BRIDGING BARRIERS

An engineer celebrates a quirky leader behind several public works projects in Guatemala.

In this debut memoir, Paddock describes the decades of work he did in the Guatemalan highlands through Engineers Without Borders, building bridges and bringing clean water to rural communities. Although the author narrates the story, he is a minor character. The book’s focus is on Michael Shawcross, a British expatriate made his home in the highlands, and served as a link between the communities he lived in and the Western volunteers who supplied knowledge and equipment; he died in 2014. Known to all as Don Mike, Shawcross is a larger-than-life figure in these pages, famous for his diplomatic abilities as well as the much-repaired white Land Cruiser that took him and Paddock to their projects. (The book includes photographs from various sources, many of which feature Don Mike’s Santa Claus–esque beard and make his raconteur qualities evident.) The author concentrates on two projects the pair worked on: a bridge over a dangerous river and a plumbing system that brought potable water to a village for the first time. Don Mike served as a human bridge, teaching Paddock about Guatemala’s recent history (“Although it may not be openly discussed, the past is part of the context of every project,” he says) and helping local communities develop ownership over undertakings that required outside help. The author values both the labor and the expertise of the Guatemalans who worked on the projects, and local residents like Mincho, Rolando, and Gavina are fully developed, authentic characters whose efforts are crucial to the enterprises’ success. Paddock is a solid writer with an occasional vivid turn of phrase (“The next morning, eighty workers lifted the cages and slowly moved them onto the bridge like a centipede with 160 legs”), and the book is both enjoyable and informative. Don Mike comes off as unique without being eccentric, making him a compelling protagonist. Fans of Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains are likely to enjoy this inside look at locally driven international development.

A well-written tribute to engineering projects and the volunteers who run them.