Moist von Lipwig is bored with his job as the Postmaster General of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office, which is running smoothly without any challenges, so the Patrician tries to persuade him to take over the Royal Bank of Ankh-Morpork and the Royal Mint. Moist, content with his new lifestyle, refuses. However, when the current chairwoman, Topsy Lavish, dies, she leaves 50% of the shares in the bank to her dog, Mr Fusspot (who already owns one share of the bank, giving him a majority and making him chairman), and she leaves the dog to Moist. She also made sure that the Assassins'' Guild would fulfill a contract on Moist if anything unnatural happens to the dog or he does not do as her last will commands. With no alternatives, Moist takes over the bank and finds out that people do not trust banks much, that the production of money runs slowly and at a loss, and that people now use stamps as currency rather than coins. His various ambitious changes include making money that is not backed by gold but by the city itself. Unfortunately, neither the chief cashier (Mr. Bent, who is rumoured to be a vampire but is actually something much worse) nor the Lavish family are too happy with him and try to dispose of him. Cosmo Lavish tries to go one step further — he attempts to replace Vetinari by taking on his identity — with little success. However all the while, the reappearance of a character from von Lipwig''s past adds more pressure to his unfortunate scenario. Moist''s fiancée, Adora Belle Dearheart, is working with the Golem Trust in the meantime to uncover golems from the ancient civilization of Um. She succeeds in bringing them to the city, and to everyone''s surprise the "four golden golems" turn out to be "four thousand golems" (due to a translation error) and so the city is at risk of being at war with other cities who might find an army of 4000 golems threatening. Moist discovers the secret to controlling the golems, and manages to order them to bury themselves outside the city (except for a few to power clacks towers and golem horses for the mail coaches) and then decides that these extremely valuable golems are a much better foundation for the new currency than gold and thus introduces the golem-based currency. Eventually, an anonymous clacks message goes out to the leaders of other cities that contains the secret to controlling the golems (the wearing of a golden suit), thus making them unsuitable for use in warfare (as anyone could wear a shiny robe). At the end of the novel, Lord Vetinari considers the advancing age of the current Chief Tax Collector, and suggests that upon his retirement a new name to take on the vacancy might present itself.

Making Money

Bobby Pendragon and Vo Spader, the Traveler from Cloral, arrive on First Earth (New York City, 1937) shortly after the death of Bobby''s uncle, Press Tilton, greeted by bullets from gangsters that Saint Dane has hired. They then meet the First Earth Traveler, who saved them from the gangsters. He is a bell captain at the Manhattan Tower Hotel named Vincent Van Dyke nickname "Gunny". Bobby and Spader become employed as bellhops there, and investigate the ties between First Earth''s Turning Point, rival crime godfathers Max Rose and Winn Farrow, and the Nazi party. The critical connection is revealed to be the Hindenburg zeppelin. To understand its significance, Bobby and Gunny visit Third Earth, in the year 5010. The Traveler of Third Earth, Patrick, accesses a computer that predicts the future in which they save the Hindenburg: industrial spies working for Max would lead to the Nazis developing an atomic bomb and disastrously winning World War Two. Bobby and Gunny return to First Earth, only to find that Spader and Rose have gone ahead, seeking to stop Winn Farrow from shooting a firework rocket into Hindenburg. Bobby flown to the LZ-129''s launch site by a female aeroplane pilot called Nancy Olsen (Jinx), who has been his friend and client at the Hotel. Once parachuting from the aeroplane, Bobby tracks down Max and Spader, who are seconds from departing to meet Max''s airship arrival. Bobby accompanies them, and with Third Earth foresight, manages to save the entire entourage''s lives. While on Third Earth, the young Traveler learns that Max Rose was destined to die on the same highway, on the same day, after crashing into a motorcycle cop. With Max unconscious and Spader, convinced stopping the Hindenburg will save First Earth, heading for the airfield, Bobby uses Max''s car to follow them. Spader, misunderstanding, tries to stop the rocket from launching; Gunny holds him back, but fails. Spader tries to save the Hindenburg on his own, but is stopped by Winn Farrow. Spader begs Bobby to save the Hindenburg. Looking up, Bobby sees the faces of those who will die in the explosion and is reluctant to let them die. Gunny again intervenes, holding him until the rocket launches and the zeppelin burns. After the whole incident is over, Bobby is upset that Spader''s emotions nearly got the better of him which almost lead to the destruction on all three earth territories. Bobby tells Spader to return to Cloral until he learns to control his emotions. Full of angst over his role in the tragedy, Bobby returns to his home on Second Earth (the 20th and 21st-centuries) for a pause in his Travels. After a week, he receives a call from Gunny, and meets him back at Bobby''s old house a few hours later. Gunny arrives in a limousine with an elderly man claiming to know Bobby''s great grandfather (unknowingly referring to Bobby when he was on First Earth), and explains how Uncle Press had died, describing how an accomplice (who the Gangster revealed to be Saint Dane) persuaded Tony, the gangster''s partner, into shooting a Tommy Gun into the flume. He states clearly that he never fired a bullet. He then gives Bobby his traveler ring which the gangster took from him on First Earth. Bobby thanks the gangster, and he and Gunny accompany the gangster down town to the flume. This is where "The Reality Bug" begins.

The Never War

Sir Gerald Tarrant, head of a secret service department in the British Government, and good friend of Modesty Blaise, is being driven by his chauffeur along a narrow road on the edge of the gorge of the Tarn River in S. France. His chauffeur stops to help two nuns change a tire on their car, and Sir Gerald is taken prisoner - by the nuns, no less. On the other side of the gorge lies Quinn, only semi-conscious after having stumbled and fallen while hiking. But he is sufficiently aware that he sees the two cars stopped on the road, and he tries to summon help by waving his handkerchief. Unknown to him, he is spotted by Mr. Sexton, who is the leader of the kidnapping operation. This starts a long chain of events. Modesty rescues Quinn the next morning, and then later Quinn provides the missing information that convinces Modesty that Sir Gerald has been kidnapped. (Until now everyone had believed that Sir Gerald had died together with his chauffeur when his car went tumbling down into the Tarn River.) Modesty and Willie Garvin have by chance already determined the probable location of Sir Gerald''s captivity: Chateau Lancieux in the foothills of the Pyrenees in S. France. A hasty rescue mission is set in action. Modesty and Willie gain access to the chateaux via a deep cave, but on entering into the basement they are captured by the formidable Mr. Sexton, who prides himself on being the world''s greatest unarmed combat man. Now Modesty and Willie are scheduled to die at Mr. Sexton''s hand, one at a time, to further the process of softening Sir Gerald up for interrogation.

The Silver Mistress

The novel consists of five parts that tell the life of Gergely Bornemissza from the age of eight until the year 1552, when he is in his early thirties. I. Gergely is a half-orphan and son of a poor woman, while Éva Cecey is the daughter of a landowner. They are nevertheless playmates. While playing in the woods, the two children are captured by a Turk named Jumurdzsák and have to join a trek of prisoners. Due to the cunning of little Gergely, the two children are able to escape and later also to free the other prisoners. Gergely''s mother dies in a raid by the Turks, but the little boy is adopted as a foster son by the rich aristocrat Bálint Török, where he gets a good education. II. Several years later, Gergely has to experience that Buda is captured by the Turks through deceit and his foster father Bálint Török is led away prisoner. Gergely meets Éva again, who has become a pretty young girl. III. Gergely learns that Éva who is an excellent rider and fighter is to be married to the cowardly Adam Fürjes at the request of the queen. They flee together and get married. Together with some friends they plan to free Bálint Török from his prison in Istanbul. They go to the Ottoman city, but despite many adventures, they finally fail in freeing the Hungarian aristocrat. IV. It is 1552, a force about 200,000 Turks is approaching the little town of Eger, the citadel of which is only defended by 2000 soldiers. István Dobó, captain of the citadel, calls on the troops of the emperor for aid, but no-one arrives. Gergely joins the forces who are preparing to fight in Eger, while leaving Éva home with their little son. Shortly after he has left, a stranger arrives and kidnaps the little boy. Éva realizes that the stranger must have been the Turk Jumurdzsák. She understands that there must be a connection with the siege of Eger, so she masquerades as a man and tries to enter the besieged castle. V. Even though the forces of the Turks are overwhelming, the Hungarians in Eger are able to defend themselves. Éva finally arrives at Eger. Though the Ottomans attack again and again, the citadel stands firm, with also the women of Eger joining the battle. Finally, the Ottoman forces withdraw. Gergely''s and Éva''s little son is exchanged for a Turkish boy who has been captured, and the family is finally reunited.

Egri csillagok

Nevil Beauchamp is a young naval officer with high ideals of honour and public service who, having been wounded in the Crimean War, recovers his health in Venice. He there falls in love with a brilliant and high-spirited French girl, Renée de Croisnel, with whom he hopes to elope. Renée marries an elderly French aristocrat instead, and Nevil takes up his naval career again. He falls under the influence of the republican and freethinking Dr. Shrapnel, thereby alienating his wealthy uncle Everard Romfrey, a staunchly Conservative peer. Nevil stands for Parliament as a Radical, but he is defeated. Everard horsewhips Dr. Shrapnel, and refuses when an outraged Nevil demands that he apologise. Renée now returns to claim Nevil, but he has meanwhile fallen in love with a beautiful Tory, Cecilia Halkett. Nevil reconciles Renée with her husband, but Cecilia refuses Nevil''s proposal. With his love life in ruins Nevil falls ill and is thought to be at death''s door. Uncle Everard repents of his quarrel with Nevil and Dr. Shrapnel, and apologises at last. On Nevil''s recovery he marries Dr. Shrapnel''s ward Jenny. The marriage is a happy one, in spite of Nevil''s not being in love with her, but after a few months Nevil dies in an attempt to save a child from drowning.

Beauchamp''s Career

The book is set in the fictional town of Winthrop. The protagonist of the book is an unnamed African-American "nomenclature consultant" who has had recent success in branding and selling Apex bandages, which come in multiple colors to better match a broad array of skin tones. The novel begins with the main character being contacted by his former employer, which he had left after losing a toe. He travels to the town of Winthrop after requests from the town council, which has proposed that the town be renamed. However, three key citizens disagree what the name should be: Albie Winthrop, descendant of the town''s namesake (who''d made his fortune in barbed wire); Regina Goode, the mayor (descendant of one of the town''s two founders); and Lucky Aberdeen, a software magnate who''s leading the drive to rename the town. Winthrop wants to keep the name; Goode wants the town to revert to the name it bore at its founding as a town of free blacks, Freedom; while Aberdeen wants to call it "New Prospera."

Apex Hides the Hurt

Offit describes the origins and development of claims regarding the MMR vaccine and the vaccine preservative thiomersal, as well as subsequent scientific evidence which has disproved a link with autism. The book discusses possible explanations for the persistence of these claims in the face of scientific evidence to the contrary, as well as the proliferation of potentially risky and unproven treatments for autism. The author takes a critical view of several advocates of a vaccine–autism link, including Andrew Wakefield, David Kirby, Mark Geier, and Boyd Haley, raising scientific and, in some cases, ethical and legal concerns. The book also explores divisions within the autism community on the topic of vaccines, as some parents consider the ongoing narrow focus on vaccines a distraction from more scientifically promising avenues of research. In this vein, Offit interviews Kathleen Seidel, a mother of an autistic child who has published investigations critical of those who profit from promoting vaccine–autism claims. Offit also touches on the heated and bitter debate surrounding vaccine claims. He describes receiving death threats, hate mail, and threats against his children as a result of his advocacy for vaccine safety. Offit declined to do a book tour for Autism''s False Prophets, citing concerns about his physical safety and comparing the intensity of hatred and threats directed at him to that experienced by abortion providers. Author''s royalties from the book are being donated to the Center for Autism Research at Children''s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Autism''s False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure

A group of American Resistance fighters attempt to spark a revolution at a summit meeting between Hitler and Tōjō celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Axis victory in World War Two. The book begins on July 4, 1976. A Japanese general is visiting China Lake, California, the site of his victory over General George Patton during World War Two. A bomb planted on a horse explodes, killing the general, and a mysterious cowboy is seen in the area. The cowboy is Cooper, travelling with his adopted father Wayne Stubbs, and a young Native American woman named Chula. They travel to the hidden National Redoubt in the Rocky Mountains, where work on developing a nuclear bomb had been ongoing throughout the decades. However, General Buckwesson, comfortable in his fortress, has no intention of sparking a revolution despite the unique opportunity that has recently arisen. A senile Hitler and a retired Tojo are meeting in the geographic center of the now divided United States. Cooper and younger members of the resistance plan on attacking the event, and Lisa Blum, daughter of the last head of the Manhattan Project, suggests using the only atomic bomb in the world.

The Divide

The vast lake, Lake Agassiz, covered much of North Dakota, Manitoba and Minnesota during prehistoric times. The story begins when farmer Tom Lasker and his son, Will, uncover a seemingly brand new yacht. Found on a landlocked farm, it draws tourists to the area. Max Collingswood, a friend of Tom''s, tries to help discover the origins of the boat. Collingswood enlists April Cannon, a worker at a chemical lab who discovers that the yacht is made of an unknown material. In fact, it is a fiberglass-like material with an impossible atomic number (161). Collingswood and Cannon discover something else on a nearby ridge which is part of a Sioux reservation. The Sioux assist in its excavation and examination. It turns out to a green glassy roundhouse-like structure, made from the same material. Eventually, they gain access to it, revealing a dock for the sailboat, but no entrance for it. The discovery that the structure contains the means to access other sites not on Earth sets off a struggle between the Government and the Reservation for control of it.

Ancient Shores

The Vatican gains possession of a time machine from Leonardo da Vinci after the inventor''s death. Selected members of the Pope''s Swiss Guard are sent back in time to alter history in favour of the Catholic Church. All this is supervised by a very small group of church officials and without the specific knowledge of the current Pope. The Vatican learns that major historical events can''t be prevented, only their details can be altered. For example, the Reformation can not be undone, but the details surrounding it can be changed: Martin Luther can''t be killed before publishing The Ninety-Five Theses, but the failed attempt on his life by a time-traveling agent is interpreted by Luther as a visitation by the devil. In 1688, the Progetto Reale (English: Royal Project) is undertaken by the men in charge of the department. The project''s aim is to reestablish Catholicism in England through restoration of the House of Stuart. The Catholic Church perceives the Stuarts as too weak for their purposes and instead selects the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach as an alternative. For the purpose of legalising the claim to the British throne, a member of the Swiss Guard, Arnold Füßli, is sent out to exchange the Stone of Scone for a fake. While this mission succeeds, the stone is deposited at what later becomes a reservoir and is lost for the cause. The Church''s main asset, its loyal Swiss Guard soldier Franz Defunderoll, however, chooses to desert and meet his unsuspecting self in the future. Eventually, the time machine is destroyed. In the finale of the book, the rebellious Bavarian-Scottish troops sacrifice themselves in the reservoir attempting to recover the Stone.

Das Königsprojekt

Dance opens with the last year or so of their school days in 1921&ndash;22. We are also introduced to their Housemaster Le Bas and Nick''s Uncle Giles. Lunching at the invitation of Stringham''s mother, the glamorous Mrs Foxe, Nick meets Cdr. Buster Foxe, "a chic sailor", and Miss ''Tuffy'' Weedon. On leaving school Jenkins visits the Templers, setting eyes for the first time on Templer''s sullen sister Jean and meeting the older Sunny Farebrother and Jimmy Stripling. Later Nick is sent off to France to learn the language, staying at La Grenadière, where Widmerpool puts in an appearance, displaying unexpected powers of persuasion. The final chapter sees Nick at university where he enjoys afternoon tea with Professor Sillery and meets Mark Members for the first time, JG Quiggin, and Bill Truscott. A car outing with Templer, Bob Duport and Jimmy Brent turns to minor disaster when Templer drives them into a ditch. *Adapted in part from material published by the Anthony Powell Society with consent

A Question of Upbringing

These crucial events are mainly seen through the eyes of two fictional characters, who meet near the beginning of the novel: Zev Barak and Joseph Blumenthal (nicknamed "Don Kishote"). Wouk portrays several real-life Israeli leaders: David Ben-Gurion, Moshe Dayan, Golda Meir, Mickey Marcus, Yigael Yadin, Ariel Sharon, Motta Gur, and others. Both the real and fictional characters are portrayed as brave and decent human beings with character flaws, who manage to lead Israel through three major wars in spite of the nation being surrounded, outgunned, and torn by internal conflicts as well as external threats. Zev is a junior officer in the unsuccessful attacks on Latrun. Joseph Blumenthal, newly arrived in Israel, joins a new Israeli unit of troops who bravely attack. He acquires the nickname "Don Kishote" when teased about riding a mule wearing an old helmet ("Don Kishote" is Don Quixote in Hebrew). Both Zev and Kishote choose to stay in the Israeli army when the War of Independence ends. The two accompany reporters with the first convoy taking supplies to Jerusalem up the Burma Road bypassing Latrun. Zev visits the US as part of the Israeli delegation to Mickey Marcus''s funeral at West Point, there he meets Christian Cunningham, a CIA analyst sympathetic to Israel throughout the story, and his daughter Emily, who eventually becomes Zev''s mistress. Don Kishote is in love with Shayna Matisdorf, but has a brief sexual encounter with Yael Luria on a trip to Paris just before the 1956 Suez war. He returns to Israel and is part of the paratroop force invading Egypt in Operation Kadesh. Zev commands an effort to transport landing craft overland from Haifa to Eilat to supply Israeli units advancing on Sharm el-Sheik. When Yael tells Kishote she became pregnant during their encounter in Paris, he marries her because he feels the child needs a father, even though he is still in love with Shayna Matisdorf. Kishote supervises the paratroop training of several African officers, including Idi Amin. Idi Amin is portrayed as lacking the courage to jump out of an airplane, and Kishote arranges a fake jump so Amin qualifies for paratroop wings. Zev is sent on several diplomatic trips to the United States, and he and Emily Cunningham become lovers the day of President Kennedy''s assassination. In 1967, he is the Israeli military attache in Washington, and during the Six-Day War conveys to the Israeli government a message from Christian Cunningham that the U.S. government would not oppose Israel conquering the Golan Heights, even though it will not publicly say so. Zev''s wife Nakhama tells Emily Cunningham she knows of their affair and accepts it, but Emily is unable to continue the affair knowing that Nakhama knows about it. In the Six-Day War, Kishote is wounded in the Sinai campaign, then leaves his hospital near Jerusalem to take part in the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem.

Over 8000 Takeaways For Your Brain!

Read - Listen - Learn

Making Money

By Terry Pratchett

The Never War

By D.J. MacHale

The Silver Mistress

By Peter O''Donnell

Egri csillagok

No Author Listed

Beauchamp's Career

By George Meredith

Apex Hides the Hurt

By Colson Whitehead

Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure

By Paul A. Offit

The Divide

No Author Listed

Ancient Shores

By Jack McDevitt

Das Königsprojekt

By Carl Amery

A Question of Upbringing

By Anthony Powell

The Hope

By Herman Wouk