The ''Merlin'' Compass

Book excerpt: Not the usual science fiction. Exploiting history and legends before WWII, a prank, loving teen goes to Germany at a when neighbors struggled with the English language and talked with foreign accents, but were proud to be American citizens. Charles Lindbergh had crossed the Atlantic Ocean only a few years earlier and an airplane would still be watched until it flew out of sight. Telephones and radios were around, but these were the depression years, so most everyone did without those extravagances. Times were tough but, the people were tougher.