Panama Library

Biblioteca De Panamá

The following is a list of books (mostly histories) pertaining to Panama and the Canal Zone. These books describe the events and background that resulted in the coins, tokens, medals and other objects listed in the Coins-of-Panama online catalog. With each book is a short review and some idea of price and/or rarity.

These reviews are solely my personal opinion as of the time of review, presented as a service. I make no guarantees that your opinion will match mine. Purchase or read these books at your own risk - I disclaim all responsibility.

Ratings are awarded between 1 and 5 stars, where 5 is the best. Books are evaluated as to the information they contain and excellence of writing style.

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For your convenience I have inserted links to Amazon that may have some of these books available (also for my convenience, since I get a small commission if you buy something after using these links).

Bullard, Arthur. Panama: The Canal, the Country and the People. New York: Macmillan Company, 1914. Revised and enlarged edition of 1911 book with the same title written by Albert Edwards (who is the same person). Hardcover, 601 pages.

*** (Three Stars). Arthur Bullard is the real name of the author Albert Edwards. Bullard visited the Panama Canal in 1909 and 1911, and wrote several magazine articles. This book incorporates those articles on such subjects as social life of the canal workers, socialism and the canal, and the Cucaracha slide with a travelogue and a detailed history recital from discovery to the present. The end result is a strange mixture. Combined with Bullard's racial and cultural prejudices, the best I can give this book is a lukewarm recommendation. It has 44 photos. This book in its various editions is one of the most common from this era.

Edwards, Albert. Panama: The Canal, the Country and the People. New York: Macmillan Company, 1911. Reprinted 1912 and 1913. See Bullard, Arthur regarding the 1914 edition. Hardcover, 585 pages.

*** (Three Stars). Arthur Bullard is the real name of the author Albert Edwards. Bullard visited the Panama Canal in 1909 and 1911, and wrote several magazine articles. This book incorporates those articles on such subjects as social life of the canal workers, socialism and the canal, and the Cucaracha slide with a travelogue and a detailed history recital from discovery to the present. The end result is a strange mixture. Combined with Bullard's racial and cultural prejudices, the best I can give this book is a lukewarm recommendation. It has 45 photos. This book in its various editions is one of the most common from this era.

Howarth, David. Panama: Four Hundred Years of Dreams and Cruelty. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966. Hardcover, 297 pages.

***** (Five Stars). One of the best histories of Panama for the rest of us, and very readable. Covers from Spanish discovery through the Republic of Panama from 1914 to 1966. Howarth is a British author. No illustrations.

Howarth, David. The Golden Isthmus. London: Collins Clear-Type Press, 1966. Hardcover, 285 pages.

***** (Five Stars). This is the British version of the same book as above. However, this edition has 15 pages of illustrations not included in the American edition (perhaps for copyright reasons). So this is the better edition, if you can find it. Scarce.

Mack, Gerstle. The Land Divided: A History of the Panama Canal and Other Isthmian Canal Projects. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1944. Hardcover, 650 pages.

***** (Five Stars). Well-written, and easy to read. Covers from the first thoughts of a canal by the Spanish to the American Canal completion and beyond to the early 1940's, with a lot of detail. Pretty close to a "definitive history" of the Panama Canal, I recommend it highly. In particular it is rare to find coverage of the post-completion era and the inception of the third set of locks project. It has 45 photos and 17 maps or diagrams. Scarce or rare.

Minter, John Easter. The Chagres: River of Westward Passage. New York: Rhinehart & Company, 1948. Hardcover, 418 pages.

**** (Four Stars). Minter starts with the history of Panama from the formation of the land as it may have happened and takes it through 1948. Minter gives a lot of attention to the pre-Canal history. Be aware that some of his stories are suspect - for instance, there are several contradictory stories about some incidents in Balboa's life. In cases like that, Minter just chooses one version and presents it without mentioning the other versions of the story. It reads well, but at the cost of historical accuracy. This volume contains no photos, just a few maps and drawings. Scarce.

Rojas y Arrieta, Guillermo. History of the Bishops of Panama. Panama: Imprenta de la Academia, 1929. Hardcover, 255 pages.

*** (Three Stars). This is a history of the Catholic Church and its Bishops in Panama from 1514 to 1929. It is not that well written, but is interesting as a look at over 400 years of Panama's history from the Spanish and Panamanian points of view. It was based on materials in the archives of the Catholic Church in Panama, and contains information not found anywhere else. It is illustrated with a pull-out map and a few photos. This volume is rare, but Julius Grigore sells a special reprint on ebay (ebay seller id scadta@home.com).

Seiler, Lieutenant Dayton "Indian Haven Off the Panama Coast" The National Geographic Magazine. Volume 79, No. 2, (February 1941): pp. 193-220.

(Review Pending). Article about the San Blas Indians. 28 photos, some color and some black and white.

Tinnin, J.V. Roughing It In The San Blas Islands. Panama City, Panama: Panama American Publishing Company, 1940. Hardcover, 135 pages.

***** (Five Stars). A pleasant book, very well-written. Tinnin shares with us his journey to visit numerous San Blas islands. He makes this simple trip come alive as he describes the people he meets and the customs of the San Blas Indians. He tells us a little history, including the best account I've read of the "San Blas War". 41 black and white photos. Scarce.

Anderson, Dr. C.L.G. Old Panama and Castilla Del Oro. New York: North River Press, 1911, 1938. Hardcover, 559 pages.

**** (Four Stars). Covers from the voyages of Columbus to the Scottish Darien settlement. It is a well-researched and fairly detailed account of different voyages of exploration, descriptions of the Spanish settlements, the American Indians, attacks by the English and by pirates, etc. I found it interesting, but somewhat overwhelming in detail at times. 25 illustrations. Scarce.

Carles, Ruben Dario. Old Panama: Panama La Vieja. Translated by Patrick J. Smyth. Panama: La Estrella de Panama, 1960. Softcover, 20 pages.

*** (Three Stars). Carles wrote several of these short little booklets on different Panama topics. About ten pages of this booklet summarize the history of the city of Old Panama. The remaining few pages discuss the physical layout of the city and the principal buildings. It has five photos or drawings and one map of old Panama City. I was disappointed in this book; the history is sketchy and does not include anything not found in many other books; likewise although many buildings were discussed, the only photos are of the same buildings appear elsewhere - the Cathedral and the Convent of the Nuns of the Inmaculate Conception.

Ford, Douglas. Admiral Vernon and the Navy: A Memoir and Vindication. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1907. Hardcover, 322 pages.

*** (Three Stars). An autobiography of Admiral Vernon, as much as possible when writing two centuries later with limited material. The writing style is okay, sometimes dry but other times easy to read and interesting. The author stretches the little pieces known of Edward Vernon's life by giving us background information on important people in his life and the history happening around him. For instance, Lieutenant Vernon participated in the capture of Gibraltar by the British, and that event is described although little is known of Vernon's exact role. He does not give the same detailed description of the attacks on Porto Bello, Cartagena, etc. you can get from other authors, but he does give background I have not seen elsewhere. 15 illustrations. Rare.

Hart, Francis Russel. Admirals of the Caribbean. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Riverside Press, 1922. Hardcover, 189 pages.

***** (Five Stars). Covers Drake, Morgan and Vernon among other British admirals. Well written. 16 illustrations including maps. Scarce.

Hart, Francis Russel. The Disaster of Darien: The Story of the Scots Settlement and the Causes of its Failure 1699-1701. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Riverside Press, 1929. Hardcover, 433 pages.

*** (Three Stars). Rather dry and slow-moving, but perhaps that is just the nature of the story. Has 180 pages of the story and then many appendix with relevant documents. Seven illustrations. Scarce.

Prebble, John. The Darien Disaster: A Scots Colony in the New World 1698-1700. Bristol, England: Western Printing Services Limited, 1968. Hardcover, 366 pages.

(Review Pending). 316 pages of the story, principal characters, ships chronology, sources and bibliography, etc. Pictures of a number of the wealthier characters, some maps. Scarce.

Davis, Richard Harding. Three Gringos in Venezuela and Central America. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1896. Reprinted 1903. Hardcover, 282 pages. Reprinted 2002 by Fredonia Books. Softcover, 300 pages.

*** (Three Stars). This is a well-written and illustrated travel book that includes a chapter on Panama, while it was part of Columbia in 1894. The chapter in question is titled "On the Isthmus of Panama". It is 27 pages long and includes seven illustrations of Panama (overall the book has 68 illustrations). The Panama chapter is mostly about the state of the French Canal effort - 800 men working where once 12,000 were occupied. It does include descriptions of Panama City and Colon. For instance, the author found the train traffic in Colon loud and obnoxious.

Fabens, Joseph W. A Story of Life on the Isthmus New York: G.P. Putnam & Company, 1853. Hardcover.

(Review Pending). Rare.

Gisborne, Lionel. The Isthmus of Darien in 1852. London: Saunders & Stratford, 1853. Hardcover.

(Review Pending). Rare.

Gregory, Joseph W. Gregory's Guide for California Travelers Via the Isthmus of Panama. New York: Nafis & Cornish, 1850. Hardcover.

(Review Pending). Rare.

Griswold, Chauncey D. The Isthmus of Panama, and What I Saw There. New York: Dewitt & Davenport, 1852. Hardcover.

(Review Pending). Rare.

Kemble, John Haskell. The Panama Route: 1848-1869. Berkley: University of California Press, 1943. Reprints 1943, 1970, 1972 and 1990. Hardcover, 316 pages.

** (Two Stars). About twenty illustrations, mostly of steam ships. Kemble's subject matter is really the steam ships that traveled to Panama, who owned them, their business struggles, design, rates, etc. Panama itself is given 34 pages in a chapter which is a quick summary of the difficulties of the argonauts in crossing Panama and the building of the railroad, with an unusual point of view. This unusual point of view is that all the difficulties, disease and deaths were exaggerated, and were not that bad. The writing is very dry, full of facts but lacking any life. Scarce or rare.

Nelson, Wolfred. Five Years at Panama. New York: Belford Company, 1889. Hardcover.

(Review Pending). Rare.

Nicholas, Frances C. Around the Caribbean and Across Panama. Boston: H. M. Caldwell Company, 1903. Hardcover, 373 pages.

* (One Star). Nicholas gives us a sour and uninspired account of his travels in various countries including the area which is today the country of Panama. Of this book, three chapters (31 pages) are related to Panama. Nicholas presents some lack-luster descriptions of Colon, Panama City and the ride in between. To quote Nicholas: "There is little of real interest", "country has been disappointing". I agree, only those are my feelings about this book. The most interesting parts were the accounts of how his porters in Panama City and Colon cheated him. There are three photos of Panama and one map. Scarce.

Otis, Dr. F. N. Illustrated History of the Panama Railroad. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1862. (2nd Edition). Hardcover. Reprinted 1940, 273 pages.

(Review Pending). Rare.

Perez-Venero, Alex. Before the Five Frontiers: Panama from 1821 to 1903. New York: AMS Press, 1978. Hardcover, 199 pages.

(Review Pending). No illustrations. Scarce.

Robinson, Tracy. Fifty Years at Panama, 1861-1911. New York: Trow Press, 1911. Hardcover.

(Review Pending). Rare.

Robinson, Tracy. Panama, A Personal Record of Forty-Six Years, 1861-1907. Panama: The Star & Herald Company, 1907.

*** (Three Stars). Robinson's book is unique in covering Panama from 1861 to 1907 from the perspective of personal experience. However, he was not a professional writer and his book does not have a lot of structure. Robinson jumps back and forth in time as he talks about railroad men he knew, ship captains he knew, ship disasters, etc. He tells many interesting little stories, but sometimes frustrates the reader by what he does not say. Rare.

Schott, Joseph L. Rails Across Panama: The Story of the Building of the Panama Railroad 1849-1855. New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1967. Hardcover, 224 pages.

***** (Five Stars). Nine illustrations (drawings). More than a history of the building of the Panama Railroad, this is a history of Panama during the years 1849 to 1855, with an emphasis on the activities of Americans. Well researched and well written. Scarce or rare.

Tomes, Robert. PANAMA in 1855: An Account of the Panama Railroad, of the cities of Panama and Aspinwall, with sketches of life and character on the Isthmus. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1855. Hardcover.

(Review Pending). Rare. Offered at $325 by one vendor.

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