With the possible exception of the Galapagos Islands, foreign writers have paid less attention to Ecuador than to its larger South American neighbours, and very few Ecuadorian works are ever translated into English. That said, there's a reasonable choice of books available in English, covering subjects as diverse as archeology, exploration, travel and cookery, though not all are easy to find. One of the best places to get hold of English-language books is Quito, particularly at the excellent Libri Mundi bookshop . Another useful starting point is South American Explorers , which has an online catalogue and mail-order system at www.samexplo.org . Many of the titles we've listed are also available from www.amazon.com , including some of the out-of-print books which Amazon can source from secondhand bookstores.