I loved this book, 18 Nov 2008
I loved this book. The Panama Canal story is an extraordinary, epic tale and Matthew Parker's marvellous account more than does it justice.

The book is written with a sure feel for the grand sweep of history: the unprecedented engineering challenge, the daunting geography of the mountainous Panamanian jungles, the strategic imperatives, the complex and fascinating finances, and the heart-rending and totally unforeseen logistical difficulties that turned dreams to nightmares.

At the same time the author has a wonderful nose for characters and this book has a rich and compelling cast to propel the story along. Parker clearly is a fine historian and one of the most impressive aspects of this book is the original work he has clearly done in scouring the archives to deliver a wealth of original written accounts - letters, diaries, company memos, political machinations, and so on.

The structure of the story is fascinating. The canal was begun by the French, expected to be the crowning glory of the man who built the Suez Canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps: and the years of disaster didn't just finish him but came close to bankrupting a generation of French investors. The canal then went into a second, very different phase, after the rising power of the United States took it over as the keystone of a very modern strategic vision of the future. The Americans, it should be said, also completed it.

Parker devotes roughly half of the book to each phase, and the contrast is amazing - between, if you like, the Victorian era of Jules Verne fantasies and the modern age of skyscrapers and internal combustion engines. All this helps to make this story not just a historical epic but also a very modern tale of engineering on the grand scale.

All in all I heartily recommend this book. I read a lot of non-fiction and this has been one of the treats of the year. Buy it!

A captivating account of human endeavour, 31 Oct 2007
Matthew Parker's Panama Fever offers a captivating account of the building of one of the world's greatest engineering achievements, weaving together an impressive range of first hand sources which not only tell an extraordinary tale but transport the reader back in time and half way around the world to the untamed forests of Central America. Parker's style is fluid and engaging, skilfully mixing the poignant details of the lives and deaths of the individuals drawn together to built the canal with the grander themes of its place in history. It is a difficult balancing act for any historian to tell a story on so many levels but Parker carries it off with distinction and great stylistic flair. A first rate read.

An excellent overview of the battle to construct the Canal, 14 Mar 2007
This is an enthralling account of the history of the various endeavours to construct a canal to unite the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Isthmus of Central America, particularly at Panama. The descriptions of the hardships undergone by the mainly British West Indian labourers leaves one wondering why it was permitted. The books intensity is spellbinding. But it comes to an abrupt end once the canal is open to traffic - nearly 100 years' ago; what has happened since then?

Just one adverse comment; the editing is a bit lax, for example the author refers to the uniform that the labourers were requited to wear and describes the "shirt and trousers" but the "r" in "shirt" is missing.

You should read "El Caballo de Oro" by Juan David Morgan first - this is an account of the construction of the railway across the Isthmus woven around the romance of the marriage of one the principal promotors. Fascinating.

I loved this book, 18 Nov 2008
I loved this book. The Panama Canal story is an extraordinary, epic tale and Matthew Parker's marvellous account more than does it justice.

The book is written with a sure feel for the grand sweep of history: the unprecedented engineering challenge, the daunting geography of the mountainous Panamanian jungles, the strategic imperatives, the complex and fascinating finances, and the heart-rending and totally unforeseen logistical difficulties that turned dreams to nightmares.

At the same time the author has a wonderful nose for characters and this book has a rich and compelling cast to propel the story along. Parker clearly is a fine historian and one of the most impressive aspects of this book is the original work he has clearly done in scouring the archives to deliver a wealth of original written accounts - letters, diaries, company memos, political machinations, and so on.

The structure of the story is fascinating. The canal was begun by the French, expected to be the crowning glory of the man who built the Suez Canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps: and the years of disaster didn't just finish him but came close to bankrupting a generation of French investors. The canal then went into a second, very different phase, after the rising power of the United States took it over as the keystone of a very modern strategic vision of the future. The Americans, it should be said, also completed it.

Parker devotes roughly half of the book to each phase, and the contrast is amazing - between, if you like, the Victorian era of Jules Verne fantasies and the modern age of skyscrapers and internal combustion engines. All this helps to make this story not just a historical epic but also a very modern tale of engineering on the grand scale.

All in all I heartily recommend this book. I read a lot of non-fiction and this has been one of the treats of the year. Buy it!

A captivating account of human endeavour, 31 Oct 2007
Matthew Parker's Panama Fever offers a captivating account of the building of one of the world's greatest engineering achievements, weaving together an impressive range of first hand sources which not only tell an extraordinary tale but transport the reader back in time and half way around the world to the untamed forests of Central America. Parker's style is fluid and engaging, skilfully mixing the poignant details of the lives and deaths of the individuals drawn together to built the canal with the grander themes of its place in history. It is a difficult balancing act for any historian to tell a story on so many levels but Parker carries it off with distinction and great stylistic flair. A first rate read.

An excellent overview of the battle to construct the Canal, 14 Mar 2007
This is an enthralling account of the history of the various endeavours to construct a canal to unite the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Isthmus of Central America, particularly at Panama. The descriptions of the hardships undergone by the mainly British West Indian labourers leaves one wondering why it was permitted. The books intensity is spellbinding. But it comes to an abrupt end once the canal is open to traffic - nearly 100 years' ago; what has happened since then?

Just one adverse comment; the editing is a bit lax, for example the author refers to the uniform that the labourers were requited to wear and describes the "shirt and trousers" but the "r" in "shirt" is missing.

You should read "El Caballo de Oro" by Juan David Morgan first - this is an account of the construction of the railway across the Isthmus woven around the romance of the marriage of one the principal promotors. Fascinating.

An excellent history of an amazing city, 16 Sep 2005
Ignore the title: this book covers more than just the gangs. The founding of New Orleans is described in detail followed by histories of the bordellos, the history of slavery and the culture of the slaves, the history of voodoo in the city via diversions into riverboat gambling and the post-Civil War Yankee administration. An engrossing read, even surpassing the author's superlative "Gangs of New York".

N'awlins rough, 07 Jan 2004
THE GANGS OF NEW ORLEANS (in the U.S., entitled THE FRENCH QUARTER) is a history of crime, vice, and general rascality in New Orleans from its founding in 1718 by the French to the abolition of the Storyville red-light district in 1917.

In fifteen chapters, author Herbert Asbury describes the disruptive roles played by keelboat ruffians, revolutionists, gamblers, duelists, prostitutes, corrupt cops and politicians, pirates, filibusters (soldiers of fortune), vigilantes, pickpockets, muggers, thugs, the Mafia, and voodoo practitioners in the lives of the otherwise law-abiding citizenry. Anyone reading Asbury's narrative might be led to believe that good folks were a miniscule minority.

This book suffers from being first published almost seventy years ago. Aside from a number of old sketch reproductions, and several badly reproduced B&W photographs of bordello interiors and exteriors during the Storyville era, it is sadly lacking in illustration. There's not even a map of the city from which to get one's bearings.

This work is wonderfully informative as far as it goes, perhaps occasionally more so than is needed to make the point that the city, especially in the mid-1800s, could be a noxious place. The narrative is sober and straightforward, only occasionally displaying dry humor. A couple examples from the text will suffice to give one a sense of the book's tone and the city's iniquity.

Regarding barrel-houses,the lowest form of drinking place: "The owner of one such establishment not only doped all of his liquor, but maintained his own staff of sneak thieves ... (who) worked on a percentage basis and took turns robbing the sodden wretches who were dragged from the barrel-house."

Regarding the streetwalkers of the Dauphine and Burgundy Street vice area after the Civil War:
" ... the perambulating bawds flung a piece of old carpet on the sidewalk and entertained their customers in full view of passers-by and the prostitutes in the houses ... (who) kept pails of hot water handy to discourage use of the doorsteps." Hmm, I would have thought ice water more effective at shrinking amorous ardor.

Decades after THE GANGS OF NEW ORLEANS first appeared, N'awlins is a model of purity. Why, would you believe me if I said you can't even spit on the street?

I loved this book, 18 Nov 2008
I loved this book. The Panama Canal story is an extraordinary, epic tale and Matthew Parker's marvellous account more than does it justice.

The book is written with a sure feel for the grand sweep of history: the unprecedented engineering challenge, the daunting geography of the mountainous Panamanian jungles, the strategic imperatives, the complex and fascinating finances, and the heart-rending and totally unforeseen logistical difficulties that turned dreams to nightmares.

At the same time the author has a wonderful nose for characters and this book has a rich and compelling cast to propel the story along. Parker clearly is a fine historian and one of the most impressive aspects of this book is the original work he has clearly done in scouring the archives to deliver a wealth of original written accounts - letters, diaries, company memos, political machinations, and so on.

The structure of the story is fascinating. The canal was begun by the French, expected to be the crowning glory of the man who built the Suez Canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps: and the years of disaster didn't just finish him but came close to bankrupting a generation of French investors. The canal then went into a second, very different phase, after the rising power of the United States took it over as the keystone of a very modern strategic vision of the future. The Americans, it should be said, also completed it.

Parker devotes roughly half of the book to each phase, and the contrast is amazing - between, if you like, the Victorian era of Jules Verne fantasies and the modern age of skyscrapers and internal combustion engines. All this helps to make this story not just a historical epic but also a very modern tale of engineering on the grand scale.

All in all I heartily recommend this book. I read a lot of non-fiction and this has been one of the treats of the year. Buy it!

A captivating account of human endeavour, 31 Oct 2007
Matthew Parker's Panama Fever offers a captivating account of the building of one of the world's greatest engineering achievements, weaving together an impressive range of first hand sources which not only tell an extraordinary tale but transport the reader back in time and half way around the world to the untamed forests of Central America. Parker's style is fluid and engaging, skilfully mixing the poignant details of the lives and deaths of the individuals drawn together to built the canal with the grander themes of its place in history. It is a difficult balancing act for any historian to tell a story on so many levels but Parker carries it off with distinction and great stylistic flair. A first rate read.

An excellent overview of the battle to construct the Canal, 14 Mar 2007
This is an enthralling account of the history of the various endeavours to construct a canal to unite the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Isthmus of Central America, particularly at Panama. The descriptions of the hardships undergone by the mainly British West Indian labourers leaves one wondering why it was permitted. The books intensity is spellbinding. But it comes to an abrupt end once the canal is open to traffic - nearly 100 years' ago; what has happened since then?

Just one adverse comment; the editing is a bit lax, for example the author refers to the uniform that the labourers were requited to wear and describes the "shirt and trousers" but the "r" in "shirt" is missing.

You should read "El Caballo de Oro" by Juan David Morgan first - this is an account of the construction of the railway across the Isthmus woven around the romance of the marriage of one the principal promotors. Fascinating.

An excellent history of an amazing city, 16 Sep 2005
Ignore the title: this book covers more than just the gangs. The founding of New Orleans is described in detail followed by histories of the bordellos, the history of slavery and the culture of the slaves, the history of voodoo in the city via diversions into riverboat gambling and the post-Civil War Yankee administration. An engrossing read, even surpassing the author's superlative "Gangs of New York".

N'awlins rough, 07 Jan 2004
THE GANGS OF NEW ORLEANS (in the U.S., entitled THE FRENCH QUARTER) is a history of crime, vice, and general rascality in New Orleans from its founding in 1718 by the French to the abolition of the Storyville red-light district in 1917.

In fifteen chapters, author Herbert Asbury describes the disruptive roles played by keelboat ruffians, revolutionists, gamblers, duelists, prostitutes, corrupt cops and politicians, pirates, filibusters (soldiers of fortune), vigilantes, pickpockets, muggers, thugs, the Mafia, and voodoo practitioners in the lives of the otherwise law-abiding citizenry. Anyone reading Asbury's narrative might be led to believe that good folks were a miniscule minority.

This book suffers from being first published almost seventy years ago. Aside from a number of old sketch reproductions, and several badly reproduced B&W photographs of bordello interiors and exteriors during the Storyville era, it is sadly lacking in illustration. There's not even a map of the city from which to get one's bearings.

This work is wonderfully informative as far as it goes, perhaps occasionally more so than is needed to make the point that the city, especially in the mid-1800s, could be a noxious place. The narrative is sober and straightforward, only occasionally displaying dry humor. A couple examples from the text will suffice to give one a sense of the book's tone and the city's iniquity.

Regarding barrel-houses,the lowest form of drinking place: "The owner of one such establishment not only doped all of his liquor, but maintained his own staff of sneak thieves ... (who) worked on a percentage basis and took turns robbing the sodden wretches who were dragged from the barrel-house."

Regarding the streetwalkers of the Dauphine and Burgundy Street vice area after the Civil War:
" ... the perambulating bawds flung a piece of old carpet on the sidewalk and entertained their customers in full view of passers-by and the prostitutes in the houses ... (who) kept pails of hot water handy to discourage use of the doorsteps." Hmm, I would have thought ice water more effective at shrinking amorous ardor.

Decades after THE GANGS OF NEW ORLEANS first appeared, N'awlins is a model of purity. Why, would you believe me if I said you can't even spit on the street?

Only fair, 27 Jun 1998
Kessler slams Joe Kennedy for sport. The book at times reads like a tabloid or a Fox newscast. At one point he describes Joe's job of reselling defaulted morgatges as making his living off the backs of other's misery...c'mon...

Another time he writes "the terms of the trusts (of the Kennedy children) have been the subject of constant speculation in the press. The terms--revealed here for the first time--provide for the family until all members of the first generation have died." Then he goes on to specifically note who got what and in which circumstances. Tediousness disguised as big news. It's always fun to peek into the window of the lives of famous people but the slant of this book was distracting.

I loved this book, 18 Nov 2008
I loved this book. The Panama Canal story is an extraordinary, epic tale and Matthew Parker's marvellous account more than does it justice.

The book is written with a sure feel for the grand sweep of history: the unprecedented engineering challenge, the daunting geography of the mountainous Panamanian jungles, the strategic imperatives, the complex and fascinating finances, and the heart-rending and totally unforeseen logistical difficulties that turned dreams to nightmares.

At the same time the author has a wonderful nose for characters and this book has a rich and compelling cast to propel the story along. Parker clearly is a fine historian and one of the most impressive aspects of this book is the original work he has clearly done in scouring the archives to deliver a wealth of original written accounts - letters, diaries, company memos, political machinations, and so on.

The structure of the story is fascinating. The canal was begun by the French, expected to be the crowning glory of the man who built the Suez Canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps: and the years of disaster didn't just finish him but came close to bankrupting a generation of French investors. The canal then went into a second, very different phase, after the rising power of the United States took it over as the keystone of a very modern strategic vision of the future. The Americans, it should be said, also completed it.

Parker devotes roughly half of the book to each phase, and the contrast is amazing - between, if you like, the Victorian era of Jules Verne fantasies and the modern age of skyscrapers and internal combustion engines. All this helps to make this story not just a historical epic but also a very modern tale of engineering on the grand scale.

All in all I heartily recommend this book. I read a lot of non-fiction and this has been one of the treats of the year. Buy it!

A captivating account of human endeavour, 31 Oct 2007
Matthew Parker's Panama Fever offers a captivating account of the building of one of the world's greatest engineering achievements, weaving together an impressive range of first hand sources which not only tell an extraordinary tale but transport the reader back in time and half way around the world to the untamed forests of Central America. Parker's style is fluid and engaging, skilfully mixing the poignant details of the lives and deaths of the individuals drawn together to built the canal with the grander themes of its place in history. It is a difficult balancing act for any historian to tell a story on so many levels but Parker carries it off with distinction and great stylistic flair. A first rate read.

An excellent overview of the battle to construct the Canal, 14 Mar 2007
This is an enthralling account of the history of the various endeavours to construct a canal to unite the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Isthmus of Central America, particularly at Panama. The descriptions of the hardships undergone by the mainly British West Indian labourers leaves one wondering why it was permitted. The books intensity is spellbinding. But it comes to an abrupt end once the canal is open to traffic - nearly 100 years' ago; what has happened since then?

Just one adverse comment; the editing is a bit lax, for example the author refers to the uniform that the labourers were requited to wear and describes the "shirt and trousers" but the "r" in "shirt" is missing.

You should read "El Caballo de Oro" by Juan David Morgan first - this is an account of the construction of the railway across the Isthmus woven around the romance of the marriage of one the principal promotors. Fascinating.

An excellent history of an amazing city, 16 Sep 2005
Ignore the title: this book covers more than just the gangs. The founding of New Orleans is described in detail followed by histories of the bordellos, the history of slavery and the culture of the slaves, the history of voodoo in the city via diversions into riverboat gambling and the post-Civil War Yankee administration. An engrossing read, even surpassing the author's superlative "Gangs of New York".

N'awlins rough, 07 Jan 2004
THE GANGS OF NEW ORLEANS (in the U.S., entitled THE FRENCH QUARTER) is a history of crime, vice, and general rascality in New Orleans from its founding in 1718 by the French to the abolition of the Storyville red-light district in 1917.

In fifteen chapters, author Herbert Asbury describes the disruptive roles played by keelboat ruffians, revolutionists, gamblers, duelists, prostitutes, corrupt cops and politicians, pirates, filibusters (soldiers of fortune), vigilantes, pickpockets, muggers, thugs, the Mafia, and voodoo practitioners in the lives of the otherwise law-abiding citizenry. Anyone reading Asbury's narrative might be led to believe that good folks were a miniscule minority.

This book suffers from being first published almost seventy years ago. Aside from a number of old sketch reproductions, and several badly reproduced B&W photographs of bordello interiors and exteriors during the Storyville era, it is sadly lacking in illustration. There's not even a map of the city from which to get one's bearings.

This work is wonderfully informative as far as it goes, perhaps occasionally more so than is needed to make the point that the city, especially in the mid-1800s, could be a noxious place. The narrative is sober and straightforward, only occasionally displaying dry humor. A couple examples from the text will suffice to give one a sense of the book's tone and the city's iniquity.

Regarding barrel-houses,the lowest form of drinking place: "The owner of one such establishment not only doped all of his liquor, but maintained his own staff of sneak thieves ... (who) worked on a percentage basis and took turns robbing the sodden wretches who were dragged from the barrel-house."

Regarding the streetwalkers of the Dauphine and Burgundy Street vice area after the Civil War:
" ... the perambulating bawds flung a piece of old carpet on the sidewalk and entertained their customers in full view of passers-by and the prostitutes in the houses ... (who) kept pails of hot water handy to discourage use of the doorsteps." Hmm, I would have thought ice water more effective at shrinking amorous ardor.

Decades after THE GANGS OF NEW ORLEANS first appeared, N'awlins is a model of purity. Why, would you believe me if I said you can't even spit on the street?

Only fair, 27 Jun 1998
Kessler slams Joe Kennedy for sport. The book at times reads like a tabloid or a Fox newscast. At one point he describes Joe's job of reselling defaulted morgatges as making his living off the backs of other's misery...c'mon...

Another time he writes "the terms of the trusts (of the Kennedy children) have been the subject of constant speculation in the press. The terms--revealed here for the first time--provide for the family until all members of the first generation have died." Then he goes on to specifically note who got what and in which circumstances. Tediousness disguised as big news. It's always fun to peek into the window of the lives of famous people but the slant of this book was distracting.

Could not put down, 05 Jul 2007
A fantastic adventure read which greatly improved my knowledge of the Amazon ,its history ,geography flora and fauna. I also learned a lot about old Teddy himself-strongly recommended.

I loved this book, 18 Nov 2008
I loved this book. The Panama Canal story is an extraordinary, epic tale and Matthew Parker's marvellous account more than does it justice.

The book is written with a sure feel for the grand sweep of history: the unprecedented engineering challenge, the daunting geography of the mountainous Panamanian jungles, the strategic imperatives, the complex and fascinating finances, and the heart-rending and totally unforeseen logistical difficulties that turned dreams to nightmares.

At the same time the author has a wonderful nose for characters and this book has a rich and compelling cast to propel the story along. Parker clearly is a fine historian and one of the most impressive aspects of this book is the original work he has clearly done in scouring the archives to deliver a wealth of original written accounts - letters, diaries, company memos, political machinations, and so on.

The structure of the story is fascinating. The canal was begun by the French, expected to be the crowning glory of the man who built the Suez Canal, Ferdinand de Lesseps: and the years of disaster didn't just finish him but came close to bankrupting a generation of French investors. The canal then went into a second, very different phase, after the rising power of the United States took it over as the keystone of a very modern strategic vision of the future. The Americans, it should be said, also completed it.

Parker devotes roughly half of the book to each phase, and the contrast is amazing - between, if you like, the Victorian era of Jules Verne fantasies and the modern age of skyscrapers and internal combustion engines. All this helps to make this story not just a historical epic but also a very modern tale of engineering on the grand scale.

All in all I heartily recommend this book. I read a lot of non-fiction and this has been one of the treats of the year. Buy it!

A captivating account of human endeavour, 31 Oct 2007
Matthew Parker's Panama Fever offers a captivating account of the building of one of the world's greatest engineering achievements, weaving together an impressive range of first hand sources which not only tell an extraordinary tale but transport the reader back in time and half way around the world to the untamed forests of Central America. Parker's style is fluid and engaging, skilfully mixing the poignant details of the lives and deaths of the individuals drawn together to built the canal with the grander themes of its place in history. It is a difficult balancing act for any historian to tell a story on so many levels but Parker carries it off with distinction and great stylistic flair. A first rate read.

An excellent overview of the battle to construct the Canal, 14 Mar 2007
This is an enthralling account of the history of the various endeavours to construct a canal to unite the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the Isthmus of Central America, particularly at Panama. The descriptions of the hardships undergone by the mainly British West Indian labourers leaves one wondering why it was permitted. The books intensity is spellbinding. But it comes to an abrupt end once the canal is open to traffic - nearly 100 years' ago; what has happened since then?

Just one adverse comment; the editing is a bit lax, for example the author refers to the uniform that the labourers were requited to wear and describes the "shirt and trousers" but the "r" in "shirt" is missing.

You should read "El Caballo de Oro" by Juan David Morgan first - this is an account of the construction of the railway across the Isthmus woven around the romance of the marriage of one the principal promotors. Fascinating.

An excellent history of an amazing city, 16 Sep 2005
Ignore the title: this book covers more than just the gangs. The founding of New Orleans is described in detail followed by histories of the bordellos, the history of slavery and the culture of the slaves, the history of voodoo in the city via diversions into riverboat gambling and the post-Civil War Yankee administration. An engrossing read, even surpassing the author's superlative "Gangs of New York".

N'awlins rough, 07 Jan 2004
THE GANGS OF NEW ORLEANS (in the U.S., entitled THE FRENCH QUARTER) is a history of crime, vice, and general rascality in New Orleans from its founding in 1718 by the French to the abolition of the Storyville red-light district in 1917.

In fifteen chapters, author Herbert Asbury describes the disruptive roles played by keelboat ruffians, revolutionists, gamblers, duelists, prostitutes, corrupt cops and politicians, pirates, filibusters (soldiers of fortune), vigilantes, pickpockets, muggers, thugs, the Mafia, and voodoo practitioners in the lives of the otherwise law-abiding citizenry. Anyone reading Asbury's narrative might be led to believe that good folks were a miniscule minority.

This book suffers from being first published almost seventy years ago. Aside from a number of old sketch reproductions, and several badly reproduced B&W photographs of bordello interiors and exteriors during the Storyville era, it is sadly lacking in illustration. There's not even a map of the city from which to get one's bearings.

This work is wonderfully informative as far as it goes, perhaps occasionally more so than is needed to make the point that the city, especially in the mid-1800s, could be a noxious place. The narrative is sober and straightforward, only occasionally displaying dry humor. A couple examples from the text will suffice to give one a sense of the book's tone and the city's iniquity.

Regarding barrel-houses,the lowest form of drinking place: "The owner of one such establishment not only doped all of his liquor, but maintained his own staff of sneak thieves ... (who) worked on a percentage basis and took turns robbing the sodden wretches who were dragged from the barrel-house."

Regarding the streetwalkers of the Dauphine and Burgundy Street vice area after the Civil War:
" ... the perambulating bawds flung a piece of old carpet on the sidewalk and entertained their customers in full view of passers-by and the prostitutes in the houses ... (who) kept pails of hot water handy to discourage use of the doorsteps." Hmm, I would have thought ice water more effective at shrinking amorous ardor.

Decades after THE GANGS OF NEW ORLEANS first appeared, N'awlins is a model of purity. Why, would you believe me if I said you can't even spit on the street?

Only fair, 27 Jun 1998
Kessler slams Joe Kennedy for sport. The book at times reads like a tabloid or a Fox newscast. At one point he describes Joe's job of reselling defaulted morgatges as making his living off the backs of other's misery...c'mon...

Another time he writes "the terms of the trusts (of the Kennedy children) have been the subject of constant speculation in the press. The terms--revealed here for the first time--provide for the family until all members of the first generation have died." Then he goes on to specifically note who got what and in which circumstances. Tediousness disguised as big news. It's always fun to peek into the window of the lives of famous people but the slant of this book was distracting.

Could not put down, 05 Jul 2007
A fantastic adventure read which greatly improved my knowledge of the Amazon ,its history ,geography flora and fauna. I also learned a lot about old Teddy himself-strongly recommended.

Nice book., 01 May 1999
Well-researched book that reads almost like a novel and covers a topic ignored in the high school and survey college history courses I have taken. Furthermore, I couldn't help but admire Herbert Hoover, even though I have misgivings about his undertaking and personal character (unprincipled, dishonest, and manipulative at times). His strong, iron-willed direction of the Commission for Relief in Belgium, his work ethic in keeping it afloat, and his skills as an executive and a manipulator of public opinion and government officials, are impressive.