Creedman's original Historical Dictionary of Costa Rica appeared in 1977. The new edition is nearly 50% larger, the fruit of several summers the author spent working in this most interesting part of Central America. The earlier text has been updated. Its coverage has also been notably extended, especially in respect to ecomonic and cultural history. The bibliography has been brought up to date, and a chronology has been added. The author's death intervened in June 1985, when only the first draft of the new edition had been written. His friend Gary G. Kuhn, professor of history, University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, completed the work, to which the series editor, Laurence Hallewell, has also contributed.