Rainforest Explorers: The Best of Panama With Your Family

Award-winning travel writer and photographer Christopher Baker introduces the history, nature and attractions of Panama, thoroughly illustrated in National Geographic’s style

A great story, admirably told in vivid, page-turning detail, this is the one book to read on the creation of the Panama Canal.

Readers of all ages are destined to fall in love with sloths after viewing the 96-pages of beautiful and “awww” inspiring images peppered with interesting anecdotes. Sam Trull is a zoologist and talented photographer with works featured on BBC Earth and BBC One, Huffington Post, Good Morning America, and the Washington Post—to name just a few! She is involved in wildlife conservation efforts and is a co-founder of the Sloth Institute Costa Rica.

This portable phrasebook provides a useful mix of everyday phrases, words and expressions used in different Spanish speaking countries in Latin America. Learn the nuances of the Spanish language as it is spoken in Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile.

An intriguing look into the treachery, behind-the-scenes financial wrangling and Roosevelt-era dollar diplomacy that resulted in both the Panama Canal and the establishment of Panama as an independent nation.

This Nova program, narrated by David McCullough (The Path Between the Seas, CAM32), covers the epic 30-year construction of the Panama Canal. With historic film footage, rare archival photographs and commentary.

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.

A history and expose of U.S. military adventures and incursions in Panama, from the building of the Panama Canal, to a decades-long Army program of chemical weapons testing, and an analysis of the 1989 invasion.

This handy 14-panel fold-up card features expert color illustrations of dozens of birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles.

Featuring 60 color and 10 archival images, this photo-essay includes contemporary and archival photographs of the Panama Canal as well as a short history.

With natural areas, attractions and two inset maps of Panama City. 1:475,000.

Built for the field, with range maps, illustrations and descriptions on facing pages, this Zona Tropical guide covers 900 species.

For kids 8-12/Grades 3-7. What is the Panama Canal, why was it built, and how? Long before the invention of modern modes of transportation, ships traveling from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean had to undergo a perilous journey past the tip of South America. Many ships lost their battle with Cape Horn's notoriously strong winds, violent storms and treacherous currents. By creating a navigable shortcut through Panama, travel was made safer and faster. A one way trip from New York City to San Francisco that once had been ~13,000 nautical miles was cut by more than half with the creation of the Panama Canal.

For kids 7-11/Grades 2-6. Learn about some of the world's main rainforests and investigate the plants and wildlife that reside in each. Enjoy hundreds of full-color photographs of unique rainforest animals and plants while discovering important facts about this important type of forest.

Jose Marti, Octavio Paz, Eva Peron, Che Guevara and Hugo Chavez all get a chapter in this illuminating history of political thought in modern Latin America. 12 thinkers in all.

This scholarly primer considers the history of the continent from the arrival of the first Conquistadors in the 16th century to the dying embers of empire 300 years later, giving equal weight to the histories of the colonial rulers, the African slaves brought over to work in the New World and the indigenous groups whose lives and lands were forever changed by conquest.

Set in Panama, this thriller by master storyteller John Le Carre includes spymasters, corrupt officials, arms manufacturers and other unsavory types.

For kids 8-12/Grades 3-6. Perfect for the budding naturalist or birder in your family... This book contains a guide for identifying 16 of Panama's most common birds. Background information on bird species and accompanying illustrations provide a nice introduction to birding.

Graham Greene returns to classic themes of mystery, deceit and espionage in this accomplished short novel, his 23rd and last book, set in Panama.

These archival photographs tell the story of the people who built the Panama Canal, the engineers who designed it and the changes wrought on the landscape through its construction.

Opening this absorbing account of the history and biogeography of the Central American isthmus with the tale of Columbus, Wallace weaves his own travels in the region with a crisp overview of exploration, nature and evolution. Natural history buffs and ecologically minded travelers will appreciate this valuable resource.