Six chapters in the book, like six stars in one constellation, contain the names Maria, Emma, Valentina, Gennady, Larissa and John. Maria, a Russian beauty, is a symbol of love, determination and devotion to the family- a stronghold and a real survivor through the Russian turmoil. Emma, Maria's eldest daughter, wounded during the second World War at age 7, carried her grief through her whole life. Valentina, Maria's second daughter, optimistic by nature, made her life roads in her own way. Gennady, Maria's only son, was her favourite and beloved most of all. Larissa, Maria's grandaughter, is described from a parental point of view. John's true story was to be the conclusion of this book but became the beginning of a new chapter of the author's life: it has become another story for another time.

The tales in this collection of short stories indicate that not all the fighting took place during the widely chronicled major battles of World War II in the North-West European campaign. There were other struggles and other activities which engaged the time and interests of a Canadian tankman while living at the sharp end from D-Day to the final armistice.

Both of Edo Nyland's theses are in contradiction to current opinions of linguists, who tend to suppose polygenesis of language families and language changes caused by natural evolution.

Unbelievable? Edo Nyland gives many convincing proofs in this book:

• There are hundreds of examples of words, taken from different languages, being decoded by the same method, revealing their hidden meaning.
• The decoding method is successfully applied to the translation of the forgotten language OGAM, the remains of which are found on standing stones of Ireland, Scotland and North America.
• Other currently available translations of Linear-B Text on Cretan clay tablets, supposed to be written in ancient Greek, and of the enigmatic book AURAICEPT of the Benedictine monks, supposed to written in Celtic language, have been considerably improved by the same decoding method.

Edo Nyland's, web site, where he presents the contents of this book, has been selected as a featured site in Lightspan's StudyWeb as one of the best educational resources on the Web.

The book can be read easily by interested laymen. Scholars of linguistics, stone-age and medieval history, religion and anthropology might use this book for a critical revision of their current paradigms.

The author is granted a Fulbright Scholarship to go to Romania for two semesters. He keeps a diary of what he encounters and the diary entries show what he was thinking during the experience. He analyzes the happenings and tries to improve the lives of the people he teaches and advises. He has some successes and some failures. His biggest success after the Fulbright is in bringing 53 Romanian middle-managers to the U.S. for an internship. This requires him to make repeated visits to Romania to choose interns and do more teaching. He marvels at the culture and beauty of this little known county that is still struggling through the transition to democracy and capitalism.