{"product_id":"9780822333722-costa-rica-reader","title":"The Costa Rica Reader","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHistory, Culture, Politics\u003cbr\u003eAn interdisciplinary anthology that includes many primary resources never before published in English.\u003cbr\u003eLong characterized as an exceptional country within Latin America, Costa Rica has been hailed as a democratic oasis in a continent scorched by dictatorship and revolution; the ecological mecca of a biosphere laid waste by deforestation and urban blight; and an egalitarian, middle-class society blissfully immune to the violent class and racial conflicts that have haunted the region. Arguing that conceptions of Costa Rica as a happy anomaly downplay its rich heritage and diverse population, \u003ci\u003eThe Costa Rica Reader\u003c\/i\u003e brings together texts and artwork that reveal the complexity of the country’s past and present. It characterizes Costa Rica as a site of alternatives and possibilities that undermine stereotypes about the region’s history and challenge the idea that current dilemmas facing Latin America are inevitable or insoluble.\u003cp\u003eThis essential introduction to Costa Rica includes more than fifty texts related to the country’s history, culture, politics, and natural environment. Most of these newspaper accounts, histories, petitions, memoirs, poems, and essays are written by Costa Ricans. Many appear here in English for the first time. The authors are men and women, young and old, scholars, farmers, workers, and activists. \u003ci\u003eThe Costa Rica Reader\u003c\/i\u003e presents a panoply of voices: eloquent working-class raconteurs from San José’s poorest barrios, English-speaking Afro-Antilleans of the Limón province, Nicaraguan immigrants, factory workers, dissident members of the intelligentsia, and indigenous people struggling to preserve their culture. With more than forty images, the collection\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eshowcases sculptures, photographs, maps, cartoons, and fliers. From the time before the arrival of the Spanish, through the rise of the coffee plantations and the Civil War of 1948, up to participation in today’s globalized world, Costa Rica’s remarkable history comes alive. \u003ci\u003eThe Costa Rica Reader\u003c\/i\u003e is a necessary resource for scholars, students, and travelers alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40823189799009,"sku":"9780822333722","price":26.01,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_37534950_2bc0c468-2f95-487d-8eeb-51e748cdb266.jpg?v=1762134006","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9780822333722-costa-rica-reader","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}