Chinese-American journalist Lucinda Leung has been too busy covering the world's hot spots to notice that her marriage is failing and her career is on the line.

Proving herself is paramount to Lucinda, whose father was executed for "economic sabotage" in Communist China. Leung paid the ultimate price to buy his daughter's freedom. And now Lucinda is paying the price as well.

After witnessing an audacious hit on DEA agents by Columbian drug barons, Lucinda is reassigned to politically unstable Panama where she meets Peter Morrison, a footloose shipping broker investigating the arrest and disappearance of a distant cousin.

It's instant simpatico between the headstrong Lucinda and Peter, and she agrees to help him by using her influence with the guerilla leader El Lobo. A choice that may cost her her life--or Peter's.

But THE PANAMA AFFAIR is more than the story of Lucinda Leung.

Evetts fills his canvas with a palette of colorful characters: Dona Olga Vasquez, head of the Popayan Drug Cartel; Mohan Krishnaswami, whose past is inextricably linked to Lucinda's; Kirsten Gustaffsen, ice princess and financial pirate; Tom Mcarthur, a shipping agent with CIA ties.

These diverse characters are caught up in a complex tale of political and industrial espionage.

THE PANAMA AFFAIR is a meaty and ambitious thriller spanning years and continents. Evetts has poured considerable research and experience into this inventive first novel.

For something completely different in the way of espionage and intrigue-a travelogue into hell-I recommend THE PANAMA AFFAIR .

The action begins on the first page and keeps up the momentum until the final page. The characters come alive, and the author's descriptions of people and places, enable the reader to almost be there. I loved the heroine, very much a woman of our times, and I must confess to a sneaking liking of 'Mohan' (one of those involved in shady dealings). I hope that the author will write a follow up to the Panama Affair as I would love to know what happened to him! This book would make a great film!

Being a frequent traveler I usually take a book with me on my journeys, The Panama Affair took me on an around the world journey and kept my attention the whole flight (a rare phenomenon)and I couldn't wait for my next journey to finish it, but did so as soon as I got home. Evetts weaves into the plot the type of knowledge from 'been there, done it and got the tee-shirt' together with a very well put together novel that holds your attention through both a dam good plot and a variety of locations, characters and threads. I would especially recommend this book to people who have experience of the various regions (London, South America, The Caribbean and Asia) as it makes you feel that you are a part of the action.

Be spellbound by intrigue and the shadier parts of the human character.

The major drawback is that the drawings of the birds described in the book are poor so that it is often difficult to use them for identification. The text is fine. However, it is the only book available, so you have no choice.

Ridgely's guide is the best - and really the only - available field guide covering all the species of birds in the nation of Panama. While it is useful and serves most purposes, it has been over a decade since the second edition was released, and it is more than due for an overhaul and expansion. The most necessary would be the addition of range maps, that would make the book infinitely more useful in planning a trip. At the very least, there should be a single, detailed map of Panama, indicating the locations mentioned in the range descriptions! Also, it would be better to limit the scope of the book entirely to Panama, as Costa Rica and other areas to the north are covered by other guides, and the pertinent information for those areas in this book are scant, at best. Then, the isolated plates in the back need to be intergrated, as do the plates of Darien specialties, etc. Many species have been recently added to the Panama list, or split, etc, and those species need to be added. But, all this aside, this book should enable the identification of most Panama birds, and remains an indispensible resource for any birder traveling to that country.

A nicely done guide. Well-illustrated, easy to use. Worked for me in Costa Rica...

I bought this book on a whim while on vacation this summer. The author does a fine job of bringing turn of the century American history to life. That is,larger than life swashbuckeling American history. The pace and events are sort of on the lines of Indiana Jones. Our hero manages to escape certain death throughout the book, sometimes improbably, but always entertainingly. This is a swashbuckeler with a sence of humor as well. And you might learn a bit of history along the way.

Saunders' third Fenwick Travers novel finds our (anti)hero involved in the development of the Panama Canal. Just as entertaining as the earlier two novels, I just hope that Saunders writes a dozen or so more!

The Panama Canal (49 pages) by Elizabeth Mann is a well written book containing the very basic information about the canal. My disappointment is that the book was set in oversized type and every other page was an illustration. It was interesting and very easy reading. The book would be best suited for a pre-high school student.

The illustrations in this book are so good that I have offered it to my husband as a "ready made diary" of our trip to the Panama canal. The pictures capture all the beauty and the technological marvel of the canal. The book is an excellent visit in an armchair.

This book relates the history of the Panama Canal. It describes how it was planned and built. It includes a political and economical background. Also it explores the health aspects of the project and its impact on humans and animals.

This books includes many photographs from this era. Some are clear, but many are not. It also includes an index. Although this book will be useful for children that are researching the topic, it will not be easy for them to use due to the vocabulary and low interest level. Buy if you need information on this subject.

Part of the Cultural and Geographical Exploration series by National Geographic.

This is a wonderful story of a little girl that misses her mother. The illustrations throughout the book are beautiful and eye catching to the target audience. The exposure to Chabelita's culture allows young readers to experience a little bit of life that might be different from their own. This is a sweet story that transcends culture.

Desde su inicio como escritor, Le Carre se ha caracterizado por mantener el suspenso en la trama y a la vez hacer que el lector se intrigue por cada uno de los caracteres de sus novelas. Ademas, el descenlace de sus novelas es excepcional, y El Sastre de Panama no es la excepcion.

Esta novela se basa en hechos historicos de un pais atropellado por la oligarquia, politicas foraneas y los militares. Le Carre se vale de estas realidades para que su caracter principal parezca que tiene mucha influencia en el medio, la sociedad y las influencias extranjeras, como los USA.

El Sastre de Panama es una novela muy bien escrita, en una nueva linea de espionaje post-guerra fria, donde los intereses y politica de las potencias son totalmente diferentes. Es un excelente libro.

I found a copy of the Time for Tyrants in Panama in 1999, and read it in total fascination. I had my own background having visited the country periodically since the period of Torrijos in the 70s, and was a frequent visitor in the period 1986 to 1989, while my firm was trying to complete a contract there.

The book provides a no holds barred detailed account of how the systematic corruption developed under Torrijos and how the torch or key to the cash box was passed to Norriega.

The book records the initial visits by Torrijos to Sweden in the 70s related to major power projects which started the cash flowing, and thereby established the rewards for those that controlled the government. Torrijos and then Norriega set up and maintained the system of total control by non elected individuals.

An important element of this book by Koster and Sanchez is their description of how the US government supported the various tyrants as part of their Canal policy throughout this period until the last year of so of Norriega's reign.

During the last two years of Norriega up to the American invasion the book details the murder, torture, kidnapping and destruction of democracy that were directly orchestrated by Norriega, and the failure of the half hearted attempts by the US government to control or remove him.

As the book recounts, the last two terrible years of Norriega were not necessary. The US government could have dealt with the problem earlier, and avoided the misery that fell on Panama.

During my visits through 1988-1989 I was witness to the abuse of Norriega's "dobermans", and the resistance, especially from the white collar segment of the population. Panama was a seriously dangerous place for everyone at that time.

Koster and Sanchez also imply that there is a culture in Panama that made this saga posible. That Martin Torrijos (son of Omar) could be a credible and nearly successful candidate for President in the 1999 elections illustrates this message only too well.

I bought this volume first and should have thought of it but I didn't ... since the central neotropics have many of the animals of the northern and the southern areas of the continent, many animals are only covered in shorthand style in this volume, as they've already been described in the other two volumes.

The relatively small number of color-plates was also a bit disappointing. Finally the size of the book (height & breadth) makes it a real challenge to take with you on a field trip. The information on species that *are* described in detail in this volume, however, is excellent. Distribution maps, behavior, detailed measurements, anatomical details and lots of references to source literature make it a joy to read and browse through.

In summary I'd say that, provided you purchase the whole series, it's an excellent reference and clearly deserves 5 stars. As a field guide it's of limited use, because it's so bulky, so that's 3 stars. ... makes 4 stars on average.