Ecotourism is defined as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people. In this work Honey presents an overview of the industry and a first-hand account of ecotourism projects around the world. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Ecuador, Environment

This volume is a synthesis of existing knowledge about the flora and fauna of Costa Rica. The major portion of the book consists of detailed accounts of agricultural species, vegetation, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, birds, and insects. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Environment

Scale Mayan pyramids, worship the sun on palm-fringed shores and chill out in the shade of a smouldering volcano. Whatever your passion, Central America is jam-packed with possibilities. Written by experts who travel on your budget, this guide lets you go further, stay longer and pay less for the adventure of a lifetime. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Travel Guide

Many Costa Rica guides provide hotel, restaurant, and arrival information, but Lonely Planet's stands out from the pack. Written by Rob Rachowiecki, an award-winning travel writer and naturalist, this guide delves into Costa Rica's flora, fauna, and nature reserves like no other.
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Labels: Costa Rica, Travel Guide

In Costa Rica, it's impossible not to get caught up in the feeling of pura vida, 'pure life'. So whether selecting from the huge range of traditional dishes, dancing the meringue at a fiesta, or cheering a toro brava, 'bull', this book will help you get into the swing. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Educational

Frommer's Costa Rica features colour photos of the lush rain forest, the amazing array of wildlife, and the spectacular beaches that await you. Researched by a long-time resident, it’s a guide that gives you in-depth coverage of this fast-changing country, with recommended accommodations in every price category. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Travel Guide

With complete profiles of forty accessible parks and preserves, including five newly protected areas, this book guides visitors through the unique terrain, and discusses each area's climate, flora, and fauna. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Environment

Tropical Nature combines excellent science, often based on original observations, with a warm sympathy for creatures big and small. This book is a worthy successor to the writings of the great naturalists of the American tropics. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Ecuador, Environment

Lose yourself in a gargantuan cloud forest, discover a deserted island, hike up the rim of a volcano's crater, navigate white-water rapids past toucans and iguanas or wander among ruins still tangled in jungle – Fodor’s Central America offers all these experiences and more. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Travel Guide

This guides deliver solid science without growing stilted or boring - as evinced by sections with such titles as "Avian Mating Systems and Birds That Cheat" and "Frugivory: Animals That Eat Fruit and the Trees That Want Them To." Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Environment, Travel Guide

Made up of 20 very different countries, Latin America has sometimes been treated as though it were a homogeneous unit, one mired in poverty and political instability. University of North Carolina scholar John Charles Chasteen's sweeping history of the region imparts a sense of how diverse - ethnically, linguistically, culturally - Latin America truly is, and of how that part of the world is rapidly changing. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, History, Honduras

From exploring mist-shrouded Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve marvelling at Arenal Volcano's spectacular eruptions to visiting artisan cooperatives and Indian reserves, Moon Handbooks Costa Rica is the guide to the best this country has to offer, both on and off the beaten path. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Travel Guide

Dispatches from Latin America reports on countries from Mexico to Argentina to map the contemporary political and social territory. Drawn from the pages of the well-respected NACLA Report, this collection offers a riveting series of accounts that bring new insight into the region's struggles and victories. With shrewd analysis rendered in accessible language, Dispatches lays plain the complex and vitally important conditions unfolding in 21^st-century Latin America. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Politics

Costa Rica: A Traveler's Literary Companion has been compiled in an attempt to provide tourists with a different perspective on the country. Each of the twenty-six remarkable stories in this collection has been selected to reflect the geographical area in which it is set. Story settings range from the high valleys of the central plateau to the flatlands of the Caribbean coast to the plains of Guanacaste. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Literature

World renowned for its biological diversity and model conservation system, Costa Rica is home to a wide variety of amphibians and reptiles, from the golden toad to the scorpion lizard and the black-headed bushmaster. Jay M. Savage has studied these fascinating creatures for more than forty years, and in The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica he provides the most comprehensive, up-to-date treatment of their biology and evolution ever produced. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Environment

Much more than a land of coffee and bananas, Costa Rica boasts more teachers than soldiers; it has even abolished its army. This book is divided into 11 chapters covering history, government and politics, the economy, the family, education, and religion. The authors draw on their experiences in the country, interviews with people from all walks of Costa Rican life, and secondary sources. The result is a solid monograph on Costa Rica that points out the contradictions in its perception by the rest of the world. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Culture, History, Politics

Spotila, a long-time sea turtle researcher, distils what is known about these mysterious ocean wanderers into this beautifully illustrated new treatise. He writes with an informative and chatty narrative flow, covering his research and that of other scientists in chapters on the biology, evolution, life cycle, and conservation of sea turtles. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Environment

Corrugated by mountains and studded by volcanoes, Central America reaches from Mexico towards South America like a hooked, tentative finger. Its geography - seven piecemeal nations stacked on top of each other in a narrowing isthmus - is in many ways its destiny: a distinct region caught between two larger realities. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Travel Guide

Williamson (Univ. of Edinburgh) has accomplished a nearly impossible task: he has produced a lucid, objective interpretation for the non-specialist reader. The book is organized topically, rather than by country, and the author wisely selects regional examples of his major themes, rather than attempting a detailed analysis of each country. The work ends with an unusual exploration of literature and culture in relation to identity and modernization, followed by a helpful bibliographic essay. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, History, Honduras

Although the U.S. has spent more than $25 billion on international drug-control programs over the past two decades, it has failed to reduce the supply of cocaine and heroin entering the country. It has, however, succeeded in generating widespread, often profoundly damaging, consequences, most notably in Latin America and the Caribbean. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Politics

This indispensable guide offers a comprehensive, country-by-country look at the current state of affairs in the most explosive region in the hemisphere. Buy

Labels: Costa Rica, Culture, El Salvador, Honduras, Politics