| Date: 14 April 2011, 08:53
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I have to admit I really enjoyed this one. I know this because I couldn't put it down and even stayed up late on some nights to read it. And, keep in mind, I did this despite the fact I've read a wide variety of books on the Panama Canal, and some obscure historical studies, because of a personal interest driven by my nearly eight years living in Panama courtesy of three tours with the US Army.
Parker's book is a great companion to "A Path Between the Seas." (Which I also seriously recommend.) What makes "Panama Fever" so interesting is that it's a history told through the eyes of the people that created and built it. Parker draws heavily on letters, diaries, and interviews to tell a very personal history of how it was built. These real-life "characters" draw you into the book and make you care as much as they did about building the Panama Canal. These days we take it for granted; but given the obstacles (engineering and medical) that had to be overcome you can begin to appreciate the dedication these people had -- from the engineers to the unskilled laborers. And what a massive undertaking it was.
The book does not shy away from the negative; the thousands that died due to disease and industrial accidents -- at a rate we cannot begin to comprehend in today's safety-conscious world; or the racism of that era that underlay the structure of work and benefits. Or the sheer hardships imposed on the early builders; even in the early years of the American effort.
"Panama Fever" also seriously addresses the French efforts in the late 1800s; this makes up almost half of the book. Unlike some that treat the French effort as background to the American's success, Parker spends time talking about how the French effort evolved and why it failed. Again, the author's methodology brings out the personal hope and despair of the early French effort that was destroyed because of a gross underestimate of the engineering effort against a background of Yellow Fever and Malaria that decimated the workforce.
There are two biases built into the book; the first, due to the social history aspect of "Panama Fever," there's not a whole lot of context - for that you need to read "A Path Between the Seas." Second, the British author focuses heavily on the British subjects from Jamaica and Barbados who provided virtually all the unskilled labor, so there's a bit of a British bias to the book. However, I don't see these two issues as a negative because the help fill in important historical gaps in the Panama Canal story on a personal level.
Bottom line: if you have any interest in the Panama Canal or Panama, and if you like social history, I'd definitely buy this book. (But first read "A Path Between the Seas.)
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