I was disappointed to find that this book is not really a new edition of the guidebook. We used the previous edition (by Harry S. Pariser, now author of Explore Costa Rica), and we thought it much better in terms of travel information and background content. This book is clunky and hard to carry around, the maps aren't too great (compared to other guidebooks), and the color photos are decidedly mediocre! We also think that this should be labeled "first edition" for accuracy.

I am here in Costa Rica in an internet cafe and had to take the time to tell everyone what a good book this is. It really gave us everything we needed to plan our trip and now that we are here, we use it to find just about everything. If you have not visited Costa Rica yet, get a copy of this book and come on down -- it is fabulous. PURA VIDA!

My husband and I just spent our honeymoon in Costa Rica and believe it or not, found this Adventure Guide to be the best resource for exciting things to do and see. It was also accurate for finding hotels that had that little bit of extra ambiance we wanted for romance. We had used Lonely Planet guidebooks on other trips but found this guidebook to be much better. It's easy to use, has lovely photographs, and for rainy nights it made good armchair reading. I heartily recommend the Adventure Guide for a wonderful vacation in Costa Rica.

Hi I am worjing at ILISA Spanish language institute in San Jose, Costa Rica and I just want to let you know that this book helps our students a lot by giving them helpful information and by arranging their travel plans for the weekends. Thanks!

Ree Strange Sheck does an excellent job describing lodges, locations, activities, and nature. I work in nature travel and use this book often. I highly recommend it for anyone planning a trip to Costa Rica who is interested in experiencing the beauty of this amazing country.

Costa Rica has it all--volcanoes, rainforests, beaches, cosmopolitan cities, whitewater rivers, and a rich tapestry of cultures--and so does this guidebook. Ree Sheck has done a terrific job of focusing on what's best about this amazing country, particularly with respect to its natural history, parks, and wildlife. There's a lot of information about hotels, restaurants, services, and transportation -- certainly enough for any traveler -- but where this guidebook really shines is in its description of the land, the people, and the natural resources of Costa Rica. I can't recommend it highly enough. Buy a copy and go!

Whether the small Central American country has always been your secret destination or even if you have never given Costa Rica a single thought, Brass McLean's and Adrian Colesberry have produced one of those rare travelougues that can pique the interest and stir the passion of anyone who thumbs through it. Sporting stark and evocative photography by Kimberly Parsons, the book effortlessly details the distinct history and culture of a country you'll want to experience for yourself after reading this wonderful coffee-table book.

Frist offf, this edition is signed by both authors! Like no other book on Costa Rica out there! The rainforests, the active volcanoes, the green turtles, the white-water rafting, Costa Rica's role in the iran-contra affair, coffee platantions...it just covers everything in erudite but often humourous prose! The best thing: Little yellow sidebars at the end of the chapters on random subjects like how ants eat in the rainforest, to why Costa Rica was never settled by the Spainards! Also, some wild and gorgeous and yes, even kooky photos of the highest quality.
Grab it!

I bought this book last year after I came back from a trip to Costa Rica. I wish I had known about it beforehand! The writers are very passionate about everything Costa Rican from coffee to indigenous peoples, from ants to women's issues, from bananas to religion! My favorite chapter was "House Made of Rain", an exploration of the rain forest from the point of view of a bird--you'll never forget it! By the way, the book is a beautiful hardcover, not paperback.

This book first captured my attention as an intern
at an Egyptology class, because my professors were all
quoting from it! -- this book was then written only
by a highschool sophomore named Michael J. Costa, who
went on to write novels (Tears for Isis, Aegyptus Cryogenta)
and archaeology books like Superphysics (c)1998. Even Dr. Zahi
Hawass of fame in Giza, Egypt, likened "his" theories based on
the rough draft of this book, then unpolished and unrevised.
Reincarnation of Pharoahs continues throughout time and place.
even King Solomon could pass as a Pharaoh, 1st Emperor of China,
and osiris-jesus, too. I highly recommend this neophyte guide to the universes. -Alex 2002 CE.

This mythology of unknown Egyptian gods and the secrets of the child-Pharaoh Tutankhamon Nebkheperura, is a must-read, a classic. Mr. Costa's use of scientific and metaphysical interpretations would have won him an award in 1992 (had it not been pirated). I enjoyed reading his opinions about Queen Ankhesenamon, the USA, and the Afterlife. This novel was very interesting. I recommend it for all Egyptologists, mythologists, or anyone interested in folklore. This book far surpasses the
"Mummy" films.
-Max

I really liked this book, better than the pirated original.
It contains information I could not find in Egyptology or Spiritology, especially anything about The Philosopher' Stone.
I highly recommend this novel, and hope to see other books by same author, or even a movie, in the near future.

The stories are varied, entertaining, and required reading for anyone that enjoys listening to baseball on the radio while sitting on their porch on a warm summer's evening. I could have done without Curt Smith's introduction to each chapter, as his over-the-top prose didn't seem to fit with the simplicity of the language of the anectdotes.
From coast to coast, this is a winner. New Yorkers will be particularly fond, however, of the pre-California baseball tales.

Curt Smith gathers some of the legendary Voices of baseball together to (what else?) tell stories. The anecdotes are invarably interesting, funny, moving, and illuminating, whether or not the reader has actually had the pleasure of listening to any or all of these broadcasters. My only quibble with this book is that author Smith seems to have lifted several passages in toto from his earlier, and even more fascinating, "Voices Of The Game." This seems like unnecessary duplication and can be mildly annoying for those of us who've read both. Still, it's well worth the time of anybody who loves the Summer Game.

I saw this book on amazon.com and knew I had to get it. Great stories inside the game and behing the broadcast booth. Couldn't put it down, just spectacular, wish there was a sequel!!!!

Being Written during the 1991 Persian Gulf war,
Costa alludes to the tragedies that wars bring, so
it is not so much "fight and loot" as seen in Greek Tragedy.
This book has magic, sorcery, gods, a trip to the Egyptian
Afterlife, amulets, romance and betrayal, and most of all:
battles! A genuine and original story from 1991-2003,
buy it from Xlibris[...] or Amazon/Borders[...].
I recommend this novel to Historians, Egyptologists, and Magicians alike.

-S.M. Rhodes,
Palm Beach, Florida, USA.
:)

This novel stimulated my interest in Egyptian fiction. I loved the characters, the romance, the action. Michael Costa, still alive and publishing another book in the near future, is a writing genius.. His use of imagery with mythology works like a charm. I recommend reading this short novel from 1993.

-Max

I really liked this novel, it is unique and unusual
like most of his works (M.J. or Michael J. Costa).
The plot twisted around so you couldn't predict the
outcome at times, the scenary of AE was lush, the intrigue
was pulsating, even the ending (which I thought best demonstrated
Costa's talent in Egyptian humor and religion) was well devised
and written. Hopefully it will be a best-seller for POD books,
as advertisements these days are expensive. I own a first edition copy of Eye of the Pharaoh (c)1990 in my basement; I
assumed Hollywood would be making a film about it, but instead all they did was write parts of the book for their individual films or projects, which I assumed was plagiarism. Well, good luck and good reading! - Alex 2002 CE.

I was supremely disappointed with the book, particularly in light of the rave reviews seen on this page. There are no recommendations beyond what could have been provided in a brochure. While the spas are rated, there is no explanation provided on how the rankings were determined. The first section also seemed to indicate spas could get listed simply by sending in material. I was hoping for some indication that someone had actually visited the spa or spoken with someone who has, thereby confirming the information and adding value with meaningful comments about specialities.

This book was useful on my trip!

This 420 page spa guide is EXCELLENT! It includes a huge list of Invigotry, health, and fitness spas, rating each from "tourist guide" to "deluxe". I was most impressed with its well written reviews- especially the one on the Amadeus Spa. Read it and find the spa best for you!

After an outburst at work, Joanna is ordered to go on vacation to a resort, only to arrive and find no reservation in her name. Fortunately, kindly Louise is there to offer her a place to stay. Joanna quickly learns that she has been set up, and the Walkers are only too glad to teach her the joys of a good spanking. As she leaves, she is handed a business card with an address that will help her take the next step. Is every one of Joanna's moves after that are orchestrated? Is every one she meets a member of the Continuum? Is every encounter that takes her deeper into submission and punishment a part of an elaborate set-up? And who is behind it all? Who is her mysterious "Master"? Major Walker? Her boss, Halloran? Denis Davidson, the odd American? Kevin Steele, her co-worker and adventurous lover? Cynthia, who teaches her the joys of loving a woman? You'll have to read to find out.

The characters are not deep, and the author has an annoying habit of fading to black during the sex scenes, but overall this is a great book. The plot stays on base, and takes the reader through a fascinating voyage of discovery, and, with some introspection and feeling, into "the lifestyle" of BDSM. It gives the reader a deeper understanding of the emotions and sexual feelings involved in pain and pleasure.

Joanna Darrell is being told to take time off from work, yet she is having fantasies of her bosses as it's being done ... sets the mood of this book. Based on her dedidcation to her company, they send her to resort where there is no record of her reservation or her company making one ... how convenient for the next stage of the book to take shape, where the Walkers come in and teach her a whole new sexual aspect ... while Joanne is being "taught", she begins to wonder who is behind all of mishaps. As she determines to figure this out, events take place that keep continuing Joanna's exploration into a different world of sex which ends up in a most delectable satisifaction for herself and the reader of this book!

Young, agressive, hard working, up and comimg executive Joanna Darrell is told to take some time off by her boss and one of the other males in the corporation after she blew her cool and basically told an impostant client to 'det stuffed' and 'pound sand' ......

Although the company had supposedly reserved her a room at an out of the way health spa, there was no record of the reservation or any room at the hotel. Fortunately for Joanne, one of the local residents, Louise Walker, offers her a room at her house while she attends 'out patient' type session at the spa. It certainly doen't tale long for Joanne to figure out that Laouise and her husband, a retired Major, certainly are not your run of the mill 'normal' couple and she quickly begins to spy on their rauccus lovemaking and just plain hot and heavy sexcapdes.

Joanna, not being a shrinking sexual Violet herself soon joins her hosts and discovers that not only are there new sexual tricks to be learned but also that the lost reservation, the opportune appearance of Louise at the club were not really coincidences but rather a set up ......

From this point on our heroine is subjected to a series of coincidental meetings and experiences that convince her that her life and sexual experiences are just a contiunuum of life with each new experience being just slightly different ...

The author takes us on a magical mystery tour as we enjoy the new sexual awakening of Joanna while she tries to discover the beginning, the end and the person responsible to have submerged her in this sexual continuum .....

BEFORE TRAVELLING overseas, I always try and read some literature from the places I'm visiting, so I certainly applaud the spirit of the "Traveler's Literary Companion" series. As there doesn't seem to be much in the way of Costa Rican literature available in translation, this anthology is invaluable. However, I'm afraid I didn't find it as illuminating as the reviewers below. While the idea of grouping the 26 short stories by geographical region sounds like a good idea, in practice, I didn't find regional differences embodied in the stories to be distinctive enough to warant such arrangement. Perhaps a better grouping would have been coastal, inland, mountainous, and urban, I'm not sure. Another possible reason I might not have found the selections very evocative is their length. There are 26 stories by 20 authors (six have two stories in the collection) over 220 pages, so one gets more a sense of vignettes with fleeting impressions than a solid sense of what the people or places are like. The one aspect that does appear in the many of the stories is the importance of nature in Costa Rica, both as a source of beauty and as something to struggle against.

A fascinating variety of styles and topics. We especially enjoyed the way the stories are arranged, by region. Sleepy, pick a short story. If you wonder what it might be like to labor with a machete or to live in a small house in the jungle. If you want to know what it might be like to be the only white girl, or the only brown boy. Read this. This book will change the way you see the uniformed schoolchildren, the mysterious round rocks, the lizards... There is more to Costa Rica than identifying birds and eating mangoes.

This small compilation of short stories was a priceless companion on my trip to Costa Rica. The philosophy of the "Traveler's Literary Companion" series is terrific: one of the best ways to really understand a country and its culture is through that country's literature. I highly recommend this book for anyone planning a trip to Costa Rica, or just curious about this glorious and inviting place. ¡Pura Vida y Tuanis!

I hesitated buying this because I'm skeptical of "end time" books. Boy am I glad I changed my mind. Kelly describes a series of dreams he had and gives an interpretation. Timely yet timeless. I read it in a day yet will be thinking about it for the rest of my life. I hope more people read this and that God ignites more people to think with a generational perspective.

Heat after heat, the enemy is looking out for a crack on the wall. But what emerges will be the finest texture in the House of the Lord call warriors. This is a book of hope !

"End time warrior" presents to readers like a revelation kiosk, highlighting common objectives, direction, integrity and perseverance which the church must seriously take heed. Overall, the message contains gripping revelation with exclamation truth.

Living in a time of distress where the shadow of great uncertainty is casting on planet earth, there must arise an answer powerful enough to bring hope and life. The apostolic army, John Kelly saw in his vision, is unquestionably the visible topsoil prepared to fit that dire need. Coming to the fore shall be these people with flaming answers. Where they are placed, light will abound and darkness will diminishes into a blip.

From the account of Kelly's vision, there will come some of the most engaging periods the church would need to go through. The church has don some many titles in the past. Each title leaves a trail of revelation of the Lord. We have the Body, House of the Lord, Bride, and now Warrior.

After reading this book, some of us will probably be musing over the portal of opportunities awaiting for us. In his book, the author beckons us to prepare for encouraging results. Great harvest will unfold before our eyes. Resources will be returning. New grounds will be won. Old grounds will be claimed. What is even more glaring will be the fact that the prophesied church will be at the height of her maturity and beauty. Yes! It will take maturity to wrestle against the unseen forces. Anything less or compromising will cause us to fall under the duplicity of today's increasing false signs and wonders.

It will take unity to change today's spiritual climate. The greatest unity will spin out from the spread of diversity. Denominations lines are thinning, as the Spirit is drawing all of us for a common purpose. Even the very marginal differences among us will be offset by the love of the Spirit upon all of us.

This book also emphasizes the importance of spiritual fathers. Every warrior sent into the spiritual battlefield has a signature of his spiritual father on his heart. The quality of a warrior is formed on the anvils of a fatherhood ministry. In tandem with this emphases, the author also promotes the power of mentoring. Substantial quality in a spiritual life is developed out from a mentoring relationship, which should be today's primary focus in any ministry.

I believe Kelly's ministry is a personal offering to see the growth of God's Church. God has set him apart to be a pacesetter. In his anointing, he knows the speed of the Spirit and determines to train others to catch up. Read this book, it unfurls the motive of his heart.

End Time Warriors is a clear trumpet call to the contemporary church. Using prophetic imagery, biblical insight and many real life examples, Kelly & Costa pull the blinders off of the modern masquerade of ministry. They propose that much anointing is currently wasted and point us to some hopeful solutions. Although the message is essentially hard hitting there is also a refreshing sense of hope that shines through. Like a cool drink of water, this book is just the medicine that Dr. Jesus ordered.