I would like recommendations on travel books and guides for S America

Question

I am going to visit S America and Central America and want to read up on the area first, I am interested in both guide books and travel books on all countries apart from Brazil (am learning Spanish not Portuguse.

Answer 1

I bought lonely planet for Ecuador and Footprint for Costa Rica and found that it's pretty out of date, especially info on hostels and hotels - phone numbers, addresses even hotel names can be inaccurate.  Also info on how long it takes to get from place to place can be way out.  It uses the author's opinion on many things and my idea of a nightmare journey was completely different to his, I found some of the places which were slated in the book were my highlights of the trip.

I would say fine as a guide but it definitely isn't a rule book, have a look on the net and try to get opinions from other people's blogs