How to Attract Hummingbirds & Butterflies
Nancy Arbuckle and Cedric Crocker, 1991

Ortho Books has long impressed us with the knowledgeable and thorough job they do on whatever topic they choose to publish, and this book confirms our opinion. The authors do an outstanding job of detailing recommended floral plantings and other practices proven to attract both butterflies and hummingbirds to the North American garden. Moreover, they provide overviews of hummingbird and butterfly biology that serve as excellent starting points for those interested in learning more about these beautiful creatures.

OTHER ANIMALS

Belize and Northern Guatemala: The Ecotravellers' Wildlife Guide
Les Beletsky, 1998

At last there's a comprehensive beginner's guide to the ecology and fauna of Belize! Beletsky's book starts with an overview of ecotourism and the geography and habitats, parks and reserves of the region, as well a discussion of current environmental threats and conservation attempts. But the strengths of this book lie in its chapters on the amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals, and marine life of the area. Although not exhaustive, the book describes and illustrates most of the species you are likely to encounter on your travels. We rate this book five stars and bet that you'll want to bring it along on your next trip to Belize.

Neotropical Rainforest Mammals : A Field Guide
Louise H. Emmons and Francois Feer (Illustrator), 1997

Imagine you're poking along a river bank in Belize and you kick up a pile of leaves and grass, and out scrambles a 12" long, coarse-whiskered animal, gray and black barred, with a scaly tail and webbed rear feet. What in the world is that? If you have a copy of this guide book, you'll soon know that you've disturbed the sleep of a water opossum who was waiting for nightfall before slipping into the river to feed on fish and crayfish or other invertebrates. You'd learn that the female has a "ziplock" pouch that provides a waterproof container for her youngsters, and that the male, for whatever reason, is said to pull his scrotum into another pouch when swimming. You'd also learn that this is just one of 70 neotropical opossum species.

In short, this beautifully illustrated field guide is full of interesting information that fills the need for a comprehensive handbook on the mammals of the new world rain forests. There's a technical key at the back of the book, but the nicely-done illustrations are sufficient for most identification. A particularly timely feature of the descriptions is the CITES status of threatened or endangered species; 14% of all the mammals described in this book are so classified.

Incidentally, the bats are especially well-covered, as you'd expect, since in any given patch of neotropical forest there are likely to be as many different species of bats as all other mammals combined. One of those bat species catches fish, and tonight it may be fishing the same stretch of river as the water opossum you disturbed earlier...

PLANTS

Rainforest Remedies : One Hundred Healing Herbs of Belize
Dr.Rosita Arvigo and Dr. Michael Balick, 1993

This book will be equally interesting to those interested in medicinal plants and those seeking insight into the modern Maya culture. This classic book was the first to describe the use of plants to cure illness among the modern Maya. In addition to describing specific treatments for health problems, the authors emphasize the potential of rain forest plants as a possible source of as-yet-undiscovered medicines. Well-executed line drawings of each herb discussed help the reader to identify the plants in the field.

Passion Flowers
John Vanderplank, 1996

This gorgeous book is a comprehensive look into the botany, culture and uses of passion flowers by someone who obviously loves these plants and has studied them extensively. There is strikingly beautiful photography here, but the photos are clearly intended to make it easier to identify the 150 species and hybrids the book details--those plants that the average reader will be most likely to encounter. Emphasis is on passion flowers available in commercial channels, those that are larval food plants for heliconiin butterflies, and a few others that are less common in conservatories or gardens but are interesting in some other way, such as the lovely Passiflora xiikzodz (say "sheik-zoats") that grows almost exclusively on the limestone rubble of ancient Mayan temples in western Belize. There's much more about passion flowers here--how to produce hybrids, what pests and diseases to be alert for and how to control them, recommended species and hybrids for indoor growing, the lore about passion flowers--and all of it is beautifully presented. This 2nd edition is a work that should make Vanderplank and the MIT Press proud.

Heliconia : An Identification Guide
Fred Berry and W. John Kress, 1991

This is THE basic reference book for Heliconias, a largely neotropical genus of conspicuous flowering plants that interest hummingbird enthusiasts (hummingbirds pollinate all the new world Heliconias), neotropical naturalists, commercial cut flower growers, and increasingly, the gardening public. Through high-quality photographs and written distinctions, the guide identifies 89 species (about one half of all those known) most likely to be encountered in nature, gardens, or commercial horticultural outlets, and illustrates and describes another 101 cultivated varieties. And the book goes beyond just the identification of species; it includes the complete story on the biology, cultivation, commercial production, conservation and use of Heliconias--and it's printed on quality paper with good color reproduction and at a very reasonable price. We highly recommend this book.

Orchids of Guatemala and Belize
Oakes Ames and Donovan Stewart Correll, 1985

This book will serve as a valuable reference for those who are seriously interested in learning to identify orchids. It describes in detail 527 species of orchids endemic to Belize and Guatemala and includes over 200 carefully executed line drawings to help in identification. Distinguishing characteristics, color, floral descriptions, and habitat of each species are accurately and completely detailed.

ECOLOGY/NATURAL HISTORY

A Neotropical Companion : An Introduction to the Animals, Plants, and Ecosystems of the New World Tropics
John C. Kricher, 1997

Let's face it--most of us (including the experts) have large gaps in our knowlege of tropical natural history and the workings of tropical ecosystems. This introductory book on neotropical biology gives us a wonderful way to plug some of those gaps--and in addition to providing a delightful, beautifully illustrated, read. If you're coming to the neotropics in part to learn about its natural history, this is one of the very few "must have" books.

Nature is complex, and much of the technical literature doesn't help clarify its intricacies for the layperson. Kricher, a biology teacher at Wheaton College, writes for us--in a highly readable style that makes clear the known facts about neotropical plants, animals, their environment and their interactions. He includes many personal observations, especially about bird behavior, from his field work in Latin America. If you're like me, you'll be sorry when this book ends--and you'll envy the college students enrolled in the tropical biology courses taught by Kricher.

Tropical Nature
Adrian Forsyth and Kenneth Miyata, 1987

Read this book to gain an appreciation of the diversity, complexity, and inter-relatedness of tropical life forms. The authors begin with explaining the reasons why the tropics have come to exist and present some general characteristics of tropical climatology and geology to provide a framework of understanding life in the tropics. The remaining chapters focus on specific interactions among the animals and plants found in a typical low-land tropical rain forest that are fascinating in their own right and, when taken together, enhance your understanding of tropical ecosystems.

The Humanure Handbook : A Guide to Composting Human Manure
J. C. Jenkins, 1996

What's this book doing in the ecology section? Anyone concerned about ecological issues should recognize the role people play in ecosystems and the problem that current methods of handling human wastes create. This book describes these problems and discusses an alternative--composting--in a very down to earth manner. But don't let the casual writing style fool you. The book contains the best collection of facts about composting human manure that exists today. We were so impressed by this book that we opted for composting toilets for our nature center.

MAYA ARCHAEOLOGY

The Maya (Ancient Peoples and Places)
Michael D. Coe, 1993

Michael D. Coe's The Maya is one of the best introductions to the Maya civilization. Organized historically, the book provides the reader with a solid overview of the history of Maya civilization. Coe's writing is clear and evocative, and his is the most readable introduction to the ancient Maya of any of the books covering this topic. The content of the book reflects Coe's long-term interest in Maya art and cosmology, and the many photographs complement the text very well. Although it lacks the detail of some other books on the ancient Maya, Coe's book is highly recommended to the reader looking for a well-written, well-illustrated introduction to Maya civilization.

A Forest of Kings : The Untold Story of the Ancient Maya
Linda Schele and David Freidel, 1992

Schele has managed to incorporate scholarly insights and a readable style into this excellent introduction to the Maya. Schele's special interest in Maya glyphs helps the reader understand the basis of Maya writing, as well as their calendar system and cosmology.

The Ancient Maya
Robert J. Sharer, 1994

The various editions of The Ancient Maya, originally written in 1946 by Sylvanus G. Morley, have long served as the standard reference on the ancient Maya civilization. This 1994 edition by Robert J. Sharer, one of the most respected field archaeologists in the Maya area, continues this tradition of excellence.

Sharer's book is richly illustrated with both photos and line drawings, visually guiding the newcomer and frequent visitor alike through the rich and complex world of the ancient Maya. Nearly 900 pages long, this work is by far the most detailed synthesis of our understanding of the ancient Maya that has ever been available. Sharer begins with a discussion of the physical characteristics of the Maya lowlands and highlands and the rich history of archaeological research in the area. He then presents the reader with a culture history of the Maya, from the earliest evidence in the Formative period up to the early colonial period.

Besides this standard historical presentation, The Ancient Maya provides many extras that most books on the Maya civilization do not. Topical chapters discuss in detail aspects of ancient Maya life, such as social organization and political structure, religion and ideology, Maya writing, and the Spanish conquest of the Acetin Peninsula. One feature that travelers might find especially useful is the site-focussed presentation of the data that results in detailed overviews of the most important Maya sites. The extensive index and comprehensive bibliography make the book an invaluable research resource for both the interested amateur and the professional scholar.

BELIZE

Adventure Guide to Belize, 4th Ed.
Harry S. Pariser, 1998

If you're thinking about a trip to Belize, this book will help you decide to do it. Pariser does an excellent job of introducing you to the environment and cultures of Belize. The book comprehensively covers accommodations, places to eat, natural and archaeological sites to visit, and cultural events throughout Belize. Although the book is especially useful to those who intend to travel on their own, even tour group members will benefit from the information and insights the book includes. A nice selection of photographs provides you with a pictorial preview of Belize.  The book's accuracy is to be highly commended.

Belize Handbook, 4th Ed.
Chicki Mallan and Patti Lang, 1998

Chicki Mallan's Belize Handbook has been a long favorite of travelers to Belize, and this new edition has been updated to reflect current prices and conditions around the country. The book contains excellent information about tourist attractions in Belize and includes a section on Tikal in Guatemala.

The Rough Guide to Guatemala and Belize (3rd Ed.)
Mark Whatmore and Peter Eltringham, 1997

This may be the best all-around, comprehensive guide to independent travel in Guatemala and Belize. Relatively up-to-date and accurate, it does a fine job of providing both information about the minutia of travel (bus station locations/times/costs) as well as the big picture or context of your visit: sections on Belizean (and Guatemalan) history, the Maya, wildlife, and even a book list of recommended reading will well prepare you for travelling in this region. If we had room for just a single guidebook in our carry-ons, this would be it.

Lonely Planet Guatemala Belize and Yucatan LA Ruta Maya (Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit)
Tom Brosnahan, 1994

Although this book is getting a bit long in tooth, it still provides one of the best guides to budget travel within this region of Central America. Geared toward the independent traveler, it includes good information not only about lodging and restaurants, but also bus routes, schedules, and prices; border crossings; places to not miss; and those to avoid. We look forward to a new edition and hope it appears soon, because the ravages of inflation and entropy are beginning to reduce the accuracy of this otherwise excellent book.

Tropical Kingdom of Belize
National Geographic, 1993

Never been to Belize and wonder what it's like? Been there, done that, but would like to awaken memories of a wonderful vacation? Then this video's for you. National Geographic has captured the natural beauty and ecological diversity of Belize in a one-hour tape . From the comfort of your couch, you can journey from the Mountain Pine Ridge, through the rain forest, and into the mangrove costal areas, spotting jaguars, monkeys, and hummingbirds along the way. And when the tape is over and you click off your remote control, you'll be tempted to call your travel agent so you can make the trip again--this time in person.

GENERAL TRAVEL

We will be adding many more titles over the next several weeks; please check back again!