The true story of a mysterious disappearance of a trekker on the Osa Peninsula. If you’ve been here you’ll get chills. We’ve crisscrossed this region many times and all the theories – drug runners, accidents, gold miners, poachers – ring true.

by Roman Dial, 2020 ISBN: 0062876600

Superb collection of short stories (English). These stories will give a different feel to your travels in Costa Rica as you begin to understand the cultural basis for some of the things you see around you.

by Barbara Ras (Editor), Oscar Arias (Editor), Paperback, 256 pages, Publisher: Consortium Book Sales & Dist, (1994), ISBN: 1883513006

Stories presented in both English and Spanish on facing pages which is especially nice if you’re trying to learn or practice the language.

by Genevieve Barlow, Paperback, 192 pages, Publisher: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary Books; (1995), ISBN: 0844208124

not yet reviewed

by Enrique Jaramillo Levi (Editor), Paperback, Publisher: Latin Amer Literary Review Press, (October 1991), ISBN: 0935480471

by Tatiana Lobo, Asa Zatz (Translator), Paperback, 320 pages, Publisher: Curbstone Press, (November 1998), ISBN: 1880684462

not yet reviewed

by William Deverell, Paperback, 432 pages, Publisher: McClelland & Stewart (October 2002), English, ISBN: 0771027087

Depressed ex-CIA operative and now a kayak-tour operator on the Naranjo River in western Costa Rica conducts an unending war against squatters…hmm…

A series of essays by the two authors (Forsyth mainly in Costa Rica, Miyata mainly in Ecuador). Chapters include, epiphytes, bugs and drugs, army ants, artful guises, Jerry’s maggot, night walks. The authors encourage you to get to know the rainforest by hanging out there. The writing style is more engaging than many authors that have attempted the same book. For example there is a chapter (fertility) on pooping in the woods, then waiting and watching as the rainforest assimilates your contribution to fertility. Highly Recommended.

by Adrian Forsyth, Paperback, 272 pages, Publisher: Touchstone Books, (1987), ISBN: 0684187108

Collection of environmental/ecological essays and short stories (late 1800’s to present) that give a sense of the rainforest. Sue says it’s great to get you in the mood. A good read, especially while one is traveling because the 2-30 page segments stand on their own. Not particularly Costa Rica specific but a good feel for the forests.

by Daniel R. Katz, Paperback, 398 pages, Publisher: Three Rivers Press, (1995), ASIN: 0517881608

Out of print but usually available used on Amazon.

The best introduction to the peoples of Costa Rica available.

by Mavis Hiltunen Biesanz, Richard Biesanz, Karen Zubris Biesanz, $US 19.95, Paperback, 295 pages, Publisher: Lynne Rienner Publishers, (November 1998), ISBN: 1555877370

Sort of a Biography of Daniel Janzen interwoven with a description of trying to recreate one of the most endangered habitats in the world.
by William Allen, Samantha Burton (Illustrator), Paperback, 310 pages, Publisher: Oxford University Press, (April 2003), ISBN: 0195161777
Out of print but usually available used on Amazon.

Historical account from the perspective of some of the people who battled to establish Costa Rica’s first National Parks, giving us the incredible legacy we have today.

David Rains Wallace. Publisher Sierra Club books, 222 pages, ISBN 0871565854, Out of print but usually available used on Amazon.

An early explornography true story. Originally appeared as a serial in the New Yorker magazine. Mattheissen travels by cargo ship from NY up the Amazon to Peru, by air to the Pacific coast, then by foot and balsa raft to find a lost city (doesn’t turn up) and a dinosaur jaw bone (finds it).

by Peter Matthiessen, Paperback, 320 pages, Publisher: Penguin USA, (1996), ISBN: 0140255079