This is a novel with many themes. It is about Brabant, a land that is presently half in the Netherlands and the other half in Belgium. It is also the story of a little Brabanter boy, born the year Adolf Hitler came to power. The boy wants a good life and that is not so easy because the Catholic Brabanters are kept down by the Calvinist Hollanders. Many other modern themes come by, such as the Second World War, the emancipation (of women but also of the Catholics), the pill and its effects, se...

The famous physicist Olivier Loos compares his life with that of the loafer Tobias Vlek, he knows from his youth. As time goes by his appreciation for Tobias Vlek grows, realizing how he had failed in meeting his own expectations. His opposition against Albert Einstein met resistance with settled reputes and damaged his career. Therefore he chose for safer subjects due to sense of duty for his family. The adventurous life of Tobias Vlek appeals more and more to his imagination. Less welcome s...

Manoel de Vilhena is renowned as the Grand Master who gave Valletta one of its architectural treasures – the Manoel Theatre. Not so widely known is the fact that in putting up this statue on the corner where East Street meets Archbishop Street, he was also giving Valletta its flag. This statue of a lion holding De Vilhena coat of arms resulted in Valletta adopting the lion symbol on its flag. Valletta started off as Humilissima Civitas Valletta—The Most Humble City of Valletta. Subseque...

t is 2025. Four astronauts undertake a nine-month mission to the desolate planet Mars with one goal in mind: to start a society that is more beautiful, humane and sincere than the one they left behind on Earth.

But the explorers are not alone in space. Billions of people at home are tuning in to the reality TV show that documents every move on their journey into the unknown. Jonah, Tatyana, Nicholas and Celia – international scientists with an unflinching desire for adventure – become her...