1491, New Revelations of Americas Before Columbus  •  Charles C. Mann HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 560 PAGES A thought-provoking, speculative history of the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans. Mann portrays the successes and failures of the complex societies of the Mississippi River, Central Mexico, the Andes and the Amazon. (WLD61, $15.95)
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)
An Album of Maya Architecture  •  Tatiana Proskouriakoff ARCHAEOLOGY •  1976 •  PAPER  • 164 PAGES A classic work, first published in 1946. Combining her talents as a scholar, artist and architect, Proskouriakoff presents breathtaking artistic reconstructions of what the Maya sites may have looked like more than 1,000 years ago. The text summarizes the archeological findings at each site. This gorgeous book evokes daily life at the sites. (MYA06, $29.95)
Amphibians and Reptiles of Northern Guatemala, the Yucatan, and Belize  •  Jonathan A. Campbell FIELD GUIDE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES This field guide to 160 Central American reptiles and amphibians features 176 color photographs, along with illustrations, maps and detailed descriptions of each species. Author Jonathan Campbell provides his own observations and anecdotes. (CAM106, $39.95)
The Ancient Maya  •  Robert Sharer ARCHAEOLOGY •  1994 •  PAPER  • 892 PAGES In its fifth edition, this scholarly tome is a standard reference on everything Maya, an up-to-date descendent of the original by the pioneering archaeologist Sylvanus Morley. It includes individual site descriptions, maps -- and much else of interest to the general reader. We recommend it for the serious student. (MYA07, $35.95)
Animals and Plants of the Ancient Maya, A Guide  •  Victoria Schlesinger FIELD GUIDE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A comprehensive guide to the natural and cultural history of 100 plants and animals of the Maya world, primarily those from the lowland tropical forest of Central America but also including savanna, mangrove and coral reef habitats. With handsome black-and-white line drawings throughout, key features for identification and good information about the habitat, natural history and cultural significance of each species. (MYA29, $29.95)
Antigua and My Life Before  •  Marcela Serrano  •  Margaret Sayers Peden LITERATURE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES Set in Santiago, Chile, and the Guatemalan city of Antigua, this is the story of two women --- one a famous singer, the other an artist/architect -- and a tragic shooting that sparks off memories of their friendship. (CRB121, $14.00)
An Archaeological Guide to Northern Central America  •  Joyce Kelly ARCHAEOLOGY •  1996 •  PAPER  • 352 PAGES The clear descriptions, site plans, maps and photographs of 38 archeological sites and 25 museums throughout Central America make this book an ideal travel companion. While the book includes general information and road directions, its real value is the detailed site information, background on ancient history and recent archeological activity. (MYA04, $24.95)
The Art of Mesoamerica, from Olmec to Aztec  •  Mary Ellen Miller ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 256 PAGES Miller, a professor at Yale, introduces the range of art produced in Central America and Mexico from 1500 BC to the Spanish conquest in this excellent survey in the popular World of Art series. It's an excellent survey of hundreds of objects and sites of the pre-Columbian world, compact and profusely illustrated. With drawings, black-and-white photographs and site plans. Fourth edition. (MYA09, $21.95)
Belize, Travellers' Wildlife Guides  •  Les Beletsky FIELD GUIDE •  2004 •  PAPER  • 492 PAGES An all-around field guide intended for the curious traveler, this book features color illustrations of 200 commonly encountered birds, 50 mammals, 150 coral reef creatures and 80 species of reptiles and amphibians. It also includes a good introduction to Belize, its natural history and conservation. (BLZ04, $27.95)
The Birds of Tikal, An Annotated Checklist  •  Randall Beavers FIELD GUIDE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 153 PAGES The serious birder will find this annotated list of birds found at Tikal a useful adjunct to a field guide. With a 40-page introduction to the region, a few black-and-white photographs, checklist and notes. (GML08, $12.95)
Bitter Fruit, The Story of the American Coup in Guatemala  •  Stephen Schlesinger  •  Stephen Kinzer HISTORY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 331 PAGES A foreign policy classic first published in 1982, brilliantly written and devastating in its implications. Schlesinger and Kinzer provide a dramatic account of the CIA-backed overthrow of Guatemala's democratically elected government of Jacobo Arbenz in 1954. With additional essays for this new edition. (CAM82, $22.95)
Breaking Out of Beginner's Spanish  •  Joseph Keenan LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  1994 •  PAPER  • 215 PAGES 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 and willingness to humiliate himself in order to master the language. It will encourage you to do the same. Beware, he includes a lengthy list of obscene words as well as horrendous examples of English words adopted in Spanish. (CAM06, $18.95)
Breaking the Maya Code  •  Michael Coe ARCHAEOLOGY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 304 PAGES A broadly considered history. Michael Coe chronicles the centuries-long search for the "rosetta stone" of the Mayan language, a search which received an enormous boost in 1952 when Yuri Knorosov successfully translated the Dresden Codex, a Mayan bark-paper text. The book also includes an extensive discussion of Maya studies and political activism in the wake of Knorosov's discovery. (MYA30, $19.95)
The Buried Mirror  •  Carlos Fuentes CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1999 •  PAPER  • 399 PAGES A fascinating, illustrated survey of Latin American culture and history by the great Mexican author Carlos Fuentes. With hundreds of color illustrations. Fuentes hosted a television series by the same name. (SPN71, $29.95)
Central America Map  •  ITMB 2008 •  MAP Produced for the traveler, this detailed, double-sided map gives an overview of the whole Central American isthmus at a scale of 1:1,100,000. (CAM20, $12.95)
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, $37.95)
Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens, Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya  •  Simon Martin  •  Nikolai Grube ARCHAEOLOGY •  2008 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES The history of the Maya dynasties, encompassing biographies of 152 kings and queens, as gleaned from recently deciphered hieroglyphs. It's an unusual, rewarding book, illustrated in color and black-and-white. (MYA31, $26.95)
The Code of Kings, The Language of Seven Sacred Maya Temples and Tombs  •  Linda Schele  •  Peter Mathews ARCHAEOLOGY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 432 PAGES A vivid guided survey of seven Maya sites, including Palenque, Tikal and Chichen Itza. This outstanding book features photos and line drawings throughout, and introductory chapters with a succinct introduction to Maya history and culture. Mayanists Schele and Mathews draw on recently found hieroglyphic writing to reveal the life -- and individual personalities -- of the ancient cities. Although it's not a beautiful book, marred by small print and lack of color, this book is still an essential companion to visiting Tikal, Palenque, Copan, Seibal, Chich'en Itza, Uxmal or Iximche'. (MYA13, $22.00)
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)
Collapse, How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed  •  Jared Diamond HISTORY •  2006 •  PAPER  • 575 PAGES Big, wildly ambitious, provocative, this is Jared Diamond at his best. He tackles nothing less than the history and fate of civilization in this compelling book in which he offers case studies, present and past, of societies that work and societies that do not. He devotes 100 carefully reasoned pages, for example, to the fate of the Norse settlements in Greenland (climatic change, Inuit) and another big section on Easter Island (deforestation, hubris). It's a fitting follow-up to his Pulitzer-Prize winning Guns, Germs and Steel. (GEN324, $18.00)
Confidence of the Heart  •  David Schweidel BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1995 •  PAPER  • 214 PAGES A well plotted yarn with plenty of suspense and local color. In it, a north american anthropologist (aka Spoon) is about to marry into a Guatemalan family. (GML12, $12.95)
The Control of Nature  •  John McPhee NATURAL HISTORY •  1989 •  PAPER  • 272 PAGES A bestseller in the classic McPhee tradition, this book explores our generally feeble attempts to combat all-powerful nature. Interweaving solid science, interviews and observation, he chronicles the army corps of engineers and their efforts to control the Mississippi, Icelanders and their attempts to control the flow of a volcano, and Angelinos and how they cope with the ever-present threat of seismic destruction. A national treasure, no one explains geology and geologists like McPhee. Like most of his work, these vintage essays originally appeared in the "New Yorker." (NAT01, $16.00)
Coral Reef Fishes  •  Ewald Lieske  •  Robert Myers FIELD GUIDE •  2002 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A convenient handbook to shallow-water fishes associated with coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific and Caribbean, compact and comprehensive. With 2,500 illustrations covering 2,100 species worldwide. (DIV05, $24.95)
Costa Rican Natural History  •  Daniel Janzen NATURAL HISTORY •  1983 •  PAPER  • 832 PAGES A thorough, prize-winning source reader on all aspects of the natural history of Costa Rica as edited by the iconoclast ecologist Daniel Janzen. This hefty book contains review articles by 174 contributors on birds, mammals, insects, reptiles, geology, climate, ecology and vegetation. It's illustrated, remarkably well written -- and rewarding for the serious general reader. While its audience is tropical ecologists working in Costa Rica, many of the plants and animals described exist throughout Central America. The format of the book invites selective reading on areas of particular interest. The species-by-species accounts are especially recommended. (CAM05, $49.00)
Courtly Art of the Ancient Maya  •  Mary Miller  •  Simon Martin ART & ARCHITECTURE •  2004 •  HARD COVER A richly illustrated survey of the art and archaeology of Maya royalty, published in conjunction with an exhibition at the National Gallery of Art. With six accompanying essays on Palenque, women of the royal court, war and other topics. The catalog features photographs, many in color, of 130 of stone and terra cotta sculptures, pottery, jade, and stucco from the late classic period. (MYA44, $50.00)
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 Amphibians and Reptiles of the Maya World  •  Julian C. Lee FIELD GUIDE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES A field guide to the lizards, snakes, crocodiles, turtles, toads, frogs, salamanders and other amphibians and reptiles of the Yucatan, Belize and Northern Guatemala. With 350 photographs and drawings, detailed descriptions and glossary of herpetological terms, it's a comprehensive guide. (CAM104, $36.95)
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, $59.95)
Fishwatcher's Field Guide Caribbean  •  Idaz Greenberg FIELD GUIDE •  PLASTIC CARD This double-sided plastic card shows 75 of the most commonly encountered reef fish of the Caribbean in full-color illustrations, convenient for the boat or beach. It's even got a hole punched in it to hang around your neck while snorkeling. (DIV11, $7.50)
Flowering Plants of the Neotropics  •  Nathan Smith  •  Scott Mori  •  Andrew Henderson  •  Dennis Stevenson  •  Scott Heald FIELD GUIDE •  2004 •  HARD COVER  • 616 PAGES This beautifully illustrated, authoritative guide, with contributions by dozens of botanists, features 64 color plates and 250 detailed pen-and-ink drawings by Bobbi Angell. It's an excellent, oversize introduction to the showiest, most important and interesting flowering plants of Mexico, Central and South America edited by a team at the New York Botanical Garden. The cover is adorned with a magnificent passiflora. (CAM103, $95.00)
Footprint Belize, Guatemala, & Southern Mexico  •  Claire Boobbyer GUIDEBOOK •  2005 •  PAPER  • 400 PAGES A comprehensive practical guide to the Maya World in the estimable British series, strong on the nitty-gritty of travel and with a good overview of history and culture. It covers Guatemala, adjoining Belize and the whole of Southern Mexico, including Chiapas, Oaxaca and the Pacific Coast, and the Yucatan. With maps and a Spanish glossary for the traveler. (GML11, $19.95)
Footprint Mexico & Central America Handbook  •  Sarah Cameron  •  Ben Box GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 1364 PAGES The classic, comprehensive guide to the region, over 1,200 pages of densely printed information on excursions, food and accommodation throughout the region. Updated annually. An excellent planning guide, it includes maps and an overview of each country. (MEX64, $24.95)
Genesis (Memory of Fire Trilogy, Part 1)  •  Cedric Belfrage  •  Eduardo Galeano HISTORY •  1998 •  PAPER  • 306 PAGES Part one of a three-volume history of the Americas composed entirely of short vignettes, this volume extends from the pre-columbian creation myths through the chronicles of conquest and early colonial period. Lyrical, emminently readable and easy to skim for the geographic areas of particular interest. (MYA18, $16.95)
The Green Pharmacy  •  James A. Duke NATURAL HISTORY •  1999 •  PAPER  • 507 PAGES An A to Z catalog of ailments and the herbal remedies that heal them. Full of facts on the ecology and traditional uses of medicinal plants by a leading ethnobotanist who has conducted much of his research in the Upper Amazon of Peru. Each chapter begins with an anecdote of an encounter with a patient and leads to easy "how-to" instructions for treating the health condition. The chapters cover minor and serious complaints, ranging from bad breath to depression, high cholesterol to wrinkles, morning sickness to viral infections. (AMZ40, $19.95)
Guatemala & Belize Map  •  World Mapping Project 2003 •  MAP A detailed, double-sided travel map of both Guatemala and Belize at a scale of 1:500,000. 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. (CAM101, $9.99)
Guatemala in Focus, A Guide to the People, Politics and Culture  •  Trisha O'Kane GUIDEBOOK •  2000 •  PAPER  • 94 PAGES This slim guide focuses on the history of Guatemala, its cultural heritage and current political, environmental and economic challenges. With maps, photographs and some travel information. It's an excellent synopsis from an unabashedly left-leaning perspective, strong on facts. (GML04, $12.95)
Guatemala: Never Again!  •  Thomas Quigley BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1999 •  PAPER  • 424 PAGES An abstract of eyewitness testimony presented in Guatemala in 1998, a heartwrenching report of atrocities committed by the military government the devastating civil war. Published by the Mary Knoll sisters with the Archdiocese of Guatemala. (CAM88, $30.00)
Guatemalan Journey  •  Stephen Connely Benz BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1996 •  PAPER  • 212 PAGES Benz, who was in Guatemala from 1988-1990 on a Fulbright scholarship, traveled widely throughout the country. Opening with a long chapter on life in Guatemala City (where he was based), he moves on to the remote highlands and other little-visited regions. The book is an excellent account of the country's political history, traditions, and indigenous cultures. (GML03, $19.95)
A Guide to Ancient Maya Ruins  •  C. Bruce Hunter GUIDEBOOK •  1986 •  PAPER  • 342 PAGES A well organized guide to archaeological sites throughout the Maya world with good site diagrams and black-and-white photographs, originally published in 1974 and revised in 1986 for this second edition. While not up-to-date on recent developments, this book is nonetheless a compact, accessible survey of important archaeological sites for the traveler by an experienced study trip leader. (MYA23, $19.95)
A Guide to the Birds of Panama with Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras  •  Robert Ridgely  •  J.A. Gwynne FIELD GUIDE •  1992 •  PAPER  • 534 PAGES A comprehensive field guide, recently updated and masterfully researched. This sturdy edition covers additional species occurring in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Costa Rica -- and a handy checklist by country. We like the descriptions and color plates better than "Birds of Costa Rica" (which is also very good). (CAM07, $49.95)
High Jungles and Low  •  Archie Carr BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  1992 •  PAPER  • 226 PAGES • FAVORITE In this absorbing memoir, Carr tells of life in the Honduran highlands, where "the volcano-set Pacific shore is 60 miles to the south and the hot, lush, banana coast a hundred miles to the north." His account of slogging through the forest as a gun-toting tagalong on a commercial expedition in search of mahogany is classic. Though it takes place in Honduras, it's just as appropriate for a trip to any Central American jungle. (CAM01, $19.95)
Honey Jar  •  Rigoberta Menchu LITERATURE •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 56 PAGES (MYA47, $18.95)
I, Rigoberta Menchu: An Indian Woman in Guatemala  •  Rigoberta Menchu  •  Elisabeth Burgos-Debray BIOGRAPHY/MEMOIR •  2007 •  PAPER  • 252 PAGES Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992, this Guatemalan woman speaks eloquently of her struggles against the military for a decent way of life. A compelling testimony to the power of a strong-minded, ordinary person and her love for her land. Although some of the book's events have been called into question, no one disputes that everything in the book happened, although not necessarily to the author. Menchu asserts that, in the Maya tradition, she is telling the collective story of her people. Beware, it includes some graphic scenes of brutal violence. (GML01, $30.00)
Incidents of Travel in Central America, Chiapas and Yucatan: Volume One  •  John Lloyd Stephens EXPLORATION •  1969 •  PAPER  • 396 PAGES The first volume of the Dover edition of Stephens' 1843 account, an instant bestseller and still an excellent introduction to the people, culture and archaeology of Central America. With 127 engravings by Frederick Catherwood. This first volume includes his arrival in Belize, several chapters on Copan (which so impressed him that he bought the site for $50), and a riveting account of arrival in Guatemala during civil unrest, including the murder of President Flores and an interview with the insurgent Carrera. (MYA33, $14.95)
The Inhabited Woman  •  Giaconda Belli LITERATURE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 412 PAGES In this powerful novel, a young woman living in a contemporary Central American country becomes "inhabited" by the soul of a woman who lived there hundreds of years earlier, under the oppression of the Spanish rule. This novel, by a Nicaraguan poet, is a modern tale of magical realism and political activism. Available in a facsimile print-on-demand edition only. (CAM33, $22.95)
Insight Guide Guatemala, Belize & the Yucatan  •  Insight Guides GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 380 PAGES This handsome guide gives a profusely illustrated overview of Guatemala, Belize and the Yucatan Peninsula, featuring concise essays by well regarded authors on natural history, politics and culture. With hundreds of photos, excellent maps and some limited practical information. (CAM113, $23.95)
Jungle of the Maya  •  Douglas Goodell  •  Jerry Barrack  •  Jim Wright  •  Archie Carr NATURAL HISTORY •  2006 •  HARD COVER  • 152 PAGES A handsome survey of the wildlife and habitats of the Selva Maya, the tropical forest that spreads through Belize, Guatemala and the Yucatan. (MYA51, $34.95)
Lonely Planet Guatemala  •  Lonely Planet GUIDEBOOK •  2004 •  PAPER  • 328 PAGES A comprehensive, practical guide to Guatemala with 35 local and city maps, color photographs and extensive information on where to go and what to do. (CAM85, $19.99)
The Long Night of White Chickens  •  Francisco Goldman LITERATURE •  1998 •  PAPER  • 472 PAGES By turns a love story, murder mystery and political fiction, this vivid novel follows the narrator from Boston to Guatemala to New York as he searches for his roots. With a conversational but stunningly evocative and sensual prose, Goldman is just as comfortable discoursing on high school romance as he is with the tortured political history of Central America. His greatest trick, though, is making the reader as empathetic and moved by the complexly portrayed characters as he is. One of the finest young writers working today. (CAM90, $14.00)
Maya Art and Architecture  •  Mary Ellen Miller ART & ARCHITECTURE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 240 PAGES Organized thematically, this book by Yale art historian Mary Ellen Miller surveys the art and architecture throughout Mayadom. She makes use of the latest discoveries at Tikal, Copan, Palenque and other Maya sites to present the range of art from architecture, to sculpture, ceramics and murals. The text is much enhanced by 200 illustrations, 50 in color, including site plans, maps, strikingly rendered reconstructions and color photographs of key temples and buildings. For the traveler interested in better understanding Maya art -- and particularly the glyphs featured on Maya sculpture -- we couldn't recommend this book more highly. (MYA20, $14.95)
Maya Cosmos, Three Thousand Years on the Shaman's Path  •  Joy Parker  •  Linda Schele  •  David Freidel ARCHAEOLOGY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 543 PAGES A provocative, speculative history of Central American religious practices since the dawn of the Maya kingdoms. The authors -- an archaeologist, an epigrapher and a popular historian -- suggest that modern shamanistic practices may be continuous with the religious rituals of the ancient Maya. (MYA32, $23.95)
Maya Glyphs  •  S.D. Houston HISTORY •  1989 •  PAPER  • 64 PAGES A concise survey of ancient Maya language and writing for the interested traveler. It includes an excellent chapter which introduces Maudslay, Morley, Thompson, Proskouriakoff and other key figures in Maya archaeology. While linguists will better appreciate the chapters on the spelling, structure and grammar of Maya writing, serious study of this book will help anyone better appreciate the Maya world. (MYA24, $15.95)
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)
Moon Handbook Honduras  •  Chris Humphrey GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 402 PAGES A great resource for the independent traveler, this guidebook features a good introduction to the land, history and culture of Honduras, as well as practical detail on getting around, where to go, and where to stay. With 35 detailed maps, a Spanish glossary to Honduran slang, and articles on the Copan ruins, the Bay Islands and the Rio Plantano Biosphere Reserve. (CAM73, $19.95)
The Mosquito Coast  •  Paul Theroux LITERATURE •  2006 •  PAPER  • 384 PAGES A taught psychological tale of a man who abandons civilization for the wilds of Honduras (much better than the movie!). Allie Fox defeats the mosquitoes, tames the river and swamp, and sets out to build an iceberg -- mostly as a monument to himself. (CAM34, $14.95)
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)
Nothing to Declare, Memoirs of a Woman Traveling Alone  •  Mary Morris TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  1999 •  PAPER  • 250 PAGES • FAVORITE An absorbing memoir of a woman traveling alone through Mexico and Central America. Morris, a favorite writer, evokes the people and places she visits on her travels in gritty immediate detail. Her travels include San Miguel de Allende, the Guatemalan Highlands, Bay Islands, and Nicaragua. (CAM08, $14.00)
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)
Popol Vuh, The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life  •  Dennis Tedlock LITERATURE •  1996 •  PAPER  • 388 PAGES The definitive, unabridged collection of creation myths and stories of the Quiche people, fundamental to understanding the worldview of the highland Maya. First transcribed into Latin in the 17th century, then revised and expanded in the 1990s by Dennis Tedlock, who consulted contemporary Maya. Carlos Fuentes called it "The Maya Bible." (MYA14, $16.00)
Reading the Maya Glyphs  •  Mark Van Stone  •  Michael Coe ARCHAEOLOGY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 160 PAGES A compact, illustrated guide to commonly encountered Maya hieroglyphs. With clear drawings by the talented calligrapher Mark Van Stone and illuminating text by reigning Mayanist Michael Coe. It's an excellent introduction to Maya writing for the traveler. (MYA26, $19.95)
Reef Fish Identification  •  Paul Humann FIELD GUIDE •  2002 •  FLEXI-BOUND  • 400 PAGES The serious underwater enthusiast will enjoy Paul Humann's Reef Fish Identification, a 400-page essential reference with 670 color photographs. It includes all the fishes associated with Atlantic Ocean reefs along with those of neighboring marine habitats and several first-ever photographs of elusive species. (DIV03, $39.95)
Rigoberta Menchu and the Story of All Poor Guatemalans  •  David Stoll HISTORY •  2000 •  PAPER  • 368 PAGES In this controversial book, Stoll concludes that Rigoberta Menchu, winner of the 1992 Nobel Peace Prize, did not actually experience many of the events of her famous autobiography. Menchu herself has lately said that her account of peasant life and revolution in Guatemala articulates a collective --rather than a strictly personal -- experience, but here Stoll takes her to task for deluding the international community. It's an irritating, important book that will outrage fans of I, Rigoberta Menchu; detractors will feel vindicated. (GML09, $25.00)
The Rigoberta Menchu Controversy  •  arturo arias HISTORY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 416 PAGES A collection of scholarly essays and primary source documents which illumine the debate about the authenticity of Rigoberta Menchu's Nobel Prize-winning autobiography. (GML10, $22.50)
Rough Guide Guatemala  •  Rough Guide GUIDEBOOK •  2006 •  PAPER  • 511 PAGES A comprehensive guide, our favorite for Guatemala, with good cultural information and the best overview of where to go and what to do throughout the country. It's got consistently more -- and more accurate -- information on markets, towns and excursions than the competition. The contexts section at the back of the book, with historical and cultural information, is equally as strong. With sections on Copan and the Honduran Bay Islands. (CAM89, $18.99)
Scribes, Warriors and Kings: The City of Copan and the Ancient Maya  •  William L Fash ARCHAEOLOGY •  2001 •  PAPER  • 192 PAGES A revised edition of the comprehensive, illustrated overview of the great city of Copan, its rise to power, history and mysterious collapse in the ninth century. Fash pays particular attention to the role of recently deciphered inscriptions in our changing understanding of the Maya. (MYA11, $24.95)
A Short History of Progress  •  Ronald Wright HISTORY •  2005 •  PAPER  • 132 PAGES These succint essays, originally presented as a radio broadcast, analyze the rise and fall of great societies, including Maya, Roman, Sumerian, Ancient Chinese and Easter Island. Wright focuses on the perils of marierialism and the warning signs of overconsumption, unwieldy social hierarchies and environmental collapse. (WLD62, $14.95)
Snakes, The Evolution of Mystery in Nature  •  Harry W. Greene NATURAL HISTORY •  1997 •  HARD COVER  • 288 PAGES Published to wildly enthusiastic reviews in 1997, this illustrated volume documents the ecology and diversity of snakes worldwide. Anecdotal, informative and entertaining, snakes couldn't have asked for a better advocate than herpetologist Harry Greene -- and the photographs are stunning. (BST33, $60.00)
Snorkeling Guide to Marine Life  •  Paul Humann FIELD GUIDE •  1995 •  PAPER  • 80 PAGES A compact guide illustrating all the fishes, corals, invertebrates and plants you are most likely to encounter in less than 15 feet of water in the Caribbean. Humann's photographs are among the best we've seen for identification -- and its handy size makes it perfect to take along in the boat or to the beach. (DIV02, $14.95)
Spanish, A Language Map  •  Kristine K. Kershul LANGUAGE & PHRASEBOOKS •  1999 •  PLASTIC CARD This durable, foldout card, featuring 1,000 words and phrases, works as a quick reference for travelers. (SPN259, $7.95)
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)
Spirits of the Jaguar  •  BBC NATURAL HISTORY •  2006 •  DVD Billed as "The Definitive Portrait of the Land, Wildlife and Peoples of Central America, this four-part BBC television series is an excellent introduction to the region. It includes the programs: The Forging of a New World, Forest of the Maya, Hunters of the Caribbean Sea and The Fifth World of Aztecs. (CAM59, $19.98)
Time Among the Maya, Travels in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico  •  Ronald Wright TRAVEL NARRATIVE •  2000 •  PAPER  • 464 PAGES An account of travels among the contemporary Maya of Guatemala and Yucatan (with a side trip to Belize City). Organized geographically, it devotes chapters on Belize, the Peten, highland Guatemala, Chiapas and the Yucatan. Unlike most travelogues, this book includes a glossary, notes, bibliography and index. Wright (who also wrote the excellent Cut Stones and Crossroads, set in Peru) combines journalism, archaeology and a fine ear for dialogue in this engaging account. Originally published in 1989. (CAM84, $16.00)
The True History of Chocolate  •  Sophie D. Coe  •  Michael Coe FOOD •  2007 •  PAPER  • 288 PAGES A scholarly history of the fact and meaning of pre-Columbian chocolate by the husband and wife archaeologists Michael and Sophia Coe. Originating as a ceremonial beverage in ancient Olmec and Maya society, chocolate evolved from a food of the gods to the salons of Europe down through the masses to Hershey Pennsylvania. With illustrations and recipes. (CAM57, $21.95)
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)
Unfinished Conquest, The Guatemalan Tragedy  •  Daniel Chauche  •  Victor Perera HISTORY •  1993 •  PAPER  • 297 PAGES An oral history of devastating 30-year civil war. Perera interviewed hundreds of people for this astonishing book, not only the resilient Maya but also landowners, government officials, military personnel, and clergy. With photographs by Daniel Chauche. Perera, a Guatemalan-born academic, has also written a compelling memoir, "Rites: A Guatemalan Boyhood." (CAM83, $29.95)
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)
Weaving Identities: Construction of Dress and Self in a Highland Guatemala Town  •  Carol Hendrickson CULTURAL PORTRAIT •  1995 •  PAPER  • 245 PAGES An ethnography of contemporary life in the Guatemalan highlands -- and study of the political significance and role of traditional costume. It's a scholarly analysis based on field work in Tecpan during the civil war, when to wear traditional clothing was to assert "We are Maya!" (the title of the last chapter of this fascinating book). (GML07, $19.95)
The World of the Ancient Maya  •  George S. Henderson HISTORY •  1997 •  PAPER  • 327 PAGES A comprehensive survey of the Maya from early settlement to the Spanish invasion. With descriptions of Maya rulers, architecture, art, language, and daily life, photographs and maps. Originally published in 1981. (MYA21, $29.95)
Yucatan Peninsula Map  •  World Mapping Project 2003 •  MAP A detailed travel map of the Yucatan at a scale of 1:650,000. 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, and key visitor attractions. Water depths are indicated by contour lines in shades of blue and white. (MEX04, $9.99)