War and Words is a sweeping study of the profound, painful, and most significantly, defining cultural moments. Working from Homer through to Hemingway and in all traditions, some of the nation's best scholars of literature illustrate how literature and language affect not only the present but also future generations by shaping history even as they represent it. This powerful collection affirms that the humanities remain a site of the most profound reflection on human experience and historical events that have, for better and worse, shaped world civilization. War and Words offers students of literature critical tools for reading literary explorations of ambivalence toward war and provides teachers of literature a suggested syllabus for a course that has become all too necessary in a time when all our lives are touched by war.

Becca Summers is just trying to navigate a simple path through the crazy waves of her thirteen year old surfing filled life. Unfortunately, in Becca's life, nothing will ever be normal again. Her mom has died, and her dad is making her move to the Galapagos, some tiny islands Becca has never heard of. But when Becca arrives in the Galapagos, she is completely taken by surprise. The new life she has been unwillingly forced into is suddenly peaceful bliss. In the Galapagos, Becca meets daring Leila, another island teen, and they become fast friends. But as the girls grow closer, Becca reallizes there is more to Leila than meets the eye...