Panama: Four Hundred Years of Dreams and Cruelty

by David Howarth

history of panama from 1506 to 1966 well researched Panama canal building with engineers and doctors

298 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

David Armine Howarth (1912 - 1991) was a British historian and author. After graduating from Cambridge University, he was a radio war correspondent for BBC at the start of the Second World War, joining the Navy after the fall of France. He rose to the rank of lieutenant commander and spent four yeas in the Shetland Islands, becoming second in command of the Shetland Naval base. He was involved in the Special Operations Executive (SOE), including the Shetland Bus, an SOE operation manned by Norwegians running a clandestine route between Shetland and Norway, which utilized fishing boats with crews of Norwegian volunteers to land agents and arms in occupied Norway. For his contributions to espionage operations against the German occupation of Norway, he received King Haakon VII's Cross of Liberty. The King also made Howarth a Chevalier First Class of the Order of St Olav.

After the War he designed and built boats before turning to writing full time. He wrote an account of the Shetland Bus operation, as well as many other books of history, bringing to his many of his books an immense practical knowledge of ships and the sea.

David Howarth died in 1991. At his request, his ashes were scattered over the waters of Lunna Voe, Shetland, near Lunna House, the first base of the Shetland Bus operation.

Reviews

[Ellen Tillman]

This was mostly a narrative, and an interesting and well-researched one.
It is predictable and even goes beyond on the assumptions and biases that may be expected by at least some authors for its time period. I will mention that--despite its general value for a picture of how the idea of a crossing affected Panamanian history--it has many moments that are problematic not only for racial and gender biases, but also comments such as: "It is very unlikely that as a distinguished lawyer he was doing anything illegal..." (We now know that he very much was).
It has value and presents something like argument, but should be read carefully.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very readable history of Panama.