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Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All Time-- the Building of the Panama Canal
A thrilling tale of exploration, conquest, money, politics, and medicine
The Panama Canal was the costliest undertaking in human history. It literally required moving mountains, breaking the back of the great range that connects North and South America. Begun by the French in 1880, its successful completion in 1914 by the Americans marked the end of the Victorian Age and the beginning of the “American Century.”
The building of the Panama Canal was a project whose gestation spanned hundreds of years. Columbus himself searched for a way to get to the Pacific across the narrow isthmus of Central America. For centuries, monarchs, presidents, businessmen, and explorers all struggled to find such a passage, knowing that whoever controlled it would exert unsurpassed control over global trade, and therefore the fate of nations.
The first history of this mighty achievement in nearly thirty years, Panama Fever draws on diaries, memoirs, letters, and other contemporary accounts, bringing the experience of those who built the canal vividly to life. The massive project riveted public “Panama Fever” spread throughout the Western world. Politicians and businessmen engaged in high-stakes international diplomacy in order to influence its location, path, ownership, and construction. Meanwhile, ditch-diggers, machinists, drivers, engineers, and foremen from all over the world rushed to take advantage of high wages and the chance to be a part of history.
But the grim reality of Panama – searing heat, torrential rains, fatal mud slides, and malarial mosquitoes – soon caught up with them. More than 25,000 of those who enthusiastically signed on as workers succumbed to dysentery, yellow fever, and malaria, giving a fatal twist to the meaning of “Panama Fever.” The truly horrific toll unleashed a second race to find a cure so the canal could be completed. The discoveries of the heroic doctors who battled these diseases would lead to a sea change in the way infectious diseases were treated, thus paving the way for the tremendous medical advances of the twentieth century.
Filled with remarkable characters, including Teddy Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French genius who built the Suez Canal and almost snatched Panama out from under American control, Panama Fever is an epic historical adventure that shows how a small but fiercely contested strip of land in a largely unknown Central American nation suddenly made the world a smaller place and launched the era of American global dominance.
The Panama Canal was the costliest undertaking in human history. It literally required moving mountains, breaking the back of the great range that connects North and South America. Begun by the French in 1880, its successful completion in 1914 by the Americans marked the end of the Victorian Age and the beginning of the “American Century.”
The building of the Panama Canal was a project whose gestation spanned hundreds of years. Columbus himself searched for a way to get to the Pacific across the narrow isthmus of Central America. For centuries, monarchs, presidents, businessmen, and explorers all struggled to find such a passage, knowing that whoever controlled it would exert unsurpassed control over global trade, and therefore the fate of nations.
The first history of this mighty achievement in nearly thirty years, Panama Fever draws on diaries, memoirs, letters, and other contemporary accounts, bringing the experience of those who built the canal vividly to life. The massive project riveted public “Panama Fever” spread throughout the Western world. Politicians and businessmen engaged in high-stakes international diplomacy in order to influence its location, path, ownership, and construction. Meanwhile, ditch-diggers, machinists, drivers, engineers, and foremen from all over the world rushed to take advantage of high wages and the chance to be a part of history.
But the grim reality of Panama – searing heat, torrential rains, fatal mud slides, and malarial mosquitoes – soon caught up with them. More than 25,000 of those who enthusiastically signed on as workers succumbed to dysentery, yellow fever, and malaria, giving a fatal twist to the meaning of “Panama Fever.” The truly horrific toll unleashed a second race to find a cure so the canal could be completed. The discoveries of the heroic doctors who battled these diseases would lead to a sea change in the way infectious diseases were treated, thus paving the way for the tremendous medical advances of the twentieth century.
Filled with remarkable characters, including Teddy Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and Ferdinand de Lesseps, the French genius who built the Suez Canal and almost snatched Panama out from under American control, Panama Fever is an epic historical adventure that shows how a small but fiercely contested strip of land in a largely unknown Central American nation suddenly made the world a smaller place and launched the era of American global dominance.
530 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2007
145 people are currently reading
1409 people want to read
About the author
Matthew Parker
68 books77 followersI'm the author of a number of books including Monte Cassino, about the Western Allies' hardest battle against Germany in WWII, Panama Fever/Hell's Gorge, the epic story of the building of the Panama Canal, The Sugar Barons, about the rise and fall of the British West Indian sugar empire, Willoughbyland, the story of the forgotten English colony in Suriname, exchanged with the Dutch for New York and Goldeneye, about the influence of Jamaica on Ian Fleming's creation of James Bond. My new book is called One Fine Day: Britain's Empire on the brink. It is a snapshot of one day - 29 September 1923 - when the British Empire reached what would turn out to be its maximum territorial extent. It was the sole global superpower, but it was also an empire beset with debts and doubts.
When not reading, writing or staring out of the window, I love making sushi, pubs, growing stuff and visiting remote places.
I'm a member of the Authors Cricket Club, and wrote a chapter of A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon. I am also a contributor to the Oxford Companion to Sweets.
I live in East London with my wife, three children and annoying dog.
When not reading, writing or staring out of the window, I love making sushi, pubs, growing stuff and visiting remote places.
I'm a member of the Authors Cricket Club, and wrote a chapter of A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon. I am also a contributor to the Oxford Companion to Sweets.
I live in East London with my wife, three children and annoying dog.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 120 reviews
August 9, 2014
I started this book in a comfortable state-of-mind, in a comfortable chair, and in comfortable clothes. I finished in a humid environment, sweat pouring down, fighting off the mozzies trying to bite me. Yes, it was the height of summer, but still I think the writing had something to do with my changed state of affairs.
This book is quite an achievement, taking us from the early explorations of the Europeans to the Central America isthmus through the final completion via the Americans. The jungle is humid, one nation after another tries to build a canal, scores of people die trying, and sickness is everywhere. It wasn't just any malady, but Yellow Fever, aka "Blood Vomit". The French simply couldn't fight it, so the Yanks took over and eradicated the presence of the disease in Panama, allowing the construction of the canal to take place.
Matthew Parker's writing is engrossing. Just when you think one person is successful, they die, or their family dies, and we know everything has to start all over again. Today, we take the Panama Canal for granted, but what a magnificent story.
Just read it with cool air and a can of Deet.
Book Season = Summer (yucky heat)
This book is quite an achievement, taking us from the early explorations of the Europeans to the Central America isthmus through the final completion via the Americans. The jungle is humid, one nation after another tries to build a canal, scores of people die trying, and sickness is everywhere. It wasn't just any malady, but Yellow Fever, aka "Blood Vomit". The French simply couldn't fight it, so the Yanks took over and eradicated the presence of the disease in Panama, allowing the construction of the canal to take place.
Matthew Parker's writing is engrossing. Just when you think one person is successful, they die, or their family dies, and we know everything has to start all over again. Today, we take the Panama Canal for granted, but what a magnificent story.
Just read it with cool air and a can of Deet.
Book Season = Summer (yucky heat)
April 3, 2016
As an engineer, my life has been dedicated to projects. I have worked on hundreds of them during my career and a typical drive through Southern California will usually bring me to within close proximity of at least one transformation of land that can be attributed to a personal contribution. To many, these things may appear as objects that exist for their own use, created to make life easier: roads, buildings, water towers, dams. And even though my involvement with their creation imprints a personal connection with these objects it’s still easy to forget that many others placed a human hand on their creation.
Panama Fever reminds its readers that one monumental object, the Panama Canal, was created through the efforts of people. While some may have been boisterous enough to have the canal attributed to them by name it still could not have happened without the motivation of thousands of workers, engineers, patriots, and rebels of the Panamanian variety. Thousands of people lost their lives in working to bring this "thing" into existence, thousands more lost their livelihood through failed beliefs and investments, and yet thousands more moved some small amount of earth to contribute to its completion. This book tells their stories and transforms a project of monumental proportion into an achievement of monumental human effort.
Panama Fever reminds its readers that one monumental object, the Panama Canal, was created through the efforts of people. While some may have been boisterous enough to have the canal attributed to them by name it still could not have happened without the motivation of thousands of workers, engineers, patriots, and rebels of the Panamanian variety. Thousands of people lost their lives in working to bring this "thing" into existence, thousands more lost their livelihood through failed beliefs and investments, and yet thousands more moved some small amount of earth to contribute to its completion. This book tells their stories and transforms a project of monumental proportion into an achievement of monumental human effort.
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February 27, 2013Sometimes, when reading non-fiction, there will be on person that sort of jumps out. Not necessarily someone who was terribly important to the events, but just because they'll have a funny name, or happen to be the one that kept the most extensive diary and get quoted a lot, or have participated in some stupid but illustrative anecdote or something, and then going forward I kind of keep an eye out for them. In this instance, the person is one Claude Mallet, British acting-consul to Panama and as such possessor of many duties and writer of many letters. About a third of the way through I had to stop and google him. Reassured that he died somewhere in England aged 81 having finally been made actual consul, I could now continue reading. He was acting consul, you see, because the actual consuls dropping dead from malaria, yellow fever or nervous breakdowns.
Most of the effort of building the canal appears to have been an utter disaster of absolutely epic - the most epicest in history ever, in fact - proportions, and Parker tells it all with relish. (The final few chapters, when the thing actually gets built go by very quickly. They're just nowhere near as fun, I guess.)
Theres forty years worth of scandals, revolutions, trials, coup d'etats, lies, breakdowns and betrayals of the political and economic wrangling about the canal, which are pretty awesome. Then theres the engineering story itself, which is fascinating and includes what sounds like some of the weirdest machines ever built. You can see technology leaping ahead desperately, trying to do things it really just can't yet and creating total steampunk madness.
Where the book really shines though is in giving the bulk of the narrative over to the lives of the people who built the canal. Racism, labour, health, living standards, food, entertainment, crime, death, etc. It's great - exactly the kind of stuff I always wish for and never seem to get enough of. He doesn't neglect the 'great men' and the political narrative, but really tries to give a sense of how life was lived in this kind of mad, artificial place that seems to have been such a product of that age.
Most of the effort of building the canal appears to have been an utter disaster of absolutely epic - the most epicest in history ever, in fact - proportions, and Parker tells it all with relish. (The final few chapters, when the thing actually gets built go by very quickly. They're just nowhere near as fun, I guess.)
Theres forty years worth of scandals, revolutions, trials, coup d'etats, lies, breakdowns and betrayals of the political and economic wrangling about the canal, which are pretty awesome. Then theres the engineering story itself, which is fascinating and includes what sounds like some of the weirdest machines ever built. You can see technology leaping ahead desperately, trying to do things it really just can't yet and creating total steampunk madness.
Where the book really shines though is in giving the bulk of the narrative over to the lives of the people who built the canal. Racism, labour, health, living standards, food, entertainment, crime, death, etc. It's great - exactly the kind of stuff I always wish for and never seem to get enough of. He doesn't neglect the 'great men' and the political narrative, but really tries to give a sense of how life was lived in this kind of mad, artificial place that seems to have been such a product of that age.
March 15, 2009
Having been all the way through the canal within the past few months, I picked up this book to try to get a feel for how this marvel of engineering came about. Parker's book is very well written and does a fine job of explaining the history of the building of the canal so that non-technical people like myself can understand it. He begins in the time of the Spanish explorers, when Balboa was able to walk from ocean to ocean over the narrow isthmus of land there, through the French efforts and debacle under the aegis of Ferdinand deLesseps, the builder of the Suez Canal, through the Americans time there and their ultimate completion of the Canal. What Parker manages to convey is that the story of how America got its foothold in Panama is not a pretty one. Nor was the story of its construction -- the death tolls were staggering. Another plus of this book is that Parker avoids telling the story from solely the views of American white men; he takes a lot of his information from journals and stories left behind by workers from Jamaica and Barbados, whose treatment as minorities was unequal to say the very least. African-American workers looking for work there were soon disillusioned as well. Even though the people from the West Indies were lauded by the engineers as being the best workers, their treatment was deplorable. Parker also looks at the toll taken by diseases (yellow fever, malaria) and how the US Government at first pooh-poohed the efforts of Dr. William C. Gorgas, later Surgeon General of the US in his advocating of the eradication of conditions that were conducive to the spread of these diseases. The author's look at US intervention in Panamanian politics was eye-opening as well.
Overall, it was a fine book; a bit rushed toward the end but still quite good. I would have liked to have read more about the effects of the canal-building effort on the environment, but I suppose that's another volume unto itself.
Recommended for people who like a well-written and easily accessible history; also for people who are interested in the topic. Beware -- it's a weighty book but imho, well worth every second spent reading it.
Overall, it was a fine book; a bit rushed toward the end but still quite good. I would have liked to have read more about the effects of the canal-building effort on the environment, but I suppose that's another volume unto itself.
Recommended for people who like a well-written and easily accessible history; also for people who are interested in the topic. Beware -- it's a weighty book but imho, well worth every second spent reading it.
October 18, 2018
My objective reaction to this book: a well-researched, thorough and exhaustive history of the canal from idea to execution.
My subjective reaction: a dense, thick, weirdly uneven book which wears its research heavily but which is nevertheless always interesting. I think the book never quite knows what it is, despite the title, and suffers at times for it. The fact that it covers almost all bases by the end means you can have no real complaints, although it works best, I think, as a dip-in-and-out reference book rather than a read-cover-to-cover history.
Anyone with any interest in the canal or French or American politics and society of the time will find a lot here to interest them. Most fascinating for me were the scientific breakthroughs regarding malaria, Yellow Fever and other diseases going on in parallel with thousands upon thousands of workers and administrators dying during the building. The struggle against nature, trying to build on a strip of land tangled in jungle, regularly soaked with huge quantites of water and populated by endless, dangerous creepie-crawlies, is at the heart of this book - and is well-told.
My favourite story was of an expedition during the French attempt at building the canal. The teams had gone out in canoes, so high was the flood water, to assess the devastation and destruction the rainy season had wreaked on the works. One noticed that the tops of the trees, the only parts poking up out of the brown floodwaters, were black and moving. This, they found out, coming closer, was because they were covered in fleeing tarantulas.
My subjective reaction: a dense, thick, weirdly uneven book which wears its research heavily but which is nevertheless always interesting. I think the book never quite knows what it is, despite the title, and suffers at times for it. The fact that it covers almost all bases by the end means you can have no real complaints, although it works best, I think, as a dip-in-and-out reference book rather than a read-cover-to-cover history.
Anyone with any interest in the canal or French or American politics and society of the time will find a lot here to interest them. Most fascinating for me were the scientific breakthroughs regarding malaria, Yellow Fever and other diseases going on in parallel with thousands upon thousands of workers and administrators dying during the building. The struggle against nature, trying to build on a strip of land tangled in jungle, regularly soaked with huge quantites of water and populated by endless, dangerous creepie-crawlies, is at the heart of this book - and is well-told.
My favourite story was of an expedition during the French attempt at building the canal. The teams had gone out in canoes, so high was the flood water, to assess the devastation and destruction the rainy season had wreaked on the works. One noticed that the tops of the trees, the only parts poking up out of the brown floodwaters, were black and moving. This, they found out, coming closer, was because they were covered in fleeing tarantulas.
December 24, 2025
An enthralling history of the construction of the Panama Canal that covers the European discovery of the isthmus, the initial plans, the two decades long French attempt to build a canal and then the American successful construction. In telling the story Matthew Parker does a combination of history, international relations, engineering, social history (e.g., the segregation of the different groups of workers), medical history (the elimination of yellow fever and the reduction of malaria), finance (especially for the French attempt where it was privately financed, the U.S. one was public funding), politics (the way in which it affected U.S. politics not to mention the political upheavals in Panama), and more. Is unflinching about the brutality with which it was done but rapturous about the human accomplishment. Ex post, of course, it appears inevitable but thinking about how little people knew and how much they needed to invent while doing it is really extraordinary.
August 5, 2014
Another grand slam from Matthew Parker in my humble opinion and it's now official: this guy is my new favorite history author.
Panama Fever tells the story of the building of the Panama Canal which at the time was one of the greatest construction projects of all time. This massive task which was begun and abandoned by the French and then taken up by the US would see the removal of hundreds of millions of cubic yards of soil, tens of thousands of workers from a vast number of countries and project management on an enormous scale. The Canal would also see the US rise as a genuine superpower while at the same time fall in popularity, particularly in the Latin American region. It is also the story of political machinations, dominant personalities and national heroes, graft and corruption and noble sacrifice. (The plight of the West Indies workers in particular was pretty sad and their treatment by the Americans was very poor.)
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any fan of history.
Panama Fever tells the story of the building of the Panama Canal which at the time was one of the greatest construction projects of all time. This massive task which was begun and abandoned by the French and then taken up by the US would see the removal of hundreds of millions of cubic yards of soil, tens of thousands of workers from a vast number of countries and project management on an enormous scale. The Canal would also see the US rise as a genuine superpower while at the same time fall in popularity, particularly in the Latin American region. It is also the story of political machinations, dominant personalities and national heroes, graft and corruption and noble sacrifice. (The plight of the West Indies workers in particular was pretty sad and their treatment by the Americans was very poor.)
I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any fan of history.
February 12, 2014
This tells the story of the Panama Canal from the origins of the idea with the Spanish explorers to the completion of the canal at the start of WW I. Lots of detail and firsthand accounts, but Parker does a nice job of moving the story along, explaining the technical details without bogging down the human story.
September 20, 2012
This book was strongly recommended by a friend who visited us in Panama earlier this year. Since we have now left Panama after living there for 6 years, I figured it was a case of "better late than never", that this book would prove a nice nostalgic read but little more. After all, I had visited the Canal Museum a dozen times at least, I had watched ships go by from the observation deck many times, and I even participated in the Ocean-to-Ocean cayuco race in 2007 which means i actually rowed the full length of the canal under Panama's tropical summer sun... So what more could this book really teach me about the canal?
Quite a lot as it turns out. It's a history book that reads like a biography, because the Canal is alive as much as any human being. From the first visionnary dreams of a few spanish explorers to the american engineers that made it reality, this book extensively covers not just the 30+ years it took to build but the 300+ years it took to dream and finish. The research done is clearly herculean (witness the 40 pages of references at the end of the book) but the book reads like your grandfather's tall tales by the fire.
It's a fascinating story of what was the most ambitious and extraordinary feat of engineering in atrocious conditions and against all odds, until we put a man in space and on the moon. The building of the Suez canal was simple child's play compared to Panama's, just ask the French who despite patriotic fervor and determination, lost their battle against nature and everything it threw at them. Everyone assumes the Americans waltzed right in and finished the job but their task was a lot more arduous than I had known, and was only made possbile thanks to some opportune breaks and the benefit of scientific and technological progress (and the expansive "Prussian-like" politics of Teddy Roosevelt).
The author covers all the obstacles that were surmounted in this epic project, including the intricate politics which made it possible, the sanitary conditions which had to be overcome, and conveys all too well the deadly and unforgiving environment which Panama represented at the time, especially for the thousands of immigrant laborers who dug this canal with their blood and tears.
So not only was this a fascinating read, but a very instructove one at that.
Quite a lot as it turns out. It's a history book that reads like a biography, because the Canal is alive as much as any human being. From the first visionnary dreams of a few spanish explorers to the american engineers that made it reality, this book extensively covers not just the 30+ years it took to build but the 300+ years it took to dream and finish. The research done is clearly herculean (witness the 40 pages of references at the end of the book) but the book reads like your grandfather's tall tales by the fire.
It's a fascinating story of what was the most ambitious and extraordinary feat of engineering in atrocious conditions and against all odds, until we put a man in space and on the moon. The building of the Suez canal was simple child's play compared to Panama's, just ask the French who despite patriotic fervor and determination, lost their battle against nature and everything it threw at them. Everyone assumes the Americans waltzed right in and finished the job but their task was a lot more arduous than I had known, and was only made possbile thanks to some opportune breaks and the benefit of scientific and technological progress (and the expansive "Prussian-like" politics of Teddy Roosevelt).
The author covers all the obstacles that were surmounted in this epic project, including the intricate politics which made it possible, the sanitary conditions which had to be overcome, and conveys all too well the deadly and unforgiving environment which Panama represented at the time, especially for the thousands of immigrant laborers who dug this canal with their blood and tears.
So not only was this a fascinating read, but a very instructove one at that.
November 6, 2014
I almost gave this book a three star review but held off because it was just the narrator of the audiobook brining the rating down. I am very thankful to be listening to a different audiobook now with a much better narrator. (A British accent usually solves everything.) This narrator also stopped, cleared his throat and backtracked to the beginning of the sentence before continuing. That probably has more to say about the editing director than the narrator but still.
I also have to admit that when I first started listening to this audiobook I was rather distracted and did not hear much of the foundational text. (Thus another reason that I am giving it the benefit of the doubt.)
Additionally, I had to stop comparing this book to McCullough's (which I still think is better) before I could write a decent review.
This author spent a lot of time on the social and cultural aspect of building the bridge which was absolutely fascinating. It did verge just a bit on the macabre with the descriptions of the death and distraction from disease and work-place accidents.
The author clearly did his research, a whole bunch by the looks/"listens" of each chapter. He definitely knows his stuff.
While he takes his time and sometimes too much gets included on the page, I definitely recommend this book.
I also have to admit that when I first started listening to this audiobook I was rather distracted and did not hear much of the foundational text. (Thus another reason that I am giving it the benefit of the doubt.)
Additionally, I had to stop comparing this book to McCullough's (which I still think is better) before I could write a decent review.
This author spent a lot of time on the social and cultural aspect of building the bridge which was absolutely fascinating. It did verge just a bit on the macabre with the descriptions of the death and distraction from disease and work-place accidents.
The author clearly did his research, a whole bunch by the looks/"listens" of each chapter. He definitely knows his stuff.
While he takes his time and sometimes too much gets included on the page, I definitely recommend this book.
May 19, 2013
A trip to Panama prompted me to purchase and read Matthew Parker's, Panama Fever. Parker's epic isthmus history covers over 400 years, but he takes his reader on a fascinating and thrilling political, social, and technical journey, not to mention a few memorable tangents, of what it took to locate and build the canal. Peopled with colorful, tragic and heroic characters, I would think 'Panama Fever' would be a good read even if you were never planning on visiting Panama and its canal. A splendid story splendidly told.
June 15, 2025
The only thing harder than finishing a book about building the Panama Canal was actually building the Panama Canal. The content of this book was absolutely bonkers. Unfortunately, I was able to retain very little of what I read because most of the time I had no idea what was happening. I understand very little about the politics and the economics and the engineering behind the canal. And I don't really care to know. Well actually, I would like to know how they dug the canal cuz that doesn't really make much sense to me.
And malaria?! I had no idea that was in Panama. The part where they ridiculed the people who said it was spread by mosquitoes was painful. So many lives would have been saved if the white men in charge weren't such idiots.
What was not bonkers was the writing style. That was drier than the Sahara. Oh god it was so boring. I had to start reading other books in between chapters because it was just so dense. Half of the men needed to be cut from the book, (there were only like 3 women so they can all stay).
If you can find an abridged version of this or something that would probably be really good. Otherwise, suffering through this was actually kind of worth it.
And malaria?! I had no idea that was in Panama. The part where they ridiculed the people who said it was spread by mosquitoes was painful. So many lives would have been saved if the white men in charge weren't such idiots.
What was not bonkers was the writing style. That was drier than the Sahara. Oh god it was so boring. I had to start reading other books in between chapters because it was just so dense. Half of the men needed to be cut from the book, (there were only like 3 women so they can all stay).
If you can find an abridged version of this or something that would probably be really good. Otherwise, suffering through this was actually kind of worth it.
September 24, 2017
From the early construction of the Panama Railroad in 1850 until the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914, men attempted to fulfill the dream of a passage between the two great oceans. Parker's history of the endeavor includes the aspirations of early European explorers, hardships encountered during surveys and expeditions, as well as the controversies concerning competing potential routes. He details the difficulties leading to the failure of the French efforts which ultimately led to the successful completion of the canal by the United States. Building the canal required vision, creativity, advancing technology, money, political will, as well as endurance. The effort also needed workers whose needs for shelter, food, safety, and other issues had to be addressed. Health issues dominated the lives of all who came to Panama particularly yellow fever and malaria among others. Many individuals rose to the occasion and the project was ultimately completed in spite of problems of work accidents, poor race relations, greed, scandal and political strife. Matthew Parker covers all these areas in depth. This was a slow but worthwhile reading project.
November 11, 2010
Detailed and comprehensive history of the Panama Canal from the early days of the French effort to the completion by the US. Clearly building the canal in such a disease infested area was a problem to say the least - nobody knows the death toll but is was certainly huge. Another age for sure - such casualties wouldn't even be considered remotely acceptable today.
Interesting history of Panama itself and it's relationship to and with the US. Hadn't appreciated the roll the US played in getting this done. Fascinating and does what it says in the title, really finishing pretty much with the completion of the work and no history subsequently.
Interesting history of Panama itself and it's relationship to and with the US. Hadn't appreciated the roll the US played in getting this done. Fascinating and does what it says in the title, really finishing pretty much with the completion of the work and no history subsequently.
August 27, 2013
Pros:
- This is a well written story.
- Very Organized and clear.
- Very Detailed and informative.
Cons:
- The majority of the book is about the pre-stage of building the Canal, and not enough words on the "during" and the "after" phase.
- It talks a lot about the " people " involved with the canal and it's establishment but not much about the canal itself.
- It's more of a social history surrounding the era of building the canal.
- This is a well written story.
- Very Organized and clear.
- Very Detailed and informative.
Cons:
- The majority of the book is about the pre-stage of building the Canal, and not enough words on the "during" and the "after" phase.
- It talks a lot about the " people " involved with the canal and it's establishment but not much about the canal itself.
- It's more of a social history surrounding the era of building the canal.
April 7, 2013
This book makes me want to go through the canal. This is a decent history of the tortuous building of the canal and the politics surrounding it, with lots of personal stories from the people involved.
January 2, 2013
Interesting book. I am sure there are some out there that might be a little better about the subject but all-in-all an interesting read.
February 16, 2020
It was appalling to read about the thousands of deaths and the cheapness of lives both during the French attempt at the canal, and the successful American attempt. It was also great to read about how the Americans successfully reduced fatalities due to Malaria and Yellow Fever through improved sanitation even through the face of skepticism about the theory behind insect-borne diseases which was still in its early years.
I loved reading about the lock systems used in the canal and the simple theory behind the incredible complicated executions. It was sad seeing de Lesseps and his son made scapegoats as a result of the failed French effort. As the book rightly opined, private company effort, whether French or American could not have succeeded in building the canal, it had to be a government effort.
The book also explored racial and political issues during the period of building the canal.
I loved reading about the lock systems used in the canal and the simple theory behind the incredible complicated executions. It was sad seeing de Lesseps and his son made scapegoats as a result of the failed French effort. As the book rightly opined, private company effort, whether French or American could not have succeeded in building the canal, it had to be a government effort.
The book also explored racial and political issues during the period of building the canal.
May 7, 2017
What amazed me most about the book is the amount of information the author has collected from multiple sources while putting together this epic story in the form of a book. The smallest of incidents that happened more than a century back are all well documented and archived in multiple sources. The book is about the epic story of building one of the greatest engineering marvels of the modern era the Panama canal. For centuries kings,business leaders and explorers were constantly looking at ways to connect this small passage across the Isthmus of Panama which in turn would connect the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific
and whoever controlled this canal would get enough power and influence over global trade and in turn a control on the fate of nations.The effort was literally back breaking and took almost 35 years before it was finally commissioned in the year 1914.
The French initially led the effort to build the Canal in the year 1881 and the man incharge was the Ferdinand De Lesseps the same genius who had build the Suez canal
a few years back. The ambitious project took America and Europe by storm and drew everyone's attention including engineers, drafstmen,diggers, machinists all
wanted to be a part of this project and take advantage of the high wages and in turn be amongst the men who were part of his high profile project. Politicians and businessmen from Europe and America were constantly involved in high stakes diplomacy and in deciding the path to be taken, the technology to be used, the funding plan and where to get cheap labor from. While most of the administrative and engineering jobs were led by the French the construction jobs were invariably from close by West Indian colony of Jamaica.
Unfortunately the French effort to build the canal didnt last for long and after about 14 years they had to give up due to many reasons the most important being cost overruns and thousands of deaths of workmen in the tropical climate of Panama due to Yellow fever , Malaria and Typhoid. Thousands of people lost their lives due to these diseases and many returned to their countries never to come back to work in these horrific condition.
After a decade or so the effort was again revived and this time the Americans took the lead and were backed by the US Government itself. Extremely committed and highly decorated Engineers were now sent to Panama to get the work back on track. In spite of poor living conditions in the humid tropical climate and racial discrimination against the West Indian black workforce the project managed to go on as per schedule. At the later part the US army was also involved in the construction work. Eventually after 10 year from the time the Americans started the work and more than 20000 people loosing their lives due to diseases and accidents in the site the canal was finally commissioned in the year 1914.
The story shows how a small strip of land in a small Central american country suddenly changed the world and made it smaller and launched the era of American Engineering dominance. The Americas were separated by the canal but the world of global trade just became one.
and whoever controlled this canal would get enough power and influence over global trade and in turn a control on the fate of nations.The effort was literally back breaking and took almost 35 years before it was finally commissioned in the year 1914.
The French initially led the effort to build the Canal in the year 1881 and the man incharge was the Ferdinand De Lesseps the same genius who had build the Suez canal
a few years back. The ambitious project took America and Europe by storm and drew everyone's attention including engineers, drafstmen,diggers, machinists all
wanted to be a part of this project and take advantage of the high wages and in turn be amongst the men who were part of his high profile project. Politicians and businessmen from Europe and America were constantly involved in high stakes diplomacy and in deciding the path to be taken, the technology to be used, the funding plan and where to get cheap labor from. While most of the administrative and engineering jobs were led by the French the construction jobs were invariably from close by West Indian colony of Jamaica.
Unfortunately the French effort to build the canal didnt last for long and after about 14 years they had to give up due to many reasons the most important being cost overruns and thousands of deaths of workmen in the tropical climate of Panama due to Yellow fever , Malaria and Typhoid. Thousands of people lost their lives due to these diseases and many returned to their countries never to come back to work in these horrific condition.
After a decade or so the effort was again revived and this time the Americans took the lead and were backed by the US Government itself. Extremely committed and highly decorated Engineers were now sent to Panama to get the work back on track. In spite of poor living conditions in the humid tropical climate and racial discrimination against the West Indian black workforce the project managed to go on as per schedule. At the later part the US army was also involved in the construction work. Eventually after 10 year from the time the Americans started the work and more than 20000 people loosing their lives due to diseases and accidents in the site the canal was finally commissioned in the year 1914.
The story shows how a small strip of land in a small Central american country suddenly changed the world and made it smaller and launched the era of American Engineering dominance. The Americas were separated by the canal but the world of global trade just became one.
May 30, 2016
They say the slaves built the pyramids! They built the Panama Canal too. The workers suffered from Yellow Fever, Malaria, malnutrition, heat and wet, unfair working conditions, racism, and hideous accidents. But their work is monumental. After 100 years the locks at the Panama Canal are still intact and working. This is an amazing account of an amazing work. I loved it.
The French began the digging in 1880. The US finished the job in 1914. But the idea, planning and hoping started long before 1880. The earliest mention of a canal across the isthmus is 1534. Thomas Jefferson talked about it in 1788.
When I say monumental, that may not encompass the gargantuan nature of the job. They had to dig out the canal, repeatedly the sides of the canal slipped back in, the equipment they originally had was not strong or fast enough. They had to build a railroad, which took jungle clearing and rail setting, to move equipment, mud, food and supplies for the workers, and the workers. They had to build special trains and cranes though out the years to handle moving all the boulders, batches of concrete, etc.
Today, it takes 6 - 8 hours to pass through the 48 mile waterway. An new expansion is scheduled to open in June of this year, 2016.
Colonel Roosevelt, according to this book, had some finagling going on in order to get the Panamanians enough independence that the US could be the ones to build. The US, at that time, did not want the Europeans or anybody else to build the canal besides Americans. There was a lot of debate about putting the canal in Nicaragua or Panama.
In addition to the amazing innovations of the digger, Frank Stephens, and the builder, Major Goethals, there was the massive attack against mosquitoes and the diseases they carry. Dr. Gorgas let an all-out war against standing water, unclean living conditions, lack of screens and netting around beds, in a world that at the time, did not believe in the idea that the mosquitoes are a vector for disease. If the standing water could not be gotten rid of, they sprayed kerosene on it to kill the mosquito larvae. That's one thing that Roosevelt did right. He supported Dr. Gorgas with money and the power of the presidency enough to greatly decrease the number of deaths and sickness due to malaria and yellow fever.
More than 25,000 Workers died during the canal's construction. Mr. Parker quotes a lot of primary source documents about the living and work conditions at the time written by the workers themselves. There was even an essay contest in 1963. Workers were asked to write about their time working on the canal. There was a $50 grand prize as well a a $30 prize.
The History Channel has some short videos about the canal.
http://www.history.com/news/7-fascina...
The French began the digging in 1880. The US finished the job in 1914. But the idea, planning and hoping started long before 1880. The earliest mention of a canal across the isthmus is 1534. Thomas Jefferson talked about it in 1788.
When I say monumental, that may not encompass the gargantuan nature of the job. They had to dig out the canal, repeatedly the sides of the canal slipped back in, the equipment they originally had was not strong or fast enough. They had to build a railroad, which took jungle clearing and rail setting, to move equipment, mud, food and supplies for the workers, and the workers. They had to build special trains and cranes though out the years to handle moving all the boulders, batches of concrete, etc.
Today, it takes 6 - 8 hours to pass through the 48 mile waterway. An new expansion is scheduled to open in June of this year, 2016.
Colonel Roosevelt, according to this book, had some finagling going on in order to get the Panamanians enough independence that the US could be the ones to build. The US, at that time, did not want the Europeans or anybody else to build the canal besides Americans. There was a lot of debate about putting the canal in Nicaragua or Panama.
In addition to the amazing innovations of the digger, Frank Stephens, and the builder, Major Goethals, there was the massive attack against mosquitoes and the diseases they carry. Dr. Gorgas let an all-out war against standing water, unclean living conditions, lack of screens and netting around beds, in a world that at the time, did not believe in the idea that the mosquitoes are a vector for disease. If the standing water could not be gotten rid of, they sprayed kerosene on it to kill the mosquito larvae. That's one thing that Roosevelt did right. He supported Dr. Gorgas with money and the power of the presidency enough to greatly decrease the number of deaths and sickness due to malaria and yellow fever.
More than 25,000 Workers died during the canal's construction. Mr. Parker quotes a lot of primary source documents about the living and work conditions at the time written by the workers themselves. There was even an essay contest in 1963. Workers were asked to write about their time working on the canal. There was a $50 grand prize as well a a $30 prize.
The History Channel has some short videos about the canal.
http://www.history.com/news/7-fascina...
November 12, 2010
It's nice to know that someone has done the Panama Canal story in depth and detail. I'd always encountered it as one of those important but boring events in history that didn't warrant much more than the once-over it got in the textbooks. Parker shows us what a long and involved ordeal it was. The nightmarish logistics of gathering, paying, sustaining and disciplining thousands of men in absolutely wretched conditions are detailed with sober directness. The ravages of tropical disease are described in stomach-turning detail. And in this way, the great value of the book is restoring a human character to history- always a worthy endeavor.
That worth has to compete here with the rather dry and uninspired reporting of the rest of the story. The politics, the finances, the bureaucracy- none of these are terribly interesting to begin with, and Parker seems to just give up on them. A shame, since his book has some of the marks of the best popular history: accessible, knowledgeable, and adventurous. If you're already studying the period, I'd say give this a look, but it's not compelling enough to be read for simply for entertainment.
That worth has to compete here with the rather dry and uninspired reporting of the rest of the story. The politics, the finances, the bureaucracy- none of these are terribly interesting to begin with, and Parker seems to just give up on them. A shame, since his book has some of the marks of the best popular history: accessible, knowledgeable, and adventurous. If you're already studying the period, I'd say give this a look, but it's not compelling enough to be read for simply for entertainment.
June 24, 2015
Hace unos cuantos años vi este libro en Metromedia, y no lo compré porque basándome en el reverso del libro, pero pareció que el libro iba a servir para argumentar la gloria de los Estados Unidos y ensalzar su intervención en la geopolítica regional. Sin embargo, tras haberlo concluido, puedo corroborar que estaba equivocado. Matthew Parker en realidad hace una investigación minuciosa e imparcial de los hechos, tal como diversos registros lo pintan. Más allá de las jugadas políticas dudosas de personajes como Teddy Roosevelt, de las miles de muertes y la asquerosa segregación racial existente durante todo el tiempo de la construcción, la mera construcción del Canal de Panamá fue y sigue siendo un hecho insólito, un majestuoso ejemplo de como el hombre puede llegar a ganarle la partida a la naturaleza. De igual forma, es indiscutible reconocer que la culminación del canal por parte de los norteamericanos marca el fin de la Era Victoriana y de la hegemonía de las potencias europeas para dar lugar, al que para bien o para mal, fue el siglo de Estados Unidos.
November 16, 2023
Incredible story of colonial expansion, corporate greed and governmental corruption at the expense of a nation with ramifications that extend into today's world. Incredible ambition at the waste of significant human life, really an inhumane story as global powers pressed for a way through the narrowest segment of Panama. As each country persisted in the work, funding advanced technologies in excavation, transportation and shipping. Manpower requirements fueled medical advances. After serving its purpose, the railroad across the passage was made obsolete but rail across the continent now serves more efficiently. As container ships have grown ever larger, the canal now is too small for some. And as drought and global warming continue their spiral, the waters that feed the canal are lessened. I would love to see the Panama Canal. I want to talk with Panamanian native people about their country and their heritage.
November 22, 2014
It is an interesting book because the subject is fascinating. Unfortunately, Matthew Parker, like most historians, wants to regurgitate all the information he has gathered in his research. The result is a book that gives you too much detail and is boring at times. Additionally MP is incapable of giving decent description of some of the engineering masterpieces that were designed and used for this extraordinary engineering achievement. Still one learns a lot through the book including about the incredibly colonialist approach of the US when they took over Panama from Colombia.
December 5, 2023
When the Panama Canal was finished and ready to open in 1913, the only thing that remained was to blow two barriers at each end of the canal, which would allow the water to come gushing through. So they rigged the explosives to be triggered by a telegraph machine at the canal. So Woodrow Wilson was able to sit at his desk in Washington DC and push a button which relayed a signal through the telegraph lines up to New York City, down to Galveston Texas, and on to Panama where the signal triggered the explosion.
September 28, 2009
So far I'm not particularly impressed. I'm up to Chapter 6. There's a great deal more history to the canal than I knew about but the reading is fairly dry
The story became more interesting with the US involvement in Panama, perhaps just because the names were more familiar and/or easier to keep track of. I did finish it. I have sort of taken the Canal for granted and now realize that it was far from a certainity, so it was enlightening in that sense. Just not a real engaging read.
The story became more interesting with the US involvement in Panama, perhaps just because the names were more familiar and/or easier to keep track of. I did finish it. I have sort of taken the Canal for granted and now realize that it was far from a certainity, so it was enlightening in that sense. Just not a real engaging read.
May 27, 2021
A wonderful description of the geo-politics, disease, engineering and determination of thousands. Panama Fever gave me new appreciation for the sacrifice and accomplishments of dedicated workers from France, America, Central America, the Caribbean and other places. Parker covers the decades-long fight to accomplish a global dream in good fashion.
March 27, 2024
I was looking for a historical account of the building of the Panama Canal to read while cruising the Panama Canal. I appreciated this book, which covered the history, geopolitics, cultural issues, diseases, engineering, technology and geography. Much more than I expected. Perhaps a bit detailed and repetitious anecdotes at times , but that did not detract from a very informative book.
Want to read
November 8, 2018Looking forward to learning more about Panama. This was one of my father's favorite places & he lived there the last 8 years of his life.
January 31, 2019
A lot of info. Was long at times. More about the social costs and politics behind the canal than the engineering. Good read if you want to visit the canal.
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