History and Politics

Carrión, Arturo Morales. Puerto Rico: A Political and Cultural History. W.W. Norton & Co., 1984. An examination of Puerto Rico’s Commonwealth status and how it got there.

Monge, José Trias. Puerto Rico: The Trials of the Oldest Colony in the World. Yale University Press, 1999. (Paperback). An examination of Puerto Rico’s political status through history and an outlook on its future.

Odishelidze, Alexander, and Arthur Laffer. Pay to the Order of Puerto Rico: The Cost of Dependence. Allegiance Press, 2004. A look at Puerto Rico’s political status from an outsider—a Russian native. Although Puerto Rico’s options for future political status are well documented, the author openly favors statehood.

Rouse, Irving. The Taínos: Rise and Decline of the People Who Greeted Columbus. Yale University Press, reissue 1993. A history of the Taíno culture based on intensive study of archaeological sites.

Arts and Culture

Delano, Jack. Puerto Rico Mio: Four Decades of Change. Smithsonian Books, 1990. Includes 175 duotones of former Farm Security Administration photographer Jack Delano’s visual chronicle of the island and its people. Includes essays in Spanish and English by educator Arturo Morales Carrión, historian Alan Fern, and anthropologist Sidney W. Mintz.

Muckley, Robert L., and Adela Martinez-Santiago. Stories from Puerto Rico. McGraw-Hill, 1999. A collection of legends, ghost stories, and beloved true accounts that reflect the island’s folklore. In English and Spanish.

Santiago, Roberto, ed. Boricuas: Influential Puerto Rican Writings—An Anthology. One World/Ballantine, 1995. A fantastic collection of poems, speeches, stories, and excerpts by Puerto Rico’s greatest writers, past and present, including Jesús Colón, Pablo Guzman, Julia de Burgos, and many more.

Nature and Wildlife

Lee, Alfonso Silva. Natural Puerto Rico/Puerto Rico Natural. Pangaea, 1998. An examination of the fauna of Puerto Rico by Cuban biologist Alfonso Silva Lee. In Spanish and English.

Oberle, Mark W. Puerto Rico’s Birds in Photographs. Humanitas, 2000. More than 300 color photographs document 181 species of birds found in Puerto Rico. Comes with a CD-ROM including audio clips and more photographs.

Raffaele, Herbert. A Guide to the Birds of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Princeton University Press, 1989. Contains information on 284 documented species as well as 273 illustrations.

Simonsen, Steve. Diving and Snorkeling Guide to Puerto Rico. Pisces Books, 1996. A guide to the best diving and snorkeling sites around the island.

Children’s Books

Bernier-Grand, Carmen T. (author), and Ernesto Ramos Nieves (illustrator). Juan Bobo: Four Folktales from Puerto Rico. HarperTrophy, 1995. Four humorous folktales about the trials and tribulations of the lovable, misguided little boy Juan Bobo.

Ramirez, Michael Rose (author), and Margaret Sanfilippo (illustrator). The Legend of the Hummingbird: A Tale from Puerto Rico. Mondo, 1998. Learn about Puerto Rico’s history, climate, and traditions in this beguiling tale of transformation.

© Suzanne Van Atten from Moon Puerto Rico, 2nd Edition