 As with other Bond novels, such as Casino Royale, gambling is a theme, with not only golf as part of the novel, but opening with the canasta game as well. Raymond Benson identified times in the novel when Bond's investigation of Goldfinger was a gamble too and cites Bond tossing a coin to decide on his tactics in relation to his quarry. Once more (as with Live and Let Die and Dr. No) it is Bond the British agent who has to sort out what turns out to be an American problem and this can be seen as Fleming's reaction to the lack of US support over the Suez Crisis in 1956 as well as Bond's warning to Goldfinger not to underestimate the English.
