Action Cook Book – Len Deighton

Len Deighton's Guide to Eating

A legendary, highly stylish cult classic where espionage, vintage graphic design, and the irresistible culinary flair of the 1960s seamlessly come together.

​Rare find! (Only one available.)

Hardcover

English

Before Len Deighton broke through internationally as the masterful thriller writer of his generation, he trained as a pastry chef and was a talented graphic artist. In the 1960s, he combined these talents into a groundbreaking weekly comic about cooking (the cookstrip) for The Observer. If you look closely at the kitchen in the iconic spy film The Ipcress Files, you will notice one of these culinary strips pinned to the wall of secret agent Harry Palmer's kitchen. Action Cook Book (bearing the incomparable subtitle Len Deighton's Guide to Eating) gathers these visual recipes. Originally written as an ironic yet highly serious instructional manual for the bachelor male who wanted to impress with sophisticated dishes and a perfectly curated wine cellar, the book remains a fabulous piece of nostalgia today, as well as retaining real credibility as a genuinely useful cookbook.

Condition & Specifications

Condition: Virtually as good as new copy. The interior is in absolute pristine condition (completely clean and free of inscriptions). The hardcover binding shows light shelf wear and rubbing to the edges, and one corner has minor wear.
Edition: Harper Perennial, 2009.
Design: Characteristic and attractive hardcover edition in landscape format (oblong).
Pages: 320 pages.
ISBN: 9780007305872.

Content & Background

This unique time document offers a wonderful, humorous insight into the culinary culture of the Swinging Sixties:

• The birth of the Cookstrip: Instead of dense walls of text, Deighton uses his background as a graphic designer to dissect recipes step-by-step through clear, sharply drawn infographics and comic strips.

• The Harry Palmer style: Entirely in the spirit of Deighton's famous espionage character (unforgettably portrayed by Michael Caine, who admitted to learning a great deal about food from playing Palmer), the book teaches the reader to cook with a seductive, confident touch.

• Aspirational sixties gastronomy: From establishing a 'basic wine cellar' to daring, nostalgic recipes like brain soufflé ("brains are a very good constituent for a soufflé. They are delicious fried, or in any of the piquant wine sauces"); the book celebrates the rise of cosmopolitan dining.

• Visual masterpiece: Highly sought after by collectors of pop culture, design, and culinary history for its fabulous retro-graphic layout and dryly comic, British tone.

About the author

Len Deighton (1929–2026) was a true Londoner and one of the most celebrated British spy novelists of the twentieth century, often mentioned in the same breath as John le Carré and Ian Fleming. In addition to his world-famous thrillers (The Ipcress Files, Funeral in Berlin), he wrote several history books and culinary guides. His background was as versatile as his oeuvre: he studied at the prestigious Royal College of Art, designed the first-ever UK cover for Jack Kerouac's On the Road, and worked as a chef and food journalist.

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Product information

Language: English
Dimensions: 20.3 x 13.6 x 2.2 cm
Publisher: Harper Perennial, London
Categories: Historical cookbooks, Graphic design & Pop culture, Vintage lifestyle, Culinary history, British literature & Film

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