Panama Fever The Battle to Build the Canal by Parker, Matthew - 2007

UK: Hutchinson, 2007. Despite being ex-lib it looks as though it was only borrowed by one little old lady (& she wore white gloves!) 444 pp in jolly nice order, 800g for posting. "Panama Fever" traces a heroic dream that spanned four centuries: to build a canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The human cost was immense: in appalling working conditions and amid epidemics of fever, tens of thousands perished fighting the jungle, swamps and mountains of Panama, a scale of attrition comparable to many great battles. This is a remarkable book about empire and technology. Starting as a story of European Victorian confidence and hubris, it develops, via one of history's greatest engineering disasters, into an account of America's ruthless triumph over vast obstacles as it moves forward to dominate the twentieth century. Matthew Parker explores the fierce geo-political struggle behind the heroic vision of the canal, and the immense engineering and medical battles that were fought. review >>> The book is written with a sure feel for the grand sweep of history. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. 24.5cm.