Endel Ulga is an Estonian currently living in New Jersey in the United States. He was born on March 3, 1918, just days after Estonia declared its independence from Russia. In his memoir, he describes the idyllic life of a curious and ingenious child with great promise for a successful future while a roiling undercurrent of unrest pervaded eastern Europe. Endel and his country came of age together, before their destinies diverged during World War II.