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Title: Gives You That Sinking Feeling
Review: This book is a mess. It reads in the third person, and the central character isn't the name of the author, so confusion sets in right away. Is it a biography? Is it a failed novel? Nautical terms are dropped without explanation, and anecdotes don't make sense because there's no framing concept in which to understand them. Pilots are almost universally portrayed as dysfunctional, raging alcoholics with blustery egos. Everybody drinks and drinks. There's so much alcohol fueling this book you'll wake up with a hangover. The dialogue is wooden and forced. While the story appears to be deeply personal, it is to such a point that the reader learns a lot more about the author than about Panama, its history, the Panama Canal, and first-hand relations between the U.S. and the Panamanians. A lack of maps and photos make references to geographical points almost useless.
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