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Enemy Within: Casting Out Panama's Demon
Pictoral history of US invasion of Panama in 1989. 160pp, numerous BW and color photos.
Hardcover
Published January 1, 1990
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March 8, 2013
I lived in Panama for two years from 2001-2003 and I heard about Noriega and the US invasion, but I didn't really know too much about it. I heard that this book was a good synopsis of the invasion and the events leading up to it, so I acquired it. It sat on my shelf for several years before I finally got around to reading it.
The book seems somewhat amateurish. It reads kind of like a long paper written for a freshman or sophomore college history class. It's littered with typos -- which is fine for something online, but isn't expected in a printed book.
Nevertheless, I got what I was looking for: some background to the US invasion, some light Panamanian history, and some information about Manuel Noriega. I'll also admit that I enjoyed the many photos that the author included in the book. It helped to visualize what the people and invasion were like.
I am amazed that less than 25 years ago, and only 11 years before I arrived in the country, Panama was essentially ruled by a dictator who beat up and murdered people opposed to him. This is one invasion that the US got right -- Panama's government was fixed and democracy was restored. Of course, Panama still suffers from some corruption, but it's certainly better off than it was and it has regular, free and fair elections.
One topic I'm still somewhat curious about is what happened in Chorillo -- a rough neighborhood right in Panama City. The author didn't really know, and didn't even speculate very much. I had heard that the US misplaced a bomb and 2000 people died, but that doesn't appear to be the case.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking for significant detail and commentary on the events surrounding Noriega's rule, but for someone wanting a quick summary somewhere in between Wikipedia and a 300 page nonfiction, this might be a good choice.
The book seems somewhat amateurish. It reads kind of like a long paper written for a freshman or sophomore college history class. It's littered with typos -- which is fine for something online, but isn't expected in a printed book.
Nevertheless, I got what I was looking for: some background to the US invasion, some light Panamanian history, and some information about Manuel Noriega. I'll also admit that I enjoyed the many photos that the author included in the book. It helped to visualize what the people and invasion were like.
I am amazed that less than 25 years ago, and only 11 years before I arrived in the country, Panama was essentially ruled by a dictator who beat up and murdered people opposed to him. This is one invasion that the US got right -- Panama's government was fixed and democracy was restored. Of course, Panama still suffers from some corruption, but it's certainly better off than it was and it has regular, free and fair elections.
One topic I'm still somewhat curious about is what happened in Chorillo -- a rough neighborhood right in Panama City. The author didn't really know, and didn't even speculate very much. I had heard that the US misplaced a bomb and 2000 people died, but that doesn't appear to be the case.
I wouldn't recommend this to anyone looking for significant detail and commentary on the events surrounding Noriega's rule, but for someone wanting a quick summary somewhere in between Wikipedia and a 300 page nonfiction, this might be a good choice.
Displaying 1 of 1 review