Panama Fever: The Epic Story of the Building of the Panama Canal

Summary (from the publisher): The Panama Canal was the costliest undertaking in history; its completion in 1914 marked the beginning of the “American Century.” Panama Fever draws on contemporary accounts, bringing the experience of those who built the canal vividly to life. Politicians engaged in high-stakes diplomacy in order to influence its construction. Meanwhile, engineers and workers from around the world rushed to take advantage of high wages and the chance to be a part of history. Filled with remarkable characters, Panama Fever is an epic history that shows how a small, fiercely contested strip of land made the world a smaller place and launched the era of American global dominance.

Review: This comprehensive history details the construction of the Panama Canal, dating all the way back to 1513, "when the Spanish conquistador Vasco Nunez de Balboa ventured inland from Panama's Caribbean coast" until the canal's completion in 1914 (xxv). Started and abandoned by the French, the canal was ultimately completed by the United States but not without significant loss of life and millions of dollars spent. Ultimately, the canal was a great achievement that linked the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, proving invaluable in shortening the time needed to move from one coast to another and heavily impacting trade and foreign affairs even today.

In many ways, the story of building the canal is the decades' long story of epic disasters. The project was beset by fatal disease, the tropical climate, and difficult terrain, political disagreements, and funding difficulties from the beginning. Before going into this book, I had no idea that the French had spent a decade, millions of dollars, and thousands of lives attempting to complete the project before giving up and declaring bankruptcy. Even when the project was later taken up by the Americans, it was only after being hotly debated with many who argued the canal should be located in Nicaragua instead. It was only with the support of Theodore Roosevelt and others that work began again in Panama. In the end, the completion was truly an international achievement, as workers from around the world all contributed to the final construction being completed.

Parker has provided a very thorough and detailed account of all aspects of the history of the canal. At times I found the political funding details dry, although of course they are critical to the full understanding of the project. My favorite aspects of this book were the personal accounts shared about various workers in Panama and the descriptions of what daily life was like during the construction period. I also found all of the many descriptions of the deadly diseases and the battle to eradicate disease-spreading mosquitos that were decimating so many workers interesting. All told, at least 25,000 people died during construction, or "five hundred lives for every mile of the canal" (xxiii). Aside from this devastating cost, the dollars poured into its creation were astronomical; the French spent hundreds of millions during their failed decade of work and the Americans "spent nearly $400 million between 1904 and 1914, in the days when a couple of dollars a day was a good working wage" (xxiii). "The end result of cutting in two the eight-thousand-mile-long maritime barrier of the American continent fulfilled the dream of four hundred years" (462). This is an important and thoroughly written history.

Stars: 4