“The Panama Canal is a human feat of engineering magnificence, but who built it, at what cost and who had gathered in Panama in 1907?”
The Panama Canal transformed global trade and industry by giving ships passage through from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean.
But what of those that were involved in construction or the hard labour involved?
Author Cristina Henriquez puts the spotlight on those that fought and lost and tried to make sense of of the impacts on their communities and livelihoods.
The grand scheme planned was beyond their imagination and the simplicity of their lives clash with the new grandiose engineering.
Cristina captures this in her portrayal of the people – the human side, that is often forgotten as building development ploughs (literally) through a small nation.
Profound and thoughtful, The Great Divide stops you to pause and ponder the process undertaken that gave us the Panama Canal and something we now take for granted in our modern lives.
ISBN 9780008607999
Harper Collins