Guatemalan Journey
by Stephen Connely Benz
Opening with a long chapter on life in Guatemala City, Benz’s memoir moves on to the remote highlands and other little-visited regions. An excellent account of Guatemala’s political history, traditions, and indigenous cultures.
A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest
by Samuel Bridgewater
Presenting the habitats, biodiversity, and ecology of both the tropical Chiquibul Forest (also known as the Maya Forest) and Belize in its entirety.
Popol Vuh: The Definitive Edition of The Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life
by Dennis Tedlock (Editor)
The definitive, unabridged collection of creation myths and stories of the Quiche people, fundamental to understanding the worldview of the highland Maya.
Belize Field Guide
by Rainforest Publications (Illustrator)
Mammals, amphibians, and reptiles are all included in this 14-panel, fold-up pocket field guide
Insight Guide Guatemala, Belize & the Yucatan
by Insight Guides
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.
The Code of Kings, The Language of Seven Sacred Maya Temples and Tombs
by Linda Schele, Peter Mathews
A vivid guided tour 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.
Tropical Nature
by Adrian Forsyth, Ken Miyata
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
Belize in Focus, A Guide to the People, Politics, and Culture
by Ian Peedle
A brief, authoritative guide to the history, cultural heritage, politics and economy of Belize. With maps, photographs and some travel information, it's an excellent synopsis from an unabashedly left-leaning perspective, strong on facts.
Snorkeling Guide to Marine Life
by Paul Humann
Humann's photographs of the fishes, corals, invertebrates and plants of the Caribbean are perfect to take along in the boat or to the beach.
The History of Central America
by Thomas L. Pearcy
A brief history, beginning with the ancient Maya and moving through European contact and conquest, independence movements, finishing in the 20th century.
Belize Marine Life
by Rainforest Publications
This handy guide to the ocean life around Belize is a 14-panel, full-color reference. Includes illustrations for reef fish, marine mammals, sport fish, and sea turtles.
Belize, Travellers' Wildlife Guides
by Les Beletsky
An all-around field guide featuring color illustrations of 200 birds, 50 mammals, 150 coral reef creatures and 80 reptiles and amphibians.
The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw, One Woman's Fight to Save the World's Most Beautiful Bird
by Bruce Barcott
The gripping tale of Sharon Matola's six-year campaign to stop a dam that would flood the forest home of Belize's last scarlet macaws.
How to Cook a Tapir
by Joan Fry
The coming-of-age memoir by Joan Fry, a young newlywed, who moves with her anthropologist husband to the jungles of Belize. Her introspective account is interwoven with stories, portraits of locals and traditional recipes.
The Maya Tropical Forest: Peoples, Parks and Ancient Cities
by James D. Nations
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.
A Field Guide to the Mammals of Central America & Southeast Mexico
by Fiona Reid
This second edition of Fiona Reid's wonderfully detailed and comprehensive field guide to the mammals of Central America and Southeast Mexico features 59 vivid full-color illustrations. Reid painted most of the creatures in the field, a formidable challenge and -- given the quality of the results -- well worth her while. With parks, and protected areas, habitats, range maps, tracks and natural history.
Maya Art and Architecture
by Mary Ellen Miller
An illustrated overview of the art and architecture of the Maya, making use of the latest discoveries at Tikal, Copan and Palenque to demonstrate the range of Maya artistic influence. With 200 illustrations, 50 in color, including site plans, maps, strikingly rendered reconstructions and color photographs of key temples and buildings.
Ghost Lights
by Lydia Millet
In Millet's anticipated follow-up to How the Dead Dream, a mild-mannered IRS bureaucrat follows a runaway millionaire into the surreal tropical jungle. The prose has a lovely stillness and has been hailed as a haunting, mesmerizing novel of ideas.
Central America Map
by ITMB
A detailed map of the Central American isthmus at a scale of 1:1,100,000.
Time Among the Maya, Travels in Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico
by Ronald Wright
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.