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Long 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, The Costa Rica Reader 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.This 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. The Costa Rica Reader presents a panoply of voices: eloquent working-class raconteurs from San Jos ’s poorest barrios, English-speaking Afro-Antilleans of the Lim n 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 showcases 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. The Costa Rica Reader is a necessary resource for schola

Shortly after its founding in 1824, Riley Ingersoll and George Wilcox built cabins in the wilderness that would become Dundee. Sybrant Van Nest platted the village along the north shore of the River Raisin and offered it for sale in 1835. His broadside advertised "two first rate Sawmills and one small Gristmill in the village, and a large and elegant Tavern House." Eventually so many trails and roads crisscrossed in Dundee that the little farming community was dubbed "The Hub of the Highways." During the Great Depression, Henry Ford saved the decrepit Old Mill by turning it into a Village Industry. Michigan`s only triangular downtown, with its 1870s brick Italianate buildings, and the Old Mill were placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Aussie croc wrangler Mick Dundee (Paul Hogan) is starting to adjust to his crazy new surroundings in New York City with his beautiful new sheila Sue Charlton (Linda Kozlowski) when they accidentally get on the bad side of a ruthless drug lord. Their trouble starts when Sue's old flame Bob (Dennis Boutsikaris) is murdered in Colombia for taking pictures of an assassination by drug smugglers. Having sent the photos to Sue, she and Mick are suddenly and inadvertently mixed up in his unfinished business, as the DEA and drug cartel henchman come looking for the film. The urban terrain of New York, however, is no place for the outdoorsy Croc and his posse to hide out. So they hightail to for the Australian outback–a place infinitely more familiar to Mick–and even the odds by leading the big city hoods into a rugged landscape where they get a fast, funny and deadly lesson in wilderness survival. Much more an adventure thriller than the stranger in a strange land comedy of the first, Mick is still quick with the drawling one-liners, and the obvious warmth between real-life partners Hogan and Kozlowski adds to the fun.DVD Features:Region 1 EncodingKeep CaseWidescreenAudio: Dolby Digital 5.1- English Dolby Digital 2.0- English Dolby Digital Mono- FrenchAdditional Release Material: Trailer- 1. Original Theatrical Featurette- 1. Behind the ScenesInteractive Features: Interactive Menus Scene Selection

From the opening shot of a JURASSIC PARK-esque reptilian eye, you know you`re in for a wild ride. As Mick "Crocodile" Dundee (Paul Hogan) sits in a canoe sharpening his famous knife, a monstrous croc hides somewhere in the deep. Suddenly, it attacks, tearing Mick`s boat to pieces and leaving him and mate Jacko (Alec Wilson) up a tree. Life for Mick can only get easier, right? When Mick arrives at home, he discovers longtime companion Sue`s (Linda Kozlowski) newspaper-mogul father has called, and needs her help on an article at the paper`s Los Angeles branch. Mick, who recognizes his importance in the modernizing bush is now no more than as a tourist attraction, agrees to join her, and together Mick, Sue, and son Mikey (Serge Cockburn) head for the wild country of L.A. Here the adventure truly begins, as Mick and Jacko brave a cowboy bar where the horsemen are of a different color, and a Hollywood film party where everyone seems interested in Mick`s mate Malcolm "Mal" Gibson`s colorful exploits. Soon, Sue`s article leads to a sleazy film producer, so Mick gets a job as a monkey wrangler at his studio, where his investigation uncovers some very sketchy goings-on. Once again, "Crocodile" Mick with his dazzling wit puts the noble back in savage.

Introduces the history, languages, geography, education, and culture of Costa Rica.

Catalogs the more than 800 species of birds found in Costa Rica, with notes on identification, habits, and distribution