Flowering Thistles is a collection of selected writings by four generations of a literary Costa Rican family, including an account of the first Cardona to arrive from Europe. All but the compiler's and his nephew's writing first appeared in Spanish; the rest he has translated into English, Cardona-Hine himself has written and been published in both languages, but here he presents fourteen poems in English on the death of his mother. Appearing in order, are the writings of his grandfather, his father, uncle, his father's cousin, his half-brother and his nephew. Short biographies of each writer are presented by his father's cousin, Rodolfo Cardona Cooper. The two older generations are established authors in Spain and Latin America. The well-known poet Alfredo Cardona Pena, who wrote exclusively in Spanish has also been widely published in Spain and Latin America. Rodolfo Cardona Cooper, has written in both languages but his work here has been translated from the Spanish. The reader of this book will get an insight into another world, that of a small Central American country which, over time, due to the migration of its literary representatives, assumed and embraced wider issues and a more contemporary view of things."