Recommended Books

Though Costa Rica's literary output is sparsely translated and little known outside of Costa Rica, there are some notable authors to look out for, especially if you can read in Spanish.

Some of the books mentioned below might be difficult to track down in U.S. bookstores, but you'll find them all in abundance in Costa Rica. A good place to check for most of these titles is Seventh Street Books, on Calle 7 between avenidas 1 and Central in San José (tel. 2256-8251).

General Interest

For a straightforward, albeit somewhat dry, historical overview, there's The History of Costa Rica, by Ivan Molina and Steven Palmer (University of Costa Rica, 2001). For a more readable look into Costa Rican society, pick up The Ticos: Culture and Social Change by Richard, Karen, and Mavis Biesanz (Lynne Rienner Publishers, 1999), an examination of the country's politics and culture, by the authors of the out-of-print The Costa Ricans. Another option worth checking out is The Costa Rica Reader: History, Culture, Politics, a broad selection of stories, essays, and excerpts edited by Steven Palmer and Ivan Molina, the authors of the history book mentioned above (Duke University Press, 2004).

To learn more about the life and culture of Costa Rica's Talamanca coast, an area populated by Afro-Caribbean people whose forebears emigrated from Caribbean islands in the early 19th century, look for What Happen: A Folk-History of Costa Rica's Talamanca Coast by Paula Palmer. This book is a collection of oral histories taken from a wide range of local characters. The newest edition was published in 2005 by Distribuidores Zona Tropical.

Fiction & Poetry

Costa Rica: A Traveler's Literary Companion, edited by Barbara Ras and with a foreword by Oscar Arias Sánchez (Whereabouts Press, 1994), is a collection of short stories by Costa Rican writers, organized by region of the country. If you're lucky, you might find a copy of Stories of Tatamundo (University of Costa Rica Press, 1998), by Fabian Dobles, or Lo Peor/The Worst (Grupo Editorial Norma, 2006), by Fernando Contreras.

Young adults will enjoy Kristin Joy Pratt's A Walk in the Rainforest (Dawn Publications, 1992), while younger children will like the beautifully illustrated The Forest in the Clouds, by Sneed Collard and Michael Rothman (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2000), and The Umbrella, by Jan Brett (Putnam Juvenile, 2004), or the bilingual Mar Azucarada/Sugar Sea by Roberto Boccanera (Pachanga Kids, 2006), a young Costa Rican writer.

One of the most important pieces in the Costa Rican canon, Carlos Luis Fallas's 1941 tome Mamita Yunai, is a stark look at the impact of the large banana giant United Fruit on the country. More recently, Fernando Contreras takes up where his predecessor left off in Unico Mirando al Mar, which describes the conditions of the poor, predominantly children, who scavenge Costa Rica's garbage dumps.

In the field of poetry, Eunice Odio, Juaquín Gutiérrez, and Jorge Debravo are early poets who set the gold standard. Their more modern successors include Alfonso Chase, Virginia Grutter, Laureano Alban, Ana Istaru, Osvaldo Sauma, and Luis Chavez.

Natural Histroy

I think that everyone coming to Costa Rica should read Tropical Nature by Adrian Forsyth and Ken Miyata (Touchstone Books, 1987). My all-time favorite book on tropical biology, this is a wonderfully written and lively collection of tales and adventures by two Neotropical biologists who spent quite some time in the forests of Costa Rica.

Mario A. Boza's beautiful Costa Rica National Parks (INCAFO, 2004) has been reissued in an elegant coffee-table edition. Wildlife of the National Parks and Reserves of Costa Rica, by Michael and Patricia Fogden (Fundacion Neotropical, 1997), features some impressive photography by this prolific couple. Costa Rica's National Parks and Preserves, by Joseph Franke (The Mountaineers, 1999), is similar but with fewer photos.

For an introduction to a wide range of Costa Rican fauna, there's The Field Guide to the Wildlife of Costa Rica, by Carrol Henderson (University of Texas Press, 2002), or Costa Rica: Traveller's Wildlife Guides, by Les Beletsky (Interlink Books, 2004). Both pack a lot of useful information into a concise package and make great field guides for amateur naturalists and inquisitive tourists.

A Guide to the Birds of Costa Rica, by F. Gary Stiles and Alexander Skutch (Cornell University Press, 1989), is an invaluable guide to identifying the many birds you'll see during your stay. Most guides and nature lodges have a copy of this book on hand. This classic faces competition from the more recent Birds of Costa Rica, by Richard Garrigues and Robert Dean (Cornell University Press, 2007). Bird-watchers might also enjoy Dennis Rodgers's Site Guides: Costa Rica & Panama (Cinclus Publications, 1997), which details each country's bird-watching bounty by site and region.

Other interesting natural-history books that will give you a look at the plants and animals of Costa Rica include Costa Rica Natural History, by Daniel Janzen (University of Chicago Press, 1983); A Guide to Tropical Plants of Costa Rica, by Willow Zuchowsky (Distribuidores Zona Tropical, 2005); The Natural History of Costa Rican Mammals, by Mark Wainwright (Distribuidores Zona Tropical, 2003); A Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica, by Twan Leenders (Distribuidores Zona Tropical, 2001); and the classic A Neotropical Companion, by John C. Kricher (Princeton University Press, 1999), reissued in an expanded edition with color photos.

For a rather complete list of field guides, check out www.zonatropical.net.