Live and Let Die is the second novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series.
Set in London, the US and Jamaica, it was first published in the UK by
Jonathan Cape on 5 April 1954. Fleming wrote the novel at his Goldeneye
estate in Jamaica before his first book, Casino Royale, was published.
The story centres on Bond's pursuit of Mr Big, who has links to an
American criminal network, the world of voodoo and SMERSH—an arm of
the Russian secret service—all of which are threats to the West. Bond
becomes involved in the US through Mr Big's smuggling of 17th-century
gold coins from British territories in the Caribbean. The novel deals
with themes of the ongoing East–West struggle of the Cold War,
including British and American relations, Britain's position in the
world, race relations and the struggle between good and evil. It was
adapted in 1973 as the eighth film in the Eon Productions Bond series
and the first to star Roger Moore (pictured) as Bond.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_and_Let_Die_%28novel%29>
_______________________________
Today's selected anniversaries:
1710:
The Statute of Anne, the first fully fledged law regulating
copyright, received royal assent and went into effect five days later in
Great Britain.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statute_of_Anne>
1986:
The Libyan secret service bombed a discotheque in West Berlin,
killing 3 people and injuring 229 others.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_West_Berlin_discotheque_bombing>
2000:
Before a semi-final of the 2000 UEFA Cup in Istanbul, violence
broke out that resulted in two Leeds United fans being stabbed to death.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_UEFA_Cup_semi-final_violence>
2009:
The North Korean satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 was launched from
the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground and passed over Japan, sparking
concerns it may have been a trial run of technology that could be used
to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwangmy%C5%8Fngs%C5%8Fng-2>
_____________________________
Wiktionary's word of the day:
whelm:
1. (transitive) To bury, to cover; to engulf, to submerge.
2. (transitive, obsolete) To throw (something) over a thing so as to
cover it.
3. (transitive, obsolete) To ruin or destroy.
4. (intransitive) To overcome with emotion; to overwhelm.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/whelm>
___________________________
Wikiquote quote of the day:
To promise that which is known to be impossible is no covenant.
But if that prove impossible afterwards, which before was thought
possible, the covenant is valid and bindeth, though not to the thing
itself, yet to the value; or, if that also be impossible, to the
unfeigned endeavour of performing as much as is possible, for to more no
man can be obliged. Men are freed of their covenants two ways; by
performing, or by being forgiven. For performance is the natural end of
obligation, and forgiveness the restitution of liberty, as being a
retransferring of that right in which the obligation consisted.
--Thomas Hobbes
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thomas_Hobbes>