This exquisite book of photographs, brilliant in colour and enchanting in subject, takes readers on a personal journey through the bejeweled treasure that is Costa Rica. Images of spacious beaches, muddy river banks, crystal clear waterfalls, and lush jungles adorned with tropical blooms and prehistoric plants will stay in the reader's mind for a long time to come. Representing 13 years of the author's field work in Costa Rica, the photographs and text bring the exotic island to life. The book is organized by region - the Central Divide, Guanacaste, the Central Pacific, the Osa Peninsula, the North Caribbean, the South Caribbean - with descriptions of wildlife, botany and ecology. It closes with a discussion on conservation and responsible tourism. All of the photographs bear extended captions which, like a well-informed tour guide, provide interesting facts and valuable context. Highlights on the journey include Arenal, one of the world's most active volcanoes, Tortuguero National Park, where a lone jaguar trots across the sand, giant tree ferns - evolutionary relics that predate flowering plants - in the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, a blood-scarlet passion flower emerging through leaf litter, a partially submerged crocodile, its riveting stare fixed on the photographer, and poison arrow frogs vividly painted in deadly reds, blues and greens. Overflowing with brilliant page-filling photographs and informative text, this book is as close as one can get to Costa Rica without getting on a plane.