Honduras

Don't Be Afraid, Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart, by Elvia Alvarado (1987). Her father was a campesino, and she spent her youth waking at three a.m. to make tortillas and help with housework. But Alvarado rose from a life of poverty and a second-grade education to become a well-known activist on behalf of her country's peasants. Here, she recalls her girlhood catechism class, dances in the village square, and her transformation to an advocate, all while painting a portrait of daily life in rural Honduras.

The Mosquito Coast, by Paul Theroux (1982). A disgruntled American intellectual, Allie Fox packs up his suburban family and travels to Honduras by ship, hoping to rid himself of the trappings of modern life. On the coast at La Ceiba, he buys a remote property and begins anew, but soon discovers that much is beyond his control in the wild jungle. Fox's son, Charlie, the 14-year-old narrator, adapts by building shelters and learning about the area's lush plants, yet Allie remains unsatisfied as his dream of finding peace seems forever out of reach. Mosquito Coast was also a 1986 film starring Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, and River Phoenix.