book review

Airing from 1978 to 1984, Fantasy Island was a television starring Ricardo Montalbán as Mr. Roarke, the overseer of a mysterious island in the Pacific Ocean, where people from...

We spared no expense and reviewed Jurassic Park for its Costa Rican accuracy.

The "Juego de los Diablitos," or Little Devils' Game, brings the colorful masks of the Brunca people to life in a violent ceremony re-enacting a rejection of the Spanish conquistadors.

Writer (and actor) Robert Isenberg arrives on the set of the film "Italia 90" but has no idea who he's supposed to play in the story of Costa Rica's legendary 1990 World Cup run.

As a pedestrian, not a driver, Robert Isenberg has a different relationship with the guachimánes than most.

Robert Isenberg and his wife, Kylan, traipse across San José to see about a car. It's not exactly what they were hoping for.

Robert Isenberg offers the reader a kaleidoscopic view of Costa Rica. He takes them on unusual museum visits, participates in drunken carnivals, tears down the dusty veneers of once-proud cities like Puerto Limón, speaks to young women who have been physically abused and, like most U.S. youths who visit Costa Rica, takes the required surfing lessons.

The book itself describes all kinds of situations and morals, but one of its most striking aspects is the range of people represented.

Throughout this whirlwind of a book about a whirlwind of a life, Cohen teaches the reader about bananas, Central American politics and history, and the Banana King’s role in the turbulent politics of Honduras and Guatemala in particular.

Chang is the Horatio Alger of astronauts. He arrived in the U.S. with $50, he graduated from high school on schedule, and he (literally) reached for the stars. “Dream’s Journey” is not a breezy read, but it is a powerful social document, told by the same man who has lived this extraordinary life.