The broad popularity of Spillane's books may not transfer easily to contemporary readers who may find the books too sexist, racist, and homophobic for their sensibilities but such a disjunction may be the point to stress.

How did these books achieve such sales numbers if people did not agree or at least were not bothered by such social and political attitudes? Perhaps the starting point for any discussion of Spillane's work involves an analysis of his books as a measure of the cultural attitudes of his audience.

1. In what ways is Tiger Mann like James Bond? You might take as two central issues their attitudes towards women and their violence.

2. How do Spillane's spy novels compare to others you have read?

3. What issues of international concern does Spillane explore in Day of the Guns?

4. In what ways does the "International Communist Conspiracy" stand in for other...