Costa Rica: The Last Country the Gods Made

Illustrated with 62 photographs, this workmanlike overview covers Costa Rican geography, history, geology, politics and mores. Colesberry, a journalist, and technical writer McLean, both of whom are based in Los Angeles, have produced an uninspired text that, despite the book's lyrical subtitle, is unlikely to send readers to the nearest travel agency. Parsons, a San Francisco-based travel photographer, captures the country in shots characteristic of Caribbean travel brochures. (Dec.)