Reviews
'Not only an absolutely gripping account of the canal's conception and construction but also notice that a brilliant new popular historian has arrived on the scene - an author of wide-ranging intelligence and deep humanity. This is exemplary history, vigorously told with a respect for complexity that enriches rather than obscures the pleasure of a great story.' Tim Rutten, Los Angeles Times, 12 March 2008 Full LA Times review
'Parker 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. This is not a narrow history of mechanical engineering but a well-researched and satisfying account of imperial vision and social inequity.'
Publishers Weekly 11 May 2007
‘Matthew Parker intertwines the various strands of the story — personal and national, political and financial, geographical and technological — with finesse. Best of all, his prose somehow manages to infect the reader with the Panama fever itself. It is no mean achievement.’
Robert Stewart, Spectator, 5 May 2007
Full Spectator review
Excellent … the story is an epic one, and Parker has brilliantly done justice
to every aspect’
Frank McLynn, Independent 18 May 2007
Full Independent review
‘Matthew Parker has picked a fascinating subject and
written a book worthy of it. His narrative is compelling,
his ability to weave a pattern from the topics he has to
cover quite remarkable. It’s a story of engineering,
labour relations, disease, financial crises, politics, idealism
and skullduggery. It is peopled with a host of characters,
some heroic, others corrupt, almost all out of the ordinary.
There isn’t a dull page, and if this book isn’t
a candidate for all the non-fiction prizes going, I shall
be disappointed.’ Allan Massie, Daily Telegraph 3 March
2007
Full
Telegraph review
‘Parker’s epic story, from the 18th century
to the present day, is awesome.’ Iain Finlayson The
Times 3 March 2007
‘Parker’s great forte in Panama Fever is to
bring this complex story to life through a succession of
vivid characters.’ Philip Hoare, Sunday Telegraph
25 March 2007
Full
Sunday Telegraph review
‘Parker has written the Panama story for a new generation.
He quotes extensively from letters and diaries of ordinary
workers writing home to their families. And it is their heartfelt
views on the conditions in which they lived and worked that
really bring this book to life’
The Economist 24 February
2007
‘Matthew Parker has written an informative and enjoyable book, which
mixes social and labour history with the history of science, medicine, and
colonialism. He is remarkably sensitive to the plight of the thousands who
worked and died in the canal zone, especially the West Indians.’ Irish
Times 17 March 2007
‘Panama Fever was infectious, as readers of this gripping
book will find.’
The Scotsman 7 April 2007
Full Scotsman review
‘First rate … Matthew Parker has done his subject
proud, and his book is for anyone with an interest in the
making of the modern world.’ George Rosie, Sunday Herald
Full
Sunday Herald review
‘Parker deserves praise for combining a wealth of
information with well-written prose. The book is full of
personal testimony and anecdotes, giving each step of the
construction a human touch… This book provides a fascinating
and rewarding perspective’ Joachim Bamrud World Business
17 March 2007
Full
World Business review
‘[an] eye-opening account … Parker guides
readers through the complicated story with a sure sense of
both the larger narrative and telling detail.’ Sunday
Times 1 April 2007
‘The extraordinary story of western man’s compulsion
to wrestle with nature in the central American swamps and
rainforests.’
John Vidal, Guardian 14 April 2007
Full
Guardian review
‘Should be required reading for anyone interested
in history … timely and thrillingly told.’
Fiammetta Rocco, Literary Review April 2007
'Brimming with quotations from letters, diaries and contemporaneous news reports, the book makes vivid the various highlights of the Canal's history.'
Ernest R. May Times Literary Supplement 21 September 2007
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