501 Spanish Verbs  •  Christopher Kendris LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2003 •  PAPER  • 600 PAGES The perennial favorite among students of Spanish, revised with a bonus CD-ROM. Organized alphabetically, each of the often irregular verbs gets its own page -- complete with all the verb tenses, examples and common idioms. The book is both a reference for Spanish speakers and a tool for beginners. Por que no hay como hablar Espanol sin verbos. O algo asi. (GEN134, $16.99)
Bradt Guide Panama  •  Sarah Woods GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER  • 320 PAGES A practical guide in the informative Bradt style, with information on natural history, arts and culture, and special sections on the Bocas del Toro archipelago and the Panama Canal. (PNM26, $21.95)
The Captain and the Enemy  •  Graham Greene LITERATURE •  2005 •  PAPER  • 208 PAGES Graham Greene returns to classic themes of mystery, deceit and espionage in this accomplished short novel, his 23rd and last book. Taking the form of a memoir, the narrator (no longer a young boy) heads to Panama in chapter eight in search of the Captain. Available in a print on demand edition, essentially a facsimile of the paperback original. (CAM53, $14.00)
Central America, A Nation Divided  •  Ralph Lee Woodward HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 448 PAGES A balanced standard history of the region -- popular as a university textbook and thoroughly revised to reflect the momentous events in the region since 1976. With an extensive guide to further reading. (CAM80, $39.95)
Central America, A Natural and Cultural History  •  Anthony G. Coates HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 296 PAGES A concise overview of the region with contributions by diverse authors on the geology, natural history and culture of the Central American isthmus. A publication of the "Paseo Pantera Project." With charts, graphs and maps. (CAM69, $22.50)
Coffee and Power, Revolution and the Rise of Democracy in Central America  •  Jeffery M. Paige HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 448 PAGES 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. The author combines exhaustive historical research, covering the last 30 years, with wide-ranging interviews. (CAM50, $26.00)
Costa Rica & Panama Map  •  World Mapping Project 2005 •  MAP A detailed, double-sided travel map of Costa Rica and neighboring Panama at a scale of 1:550,000. Using the latest cartography from the World Mapping Project, the full color map, printed on rip-proof and waterproof paper, includes topographic features, latitude and longitude, parks and preserves, index and key visitor attractions. Water depths are indicated by contour lines in shades of blue and white. (CAM111, $9.99)
Cruising Guide to the Leeward Islands  •  Chris Doyle  •  Nancy Scott GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 448 PAGES A convenient, spiral-bound guide to anchorages, harbors and navigation from Anguilla to Dominica, including GPS coordinates and sketch maps. (CRB132, $29.95)
Eastern Caribbean Cruise Tour Guide  •  Coastal Cruise Tour Guides 2000 •  MAP A handy guide and booklet that unfolds to a six-foot-long full color map. Designed for the ship-based traveler, it features historical background, visitor attractions and maps of all the islands from Puerto Rico to Trinidad. (CRB135, $15.95)
Eclipse! The What, Where, When, Why, and How Guide to Watching Solar and Lunar Eclipses  •  Philip Harington REFERENCE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 280 PAGES A guide to eclipse phenomena, including how to best photograph and appreciate lunar and solar eclipses, as well as understand general celestial mechanics. With tables summarizing where lunar and solar eclipses will be visible from 1998-2017. (GEN30, $19.95)
The Ecology of a Tropical Forest, Seasonal Rhythms and Long-term Changes  •  Egbert G. Leigh, Jr NATURAL HISTORY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 503 PAGES A summary of research at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute on Barro Colorado Island (which is right in the middle of the Panama Canal). This book, first published in 1982 and revised with a new forward in 1996, is a good overview of the flora, fauna and ecology of the region. (CAM52, $35.00)
A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America & Southeast Mexico  •  Fiona Reid FIELD GUIDE •  1997 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A handsomely illustrated field guide to the mammals of the region from Tehuantepec to Panama. The author/illustrator, who lived and worked in Central America, painted most of the animals in the field -- a formidable challenge and -- given the quality of the large color plates -- well worth her while. With a dedication to one of our favorite wildlife artists, Guy Tudor, we knew this book had to be good. If you don't mind the heft, the focused geographic range and large color plates make this book the best resource for visitors to Central America with an interest in mammals. (CAM60, $70.00)
Four Neotropical Rainforests  •  Alwyn Gentry NATURAL HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 627 PAGES The results of a symposium on tropical ecology held in 1987 at Ohio State, this book is a good reference to the flora, fauna and ecology of four representative tropical forests: Manaus (Brazil), Park Manu (Peru), Barro Colorado Island (Panama) and La Selva (Costa Rica). (AMZ33, $55.00)
In the Time of the Tyrants, Panama, 1968-1990  •  R. M. Coster HISTORY •  1991 •  PAPER  • 430 PAGES A hard-hitting account of Panama under General Omar Torrijos and the equally corrupt Manuel Noriega, culminating the U.S. military intervention in December 1989. It's a powerful indictment of U.S. policy in Panama. (CAM55, $11.95)
It's a Jungle Up There, More Tales from the Treetops  •  Margaret Lowman  •  James Burgess  •  Edward Burgess NATURAL HISTORY •  2008 •  PAPER  • 291 PAGES Lowman's personable account, written with her two now-grown sons James and Edward, of further adventures up in the trees (and in the kitchen, balancing career and family). It's a engaging globe-skipping chronicle that takes the tropical ecologist and her family to Samoa, West Africa, Peru, Panama, India and other great habitats around the world. (NAT92, $30.00)
Looking for a Ship  •  John McPhee HISTORY •  1991 •  PAPER In his signature style of exploring important but ignored subjects, John McPhee explores the dying industry of the Merchant Marine. Following a friend's voyage through the Panama Canal, McPhee tackles the subject with humor and clear prose, showing the forces which have forced the merchant marine into near-extinction. (GEN133, $16.00)
A Magic Web, The Tropical Forest of Barro Colorado Island  •  Egbert G. Leigh, Jr  •  Christian Ziegler NATURAL HISTORY •  2002 •  HARD COVER  • 292 PAGES • HARD TO FIND ELSEWHERE A generously illustrated overview of the nature and ecology of Barro Colorado Island, home to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. With chapters on plants, herbivorory and predatation, animals and the ecology of tropical forests. The book concludes with a chapter on conservation. With hundreds of color photographs. Barro Colorado, created with the Panama Canal, may be the most intensively studied piece of tropical forest on Earth. Leigh, a biologist at STRI, is also the author of Tropical Forest Ecology, (CAM100, $40.00)
A Man A Plan A Canal  •  Nova HISTORY •  NTSC VIDEO (PNM19, $14.98)
The Maya Tropical Forest: Peoples, Parks and Ancient Cities  •  James D. Nations HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 323 PAGES Jim Nations draws on field work in the region over the last 25 years in this personable, detailed overview of the people, history and wildlife of the lowland tropical forest of southern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize. With chapters on the Selva Lacandona (Chiapas), Calakmul (Chetumal), the Maya Biosphere reserve in Guatemala (including Tikal) and protected sites in Belize. (MYA49, $22.95)
A Naturalist's Guide to the Tropics  •  Marco Lambertini  •  John Venerella NATURAL HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 338 PAGES A compact guide to the world's tropical zone, organized by biome. It's a good overview of the ecology of forests, mangroves, coral reefs, deserts, and grasslands found between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer. A useful companion for travelers to tropical latitudes. With color photographs and color plates illustrating a sampling of the most conspicuous birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and fish. (CON17, $25.00)
Panama Canal by Cruise Ship  •  Anne Vipond GUIDEBOOK •  2008 •  PAPER  • 336 PAGES An outstanding guide to the Panama Canal, and popular ports of call in Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. It features a mile-by-mile guide to the transit, a history of the building of the canal, and detailed pull-out map the Canal. With a roundup of popular ports from Florida to the Mexican Riviera and California, helpful city maps, and color photographs. (PNM13, $21.95)
Pimsleur Quick & Simple Spanish  •  Pimsleur Language Method LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2005 •  AUDIO CD Four audio CDs with eight 30-minute lessons in basic Spanish, covering elementary vocabulary and phrases used in travel and everyday situations. The Pimsleur method emphasizes the use of listening skills without reading materials (so there isn't a book to follow along). It's advertised as "Totally audio: hear it, learn it, speak it." (SPN257, $19.95)
Plants and Animals in the Life of the Kuna  •  Valerio Nunez  •  Heraclio Herrera  •  Jorge Ventocilla  •  James Howe  •  Elisabeth King CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1995 •  PAPER  • 168 PAGES An ethnobiology and cultural portrait of the Kuna, their island home and relationship to the natural world, this book was produced by a diverse team of Kuna leaders, ecologists and scholars. (PNM15, $19.95)
Portrait of the Panama Canal, from Construction to the Twenty-First Century  •  William Friar HISTORY •  2003 •  PAPER  • 80 PAGES A photo-essay with contemporary and archival photographs of the Panama Canal, as well as a short history, featuring 60 color and 10 archival images. (CAM54, $16.95)
The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt  •  Edmund Morris BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2001 •  PAPER  • 960 PAGES A celebrated biography of Teddy Roosevelt, from his birth in 1858 to his presidential inauguration in 1901. Morris continues the story in the equally compelling "Theodore Rex " (USE310). (USE308, $17.95)
Rough Guide Central America  •  Peter Eltringham GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 896 PAGES A no-nonsense, comprehensive travel guide to Central America with country-by-country descriptions and a solid overview of history, culture and nature. It covers Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Panama. (CAM95, $22.99)
Sailor's Guide to the Windward Islands  •  Chris Doyle GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A convenient, spiral-bound guide to anchorages, harbors and navigation from Granada north to Martinique. With GPS coordinates, color sketch maps, and a directory of services. (CRB134, $26.95)
Spanish, Start Speaking Today! (Cassette Tapes)  •  Educational Services Corporation LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  CASETTE TAPE A 90-minute crash course in Spanish featured in two audio tapes and a phrasebook packaged in a vinyl sleeve. Geared for travelers, the course follows the foreign service method -- which focuses on dialogues and useful sentences instead of individual words. In each case, an English phrase is spoken once, and repeated in Spanish twice. Topics include introductions, transportation, business and health. A version with compact discs is also available (SPN219). (SPN140, $21.95)
Theodore Rex  •  Edmund Morris BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2002 •  PAPER  • 792 PAGES A celebrated biography tackling Roosevelt's presidency from 1901 to 1909 -- and his role in creating an American Empire. This is a sequel to the Pulitzer-winning "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" (USE308). (USE310, $17.95)
Travelers' Tales Central America  •  Larry Habegger  •  Natanya Pearlman ANTHOLOGY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 277 PAGES A well-edited collection of eyewitness reports by journalists, travelers and writers including Joan Didion, P.J. O'Rourke and Paul Theroux. Organized thematically with contributions set in Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama. (CAM96, $17.95)
Ultimate Spanish, Basic-Intermediate with Book  •  Irwin Stern LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2000 •  CASETTE TAPE A university-level Spanish course in a box, this set includes 40 short lessons on eight, 60-minute CDs and a 400-page accompanying text. The focus is on dialogues and conversation with attention paid to vocabulary and grammar. Most of the course features Latin American speakers with some Castillian variations in the lessons on Spain. With sections on business, etiquette and culture. Published by Living Language. (SPN175, $75.00)
The University of Chicago Dictionary, Spanish-English/English-Spanish  •  Carlos Castillo LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  2002 •  PAPER  • 603 PAGES Long a favorite with students and travelers, this new edition -- the first in 15 years -- of the University of Chicago dictionary brings vocabulary and usage up to date. With slang, vulgar and otherwise, a concise dictionary of words, phrases, and basic grammar. (SPN118, $11.00)