Book excerpt: Alain Edmund Hurin, a kid from Brooklyn blessed with a fine education and an avid reader of science fiction as well as historic novels, enlists first in the National Guard and then in the US Army. Through World War II and Korea, he earned promotions and decorations, while before, between, and after active duty in college, he earned degrees in history and languages. The history degrees lead to a life in academia, and the science fiction leads to a visit to the court of Charlemagne and the acquisition of a bride.