Oct 14 2025


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Description

Enter the seductive and dangerous world of Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 with Sex for Dinner, Death for Breakfast. In this in-depth cultural study, Brian A. Dixon explores the integral role of the human body in Bond’s adventures, delving into the literature, films, artwork, and advertising associated with the world’s most celebrated secret agent.

Examining the familiar accoutrements of the 007 adventures—including often elaborate references to fashion, food and drink, sex, and methods of execution—Dixon uncovers their profound significance. Each detail accentuates an unwavering focus on the body, revealing the extent to which these narratives are products of their unique cultural and historical moments and the way in which they foretold the future of politics, culture, sexuality, and consumerism. 

The body of James Bond represents—then, now, and later—the body politic in its portrayal of what we were, are, and may well be. The appetites of the unforgettable characters who populate his thrilling adventures—for food, power, sex, and killing—are our appetites. Sex for Dinner, Death for Breakfast: James Bond and the Body exposes the ways in which Ian Fleming’s popular fiction and the unending film series it inspired offer a performance of those cultural fears, anxieties, hopes, and desires grounded in the body, assuring James Bond’s status as an incomparably influential cultural icon.

A provocative cultural study that explores how 007 became the ultimate embodiment of political power, sexual liberation, and consumer culture.

Enter the seductive and dangerous world of Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 with Sex for Dinner, Death for Breakfast. In this in-depth cultural study, Brian A. Dixon explores the integral role of the...


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Featured Reviews

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This book is a masterpiece and a feat in blending a myriad of topics without losing the throughline of the book. James Bond is a daunting figure standing in as a kind of political body, sexual figure and man capable of great violence, reigned in by bureaucracy, and Brian A. Dixon simultaneously unpacks the allure of this whilst also interrogating it. I particularly enjoy how central the exploration of James Bond and his Body is explored in this book because it brings forth many relevant conversations that persist today about the various masculinities that challenge each other, James Bond's role in defending the British Empire which was already dying during the initial inception of the character, sexuality and the idea of sex as a commodity, representation and even fetishism. Brian A. Dixon expertly crafts a narrative that allows you to appreciate the influence of James Bond and the changing sociopolitical and economic landscape in which he exists, particularly in Dixon's exploration of class dynamics, the concept of "Englishness", race, gender expectations and the social norms that govern all of these subjects. This book is well researched and serves as an insightful read regardless of how much or how little you know about James Bond coming into it. Seamlessly, Dixon offers up media analysis, ethical conundrums, commentary on consumerism, psychological assessments and applications of sociological observations that get into the nitty-gritty details of James Bond from all manner of directions.

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007 Has Never Looked This Deep (or This Delicious)
This book peels back Bond’s perfectly tailored suit to reveal the juicy secrets beneath—smart, sassy, and sharper than a martini glass rim!

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Brian A. Dixon’s Sex for Dinner, Death for Breakfast is a fascinating deep dive into how James Bond’s body—and the bodies around him—reflects the evolution of culture, politics, and desire. From the tuxedo-clad glamour of 1960s spycraft to the brutal realism of modern action, Dixon dissects the way flesh, fashion, and fantasy intertwine to create one of the most enduring icons of masculinity. I loved how the book connected Bond’s appetites—for food, sex, and power—to the changing world he inhabits. It made me look at the entire Bond universe with new eyes, not just as entertainment, but as a mirror of who we are and what we crave.

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Shaken, Stirred, and Seriously Smart!
Who knew Bond’s biceps and martinis could reveal this much about us? 🍸 Sex for Dinner, Death for Breakfast takes you on a wild ride through the guts, glamour, and grit behind 007’s world. Dixon spills the secrets on why Bond’s hunger for danger (and dinner) says more about us than him—and it’s honestly delicious. I devoured this book faster than Bond downs a Vesper martini. If you think you know the world’s most famous spy, think again—this one’s got layers, baby! 💋

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