Dennis Hardesty, age 16, of White Plains,.N.Y., for his question:

WHO WAS 'THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY7'

"The Man Without a Country" is a famous patriotic book that was written by a writer named Edward Everett Hale during the Civil War. Hale, who was a clergyman as well as an author, wrote about 60 other books.

"The Man Without a Country"' tells the tale of a young United States naval officer named Philip Nolan. He went on trial for treason, where he shouted that he wished never to hear the name of his country again.

Nolan was sentenced to a life of exile at sea. All news of the United States was kept from him and for the 57 years that remained of his life, he never again heard the name of his country.

Hale was the son of a Boston newspaper publisher. His great uncle was Nathan Hale, the American spy who was executed by the British during the Revolutionary War, and his uncle was the statesman Edward Everett.

Hale graduated from Harvard. His other writings included sermons, biography, travel and history. In 1903 he was appointed chaplain of the U.S. Senate.