Panama Fever: The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All Time-- the Building of the Panama Canal (Hardcover)

by Matthew Parker (Author)
Key Phrases: lock canal plan, sea level plan, spoil cars, United States, Bunau Varilla, Panama City (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Parker (Monte Cassino: The Hardest Fought Battle of World War II) begins this engrossing narrative of the construction of what Theodore Roosevelt called one of the great works of the world well before the 20th century: everyone from Benjamin Franklin to Goethe was interested in a trans-isthmus canal, and one of the most arresting sections of the book chronicles the failed French efforts, in the late 1800s, to build one. Roosevelt then called for the building of a canal in his first address to Congress. The project faced countless challenges, but Parker is especially deft when addressing the racism that magnified already appalling working conditions. Those in charge didn't want to hire white American workers, who were too expensive and too unionized (though later, whites were hired), and the discussions about workers became racialized. The native Isthmian was too indolent, but black workers from the British West Indies were viewed as cheap and expendable. U.S. authorities discriminated racially, paying workers unequally and trying, in general, to prevent the intermingling of the races. This is not a narrow history of mechanical engineering but a well-researched and satisfying account of imperial vision and social inequity. Illus., maps. (Mar. 1)
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From The New Yorker
This history of the Panama Canal describes the scheming, the speculating, and the backbreaking labor—performed mostly by West Indians, who bore the brunt of the estimated twenty-five thousand fatalities—that went into "the costliest project ever yet attempted." Construction began in 1880, as a privately financed French enterprise, and was completed by the United States, in 1914. (Theodore Roosevelt called in the Army to finish the job.) Parker offers a detailed study of the myriad personalities and design plans associated with the work, but his limpid prose is best suited to accounts of the dangers the laborers faced: frequent mechanical accidents, landslides spanning fifty acres and ten days, and bouts of typhoid, dysentery, malaria, and yellow fever. As mountains were moved and raging rivers rerouted, one American diplomat observed, "Human life is about the cheapest article to be purchased."
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Product Details

• Hardcover: 560 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday; 1 edition (March 18, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385515340
• ISBN-13: 978-0385515344
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #334,341 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Building the Canal, May 5, 2008

By	David Montgomery (Beaufort, North Carolina) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is a well written story on the building of the Panama Canal. Matthew Parker focuses on the French efforts in the 1880s to the United States taking over the project in 1904. Several key figures are discussed such as Ferdinand de Lesseps, John Stevens, Theodore Roosevelt, William Gorgas and others from various skilled backgrounds. The author is extremely effective in telling the human side of the story, which is the area I usually find most compelling. The sheer scale of this project is enough to merit praise for those who were involved in this engineering marvel, though it had negative aspects to its building as well.

From the earliest explorers, the narrowness of the Panamanian Isthmus presented great potential to those who could envision the linking of the two oceans. Over time, we see competing ideas of where the canal should be built, e.g. such as the early U.S. view of building it in Nicaragua. People like Ferdinand de Lesseps, who built the Suez Canal, wanted it to be a sea level canal, while it was later on conceded that only a lock canal would be possible. How would the building of the canal be funded? Where would the labor force come from? How would the natural environment be manipulated? These were some of the major issues faced.

The nature of the Panamanian Isthmus, and its political status are also delved into. The controversial U.S. involvement in the independence of Panama is discussed in some detail. The United States had at this time an imperialistic streak, especially when seen against the backdrop of the Spanish-American War. Panama was in essence a government propped up by the U.S. Government in its desire to have control over the canal zone.

The French effort in building the canal ended in bankruptcy. The toll the building of the canal took on its workers, such as the sad story of Jules Dingler and his family, can't be overlooked either. Yellow fever, malaria, and other diseases ravaged the work force. Parker is good at tracing the stories behind some of the workers and leaders involved in the canal project. What motivated them to travel so far, how they adapted to or struggled in their new surroundings, and the families that came over with them (usually later on) all offer powerful glimpses into the actual goings on in the Canal Zone.

The Americans took up the work the French had begun and finally completed it in 1914, just when world events were beginning to take on a whole new shape. The struggles in controlling the Chagres River, mudslides, and all the other powers of nature made the project difficult for the Americans as well As I mentioned earlier, the human element comes through most powerfully in this narrative, whether it be in the fields of construction and engineering, or fighting diseases, or just coping with living conditions on the Isthmus. The racist attitudes that resulted in better living conditions for the whites than the West Indians, the power of nationalistic feeling, and the likes also weave into this story.

The ending felt a bit rushed in my opinion. Parker briefly touched on the impact the canal had on countries like Panama and the U.S., but his primary focus was on the building of the canal. While he was certainly critical of those who oversaw the project, he also gave credit to the talents of those who were involved, from both the French and American sides. Overall, a very good read.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Yes, but what about the canal?, July 6, 2008

By	Michael G. Spencer (Arkansas USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is subtitled "The Epic Story of One of the Greatest Human Achievements of All Time - the Building of the Panama Canal." It should have been subtitled "The Tragic Story of American Racism, Imperialism, and Exploitation during the Building of the Panama Canal," because this is clearly the theme.

The heroes of this tale are the West Indian blacks, chiefly British subjects, who provided the bulk of the unskilled workforce. The villians are the Americans, who are depicted as ruthless opportunists and bullies. The French are cast as an idealistic people intending a great service to humanity who were misled and robbed by a few frauds and charlatans involved in their canal project.

The social history is an interesting and worthy topic, but suffers from being told out of context. There is a palpable pro-European, anti-American bias. The casual reader might well infer that the evils of racism and imperialism were uniquely American, because the British author gives few details that would allow a reasoned comparison of American attitudes and practice to those then prevailing in British India and South Africa.

But all histories are biased to some extent. The chief fault of "Panama Fever" is that the social history is told to the near-exclusion of the details of the engineering project that is the ostensible subject of the book. The technical aspects are glossed over, and the building of the canal appears merely as a picturesque but indistinct backdrop for the social and political themes.

Upon finishing this book, I feel much like the protagonist West Indian canal worker: thinking that I was to vicariously participate in a great engineering project, I have been brought to a strange land under false pretenses and cheated by one who clearly believes himself to be my social, moral, and intellectual superior. It is a bad feeling; my sympathy for the victims of racism and imperialism is increased. But I would still like to learn a bit about the canal.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intersting take on a great story, December 26, 2008

By	Dr. Gustavo A. Mellander (George Mason Univer., Virginia) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The very narrowness of the Isthmus of Panamless than forty miles wide in certain sections, together with the relative calmness of the two great masses of water which caress her shores, appears to have destined Panamrom time immemorial to become, as present day Panamanians are proud to boast, "the Crossroads of the World."

That has not been accomplished without a price; the history of Panamwhether as an exploited Spanish colony, or as a neglected sector of Colombia, or as a republic, is replete with examples of decisions fundamental to her very existence and freedom being made by non-Panamanians in far away lands.

It all began in the 1490?s with Columbus? vain search for a water passage to the riches of the Far East. He never found it.

In 1501, Rodrigo de Bastidas became the first European to set foot on the Isthmus of PanamSPAN>. After relieving the Indians of a fortune in pearls and gold, he enslaved as many hapless souls as he could20carry off. Thus, were native Isthmians first introduced to the ways more materially advanced civilizations. Time would change the list of characters but not necessarily their behavior.

Twelve years after Bastidas, the intrepid Vasco N?de Balboa marched into history at the head of a motley band of adventurers. He led them on a fifty-mile blood strewn trek through Panams steaming jungles to discover the Pacific Ocean.

When they reached its shores the tide was out. So Balboa and his twenty-six men, the first Europeans ever to cast eyes upon that great body of water, found themselves, in spite of their proven ability to overcome man and nature, obliged to wait. Finally, the tide came in. Balboa, put on his armor and carrying ?a flag with the coat of arms of Castile and Leon on one side and a picture of the Virgin and child on the reverse,? plunged into the ocean and lay formal claim to its waters and all surrounding territories.


Interest in a transoceanic canal blossomed and motivated many a powerful person. The enlightened Charles V sent a team to ascertain the feasibility of constructing such a passage during the mid 1500's. His son the pious and inept Philip suppressed the preliminary studies stating that ?a canal would be against God's will.?


Many nations England, France, Scotland and the United States among others all had ambitions for the narrow isthmus. Time would pass, blood would be shed, fortunes and reputations would be lost but on August 15, 1914, the SS Ancon sailed into history as the first ship to transverse the Panama Canal. It was a dream come true.

Author Matthew Parker, born in Central America and educated in England, has written a distinct ive history of the dramatic and drastic battle to build the canal. Parker?s book is unique because aside from telling the fascinating story gracefully and with style he captures the anguish and grim reality of those consumed by the endeavor. He depicts clearly and concisely the human price that was paid. He is one of the few to acknowledge the tremendous contributions made by many Jamaicans, Barbadians and other West Indians who flocked to the Isthmus to earn a living but became as enamoured as any group with the magnitude and nobility of their task. With all of its cruel challenges, it was an inspiring undertaking. Those who participated, and lived, never forgot it.

Few nations have had a closer or more intimate relationship than the United States of America and the Republic of PanamSPAN>. The latter would not exist today had the United States not actively supported the latest of over 83 uprisings on the Isthmus in less than 80 years. President Theodore Roosevelt was not acting altruistically. He was perhaps the most impatient man ever to reside in the White House. He was determined to build a canal and quickly. He grew weary of Colombia?s vacillating negotiations and took matters into his own hands. His behavior abhorrent to many today was perfectly in keeping with how great powers acted 100 years ago.

Through Roosevelt's leadership, passion, and consuming determination to build a canal, thousands of his countrymen would brave the tropical desolation that was Panamn the first decade of the 20th century. They would succeed where the French had fa iled reaping financial scandal, political turmoil and embarrassment.
The book in enriched by Parker?s extensive use of first hand sources such as letters sent back home to the Caribbean Islands, the United States, England and other countries. They relate the daily reality and routines of tens of thousands of common men and women who succeeded admirably.
Parker fleshes out the human contributions of these tens of thousands from scores of countries who built the engineering marvel that is the Panama Canal. It is a refreshing and inspiring story elegantly written.