Angela Woodward

The brutality of war and abuse is juxtaposed with the banal in this story of two women who spend their days transcribing the testimonies of Abu Ghraib prisoners. The prisoners' gruesome accounts of physical and sexual abuse, torture, sodomy, and murder interrupt the ordinary lives and concerns of the typists, and reveal deeper – and more troubling – truths. Sylvia is a single mother, haunted by the words of the prisoners' testimonies. Her job strains her already-fragmented relationship with her capricious teenage son. Marina's submissive ignorance allows her to become involved in a disturbing relationship with a man who engages her in humiliating and abusive sexual acts and indirectly involves her six-year-old daughter, causing the child to suffer troubling effects from bearing witness to the trauma. Interjected within the lyrical prose is commentary about the history, development, and qualities of ink, as well as of other objects and elements (such as urine and water) that are part of the accounts of tortured prisoners as well as the lives of Sylvia and Marina. Taken together, this illuminating and meditative work reveals how correlations between the abuse of women, domestic violence, rape, and the abuse and torture of prisoners of war are not as disparate or detached as they might first appear.

Winner of the FC2 Catherine Doctorow Innovative Fiction Prize. In Natural Wonders, Jenny is given the task of assembling a memorial edition of her recently deceased husband Jonathan’s lecture series about the physical history of the earth. With little knowledge of his work or of Jonathan himself, Jenny constructs from his fragmentary and disorganized notes her own version of our planet’s past. Presented as a series of lectures, Jenny’s earth history is an amalgam of stories from science and about scientists—a Serbian mathematician and his theory of the ice ages, a Swiss doctor camped on a glacier, the mysterious materia pinguis thought to have drifted down from stars to form fossils. Into these stories she interweaves scenes from their marriage as well as material she finds on Jonathan’s shelves. In her history, an explanation of continental drift becomes enmeshed with a schoolboy’s erotic encounter with an older woman. Icebergs in an Andean lake launch a woman’s jealous affair with a third-rate actor, and H. G. Wells’s Island of Dr. Moreau is dramatically recounted in new form. Natural Wonders mixes mythology, popular fiction, and a misfired romance with the story of the earth hurtling around the sun. From intimately human to geologic to cosmic, it explores change, love, and loss.

The French Alps lie to the north of Provence and the French Riviera and are easy to reach from Lyon, Geneva, Grenoble and Nice. The region is one of the most popular skiing destinations in the world as the "snow-capped roof" of Europe. Located in the European southwest and southcentral regions and formed thousands of years ago by glaciers, the French Alps are the highest mountain range on the European continent. Introduction to the French Alps - Overview - Culture - Location & Orientation - Climate & When to Visit - Sightseeing Highlights - Skiing in the French Alps - Chamonix - Aiguille du Midi - Mont Blanc - Recommended Ski Resorts - Courchevel - La Tania - M ribel - Val Thorens - Tignes - Morzine - Grenoble - La Bastille - Musee Dauphinoise - Archaeological Museum - Caf de la Table Ronde - Ch teau de Vizille - Annecy - Recommendations for the Budget Traveller - Places to Stay - Le Vert Hotel - Residhotel Grenette - Hotel Le Cottage - Chalet Hattiers and Chalet Chardons - Alexandra Hotel - Places to Eat & Drink - Lodge du Village - Chez Meme Paulette - Annecy - The Marmot Arms - Dotty's Coffee House - Places to Shop - Shopping in Chamonix - Food Shopping in Grenoble - Other Speciality items in Grenoble - Shopping in Annecy - Shopping at Courchevel 1850

The Grand Canyon is considered one of the new Seven Wonders of the World, a name that it's amazing views more than live up to. In the heart of the Arizona desert, the Grand Canyon cuts a 1-mile (1.6 km) deep trench into the earth's surface. At 277 miles (446 km) long, it truly is the grandest canyon on earth. Overview - Culture - Location - Climate & When to Visit - Sightseeing Highlights - Lipan Point - Canyon Rim Trail - Mather Point - Grandview Point - Navajo Point - Point Imperial - Cape Royal Trail - Toroweap Overlook - Grand Canyon West - Desert View Watchtower & Entrance Station - Grand Canyon Aerial Tours - Scenic Airline Tours - Red Rock Horseback Tours - Apache Stables Horseback Rides - Grand Canyon Trail Mule Rides - Grand Canyon Visitor's Center - Kolb Studio Photographic Museum - Grand Canyon Railway Depot - Hopi House - Yavapai Museum of Geology - Tusayan Ruins & Museum - Hermit's Rest - Recommendations for the Budget Traveler - Places to Stay - Bright Angel Point Lodge - El Tovar Hotel - Kachina Lodge - Maswik Lodge - Grand Canyon Lodge - Places to Eat & Drink - Deli in the Pines - Maswik Cafeteria & Pizza Pub - Canyon Caf - Bright Angel Restaurant - The Grand Canyon Cookout Experience - Places to Shop - Verkamp's Curios - Lookout Studio - Market Plaza - Desert View Trading Post - Yavapai Gift Shop

The 'quintessentially English' Cotswolds is the famous countryside area of southcentral England. This popular tourist destination is close to the cities of Gloucester, Bath, Oxford, and Stratford-upon-Avon. The Cotswolds is an English 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty' (AONB) and crosses six counties (Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Somerset, and Worcestershire). Overview - Culture - Location & Orientation - Climate & When to Visit - Sightseeing Highlights - Broadway Tower - St. Mary's Church - Corinium Museum - Cotswold Water Park - Cotswold Motoring Museum & Toy Collection - Cotswold Falconry Centre - Blenheim Palace - Gloucester Cathedral - Cheltenham Spa Town - Chipping Campden (Town) - Nature & Gardens - Batsford Aboretum & Wild Garden - Birdland - Park & Gardens - Clearwell Caves - Cotswold Way National Trail - Westonbirt - The National Arboretum - Thermal Bath Spa - Stratford Butterfly Farm - Kenilworth Castle & Elizabethan Garden - Historical - Cathedrals & Castles - Berkeley Castle - Roman Baths - Snowshill Manor & Garden - Sudeley Castle - Tewkesbury Abbey - Museums & Others - Out of the Hat - Nature in Art - Keith Harding's World of Mechanical Music - Recommendations for the Budget Traveler - Places to Stay - Days Inn Michaelwood - The Old Stocks Hotel, Restaurant & Bar - Byfield House - The Battledown - The Ivy House - Places to Eat - Piazza Fontana - Cutlers Restaurant - Lumiere Restaurant - Caf Mosaic - Prithvi Restaurant - Places to Shop - Highgrove Gardens - Bath markets - Tewkesbury markets - Stroud markets - Cheltenham markets

Belgrade is Serbia's capital city and one of the most beautiful cities in southeastern Europe. The city has been nominated for the European Capital of Culture in 2020. Belgrade is known for its energetic nightlife and beautiful parks that are popular with local artists. In Serbian the city is called Beograd meaning White City. We take you to just the best sights and recommend fun activities for a family to fill an enjoyable few days in this exciting city.