- The History of Costa Rica by Ivan Molina and Steven Palmer. Wondering why Costa Rica is so different from the other vaction sun spots you've visited over the years? Trying to figure out how a tiny tropical country relying on coffee and banana exports become Latin America's most stable democracy. Interested in knowing where Costa Rica's big middle class came from, and why every village has a tidy schoolhouse? Or are you just curious about the background of the people you've met of the places you visited? The History of Costa Rica will answer your questions. The only book of its kind in English, written by two leading historians of this country, each page is illustrated with vivid photos, paintings, portraits, maps and quotes from Costa Rica's colorful past.
- The Ticos: Culture and Social Change by Richard, Karen, and Mavis Biesanz. Written with the perspective of more than half a century of first-hand observation, this unparalleled social and cultural history describes how Costa Rica's economy, government, education and health-care systems, family structures, religion, and other institutions have evolved, and how this evolution has affected people's daily lives, beliefs, and their values. The authors are particularly concerned with change and continuity since the economic crisis of the early 1980s and the structural adjustment that followed.
- Costa Rica: A Traveler's Literary Companion, edited by Barbara Ras and with a foreword by Oscar Arias Sánchez, is a collection of short stories by Costa Rican writers, organized by region of the country. Journey into the Costa Rican imagination through twenty-six remarkable stories, selected and organized regionally for the curious traveler. Here, for the first time in English, the best of Costa Rica's writers conjure the country's allure and vitality, its coffee fields and palm groves, cicadas and songbirds, shrouded mountains and blazing savannas, while telling stories unique to Costa Rican life. Contributors include Alfredo Aguilar, Fernando Durán Ayanegui, Alfonso Chase, Quince Duncan, Fabián Dobles, Louis Ducoudray, Carlos Luis Fallas, Mario Gonzáles Feo, Joaquín Gutiérrez, Carlos Salazar Herrera, Max Jiménez, Carmen Lyra, Carmen Naranjo, Yolanda Oreamuno, Abel Pacheco, Julieta Pinto, Uriel Quesada, Samuel Rovinski, José León Sánchez, and Rima de Vallbona.
- Nature of the Rainforest: Costa Rica and Beyond (Zona Tropical Publications) by Adrian Forsyth. In the rainforest, close encounters with life that moves are usually rare but brilliant episodes; one is bedazzled for an instant and then left alone in the quiet greenery. Nature of the Rainforest is a breathtaking tour of an environment that is the pinnacle of biodiversity and evolutionary sophistication by an award-winning author and two photographers who love the rainforest, understand its intricacies, and have spent considerable time there documenting its wildlife and complexity.
- Tropical Nature by Adrian Forsyth and Ken Miyata. A wonderfully written and lively collection of tales and adventures by two Neotropical biologists who spent time in the forests of Costa Rica. A well written, easily readable biological treatise about basic American Tropical ecology. Initial chapter on the climate that dictates all else in the tropics is paticularly interesting. The remainder of the book is divided into various chapters dealing with various plant and animal idiosyncracies. Numerous fascinating facts, anectodes spice up what can potentially be a pretty dry, high-school biology textbook subject matter.
- Costa Rica: A Journey Through Nature by Adrian Hepworth takes readers on a spectacular photographic journey through one of the most biologically diverse countries on the planet. Above a trail, a puma stands majestically on a tree limb surveying the forest below; an iridescent blue butterfly flutters through the air; the jewel-like feathers of a resplendent quetzal sparkle in a cloud forest; a female sea snake and her newly born offspring struggle across a beach under a relentless sun; and early morning light reveals a turtle spraying clouds of sand over its nest. The second edition of this book includes over 100 new photographs, new maps, a new introduction, and updated text throughout. Bringing together dramatic images and informative descriptions, this book provides a remarkable account of wild animals in Costa Rica, their behavior, and the sublime landscapes that they inhabit.
- Costa Rica: Traveller's Wildlife Guides, by Les Beletsky. Aimed at environmentally conscious travellers for whom some of the best parts of any trip are glimpses of wildlife in natural settings. With stunning color illustrations and photographs of amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds, this series is unique in that it aims to aid the visitor in identifying all types of vertebrate land animals while providing current information on the conservation statuses of the animals. Not only for travelers, the book is for all those fascinated by wildlife and concerned about our environment. Most travelers to Costa Rica want to experience its lush tropical forests and catch glimpses of exotic wildlife; toucans and parrots, hummingbirds and hawks, monkeys and big cats, frogs and toads, crocodiles, and (yes) snakes, and the book has all the information to find, identify and learn about Costa Rica's magnificent wildlife.
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