Here's a page from Longitude, the specialty bookseller for travelers. To order online, and to see the latest, most comprehensive selection of books and maps, go to http://reading.longitudebooks.com/LO139. You may also call 800-342-2164 to order or request a catalog.

These 5 items are available for $69, including U.S. shipping, a 15% discount (Item no. EXCAM87)

Moon Handbook Nicaragua  •  Josh Berman GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 475 PAGES A handy, practical guide to Nicaragua, this book is a good resource for planning a trip, featuring extensive, up-to-date listings, maps, volcano hikes, and other background information. (CAM110, $19.95)
Nicaragua in Focus, A Guide to the People, Politics and Culture  •  Hazel Plunkett GUIDEBOOK •  2002 •  PAPER  • 100 PAGES Essential reading for Nicaragua, this compact, illustrated travel guide focuses on politics, economy, history and culture. It's especially strong on the difficult history of relations with the U.S. but also includes a good short summary of traditional culture and history from colonial times to the present. It's an excellent overview, strong on facts and unabashedly left-of-center in outlook. (CAM71, $12.95)
The Jaguar Smile, A Nicaraguan Journey  •  Salman Rushdie TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2008 •  PAPER  • 160 PAGES Rushdie's account of visit to the country at the height of the Contra war goes underneath the headlines. It's a cultural portrait -- simple, straightforward and "Written with a novelist's eye for irony," wrote the "New York Times." (CAM43, $14.00)
Tropical Nature  •  Adrian Forsyth  •  Ken Miyata NATURAL HISTORY •  1984 •  PAPER  • 248 PAGES • BEST SELLER • FAVORITE A lively, lucid portrait of the tropics as seen by two uncommonly observant and thoughtful field biologists. Its 17 marvelous essays introduce the habitats, ecology, plants and animals of the Central and South American rainforest. With a lengthy appendix of practical advice for the tropical traveler. (GPS13, $14.00)
Nicaragua Map  •  ITMB MAP A map of Nicaragua at a scale of 1:750,000 with good topographic relief. (CAM74, $11.95)

Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish  •  Joseph Keenan   • LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS  •  Idioms, common mistakes in word usage, and other helpful advice on tackling spoken Spanish. You'll need some foundation to take full advantage of this book -- but even a complete novice will appreciate the author's playful sense of humor. (CAM06, $18.95)
The True History of Chocolate  •  Sophie D. Coe  •  Michael Coe   • FOOD  •  This scholarly history of pre-Columbian chocolate by these married archaeologists reveals chocolate's origins as a ceremonial beverage in ancient Olmec and Maya society. The Coes trace the treat's evolution from a food of the gods to the salons of Europe down through the masses to Hershey Pennsylvania. (CAM57, $21.95)
A Brief History of Central America  •  Hector Perez-Brignoll   • HISTORY  •  A good overview of the region's economic, political and social history through the 1980s by a professor at the University of Costa Rica. Well-written, informative and concise. (CAM49, $21.95)
Coffee and Power, Revolution and the Rise of Democracy in Central America  •  Jeffery M. Paige   • HISTORY  •  Panoramic in scope, this scholarly history examines the emerging democracies of Central America and especially the political impact on powerful families who control coffee production. (CAM50, $26.00)
Forgotten Continent, The Battle for Latin America's Soul  •  Michael Reid   • HISTORY  •  Economist editor Reid draws on his years in the cities, presidential palaces and shantytowns of Central and South America in this portrait of a region rich in oil, farmland and culture and its prospects in the face of globalization. (SAM123, $30.00)
Nicaragua, Living in the Shadow of the Eagle  •  Thomas Walker   • CULTURAL PORTRAIT  •  The fourth edition of Walker's invaluable portrait of Nicaragua with a focus on its recent political history. (CAM122, $30.00)
Nothing to Declare  •  Mary Morris   • TRAVEL NARRATIVE • FAVORITE  •  An absorbing memoir of a woman traveling alone throughout Mexico and Central America. Morris, a favorite writer, evokes the people and places she visits in gritty immediate detail. (CAM08, $14.00)
The Country Under My Skin, A Memoir of Love and War  •  Giaconda Belli   • BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR  •  The memoir of a young, upper-class Nicaraguan woman who joins the revolutionary Marxist Sandinistas while continuing to work her bourgeois day job at an advertising agency. (CAM117, $14.95)
Selected Writings, Ruben Dario  •  Ruben Dario   • LITERATURE  •  This anthology of the beloved Nicaraguan modernist poet includes his best-known work presented in English and Spanish, along with short stories, fables, profiles, travel writing, journalism and letters. (CAM123, $16.00)
Stories and Poems, A Dual-Language Book  •  Ruben Dario  •  Stanley Appelbaum   • LITERATURE  •  A selection of poems and stories by the beloved Nicaraguan writer, with Spanish and the English translation on facing pages. (CAM107, $14.95)
The Naturalist in Nicaragua  •  Thomas Belt  •  Daniel Janzen   • NATURAL HISTORY  •  A reprint of the 1874 original by Thomas Belt, trained as an engineer, who lived four years in Nicaragua. Praised by Darwin and other Victorian luminaries, his classic account is a richly detailed natural history of the region. (CAM63, $33.50)
A Guide to the Birds of Panama with Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras  •  Robert Ridgely  •  J.A. Gwynne   • FIELD GUIDE  •  A comprehensive field guide, noteworthy for its beautiful color plates, in a sturdy edition covering additional species found in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica (CAM07, $49.95)
Neotropical Rainforest Mammals, A Field Guide  •  L.H. Emmons   • FIELD GUIDE  •  A pictorial guide to the mammals of the New World tropics, compact enough to slip into your daypack, with 29 color plates of more than 200 species. (GPS12, $32.50)
Snorkeling Guide to Marine Life  •  Paul Humann   • FIELD GUIDE  •  A compact guide illustrating all the fishes, corals, invertebrates and plants you are most likely to encounter in under 15 feet of water in the Caribbean. (DIV02, $14.95)