THE PANAMA AFFAIR

by Maron Simon ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1971

To contemporary Frenchmen, Ferdinand de Lesseps, the builder of Suez, was ""le Grand Francais,"" a national hero. In 1880, when de Lesseps announced the formation of a Panama Company to construct a canal across the Isthmus, Frenchmen of every class rushed to entrust their savings to the venture that promised, in nine short years, to revolutionize international commerce and make its backers rich. (Suez shares were paying 17%.) Malaria, escalating construction costs, the cupidity of promoters and de Lesseps' own extravagant, blinding optimism (""He mined an inexhaustible lode of silver linings and vaulted over obstacles with acrobatic grace"") quickly involved the Panama Company in a spiral of graft and misrepresentation. For years doubters and critics were stilled or co-opted with founders' shares and fat emoluments. When the bubble broke in 1889 the scene was set for a financial scandal that rocked the none-too-stable Third Republic and began a sauve qui peut scramble which reached into the highest financial and government circles. Simon's account of the Panama convulsions, the first major book on this sordid, garish chapter in French history, is lively and entertaining as well as meticulously scholarly. Following the Company's collapse, the Chamber's investigating committee hearings became ""the most spectacular show in Paris."" Simon dishes up the mud, the calumnies and the duels fought between the insulted and the injured with brisk relish. Although those not familiar with the politics of the Third Republic are likely to be bewildered by the myriad characters, the book is good enough to deserve an audience outside strictly academic circles.

Pub Date: April 1, 1971

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Scribners

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1971

Categories: NONFICTION