Jon Marañón's The Gringo's Hawk gives readers a bottom-up, in-depth portrait of Costa Rica, a country frequently romanticized as a peaceful democracy and ecotourism paradise. Marañón's sensitivity, compassion, and insight along with sound ethical values make him the quintessential "participant observer." He doesn't just dabble in another culture; he wades in deep and puts down a firm anchor. The result is a rich, complex, and clear-eyed story not just of a North American pioneer seeking harmony with nature and with himself, but of a country buffeted by the winds of change, from invasions by loggers and landless squatters, multinational corporations and US military operations, highway construction crews, new cash crops, tourists, and modern amenities and infrastructure. We are fortunate that Marañón, a keen and curious observer and careful recorder, has preserved the stories, history, and wisdom of the old world, while documenting the transition over the last three decades. It is a tale well worth telling, and reading.

Martha Honey, Ph.D., author of
Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise? and Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC.

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