- Paperback: 196 pages
- Publisher: Booklocker.com (June 2006)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 159113997X
- ISBN-13: 978-1591139973
- Product Dimensions: 21.1 x 14 x 1.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 227 g
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
-
Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#750,872 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #29 in Books > History > Americas > Central America > Panama
- #43 in Books > Travel > Latin America > Central America > Panama
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
Darrin DuFord hikes, bribes, and barters his way across Panama, an overlooked filament of the tropics. Sampling barbecued jungle rodent and corn homebrew, DuFord encounters a land where the machete can slash through just about anything, —except the nation'’s spirit.
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Is There a Hole in the Boat?,
By Tami Brady "Whole Health" (Calgary, Canada) - See all my reviews (HALL OF FAME) (TOP 50 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Is There a Hole in the Boat? Tales of Travel in Panama Without a Car (Paperback)
Oftentimes, I get a little frustrated with travelogues. Some contain nothing but funny stories about their travels. I read, I laugh, but not much of these stories actually stick with me for any length of time. When asked, I say the book was funny but that's about all I remember.Conversely, some such books are incredibly dry. These books tend to be quite anthological in nature so they have a good deal of cultural information. I love learning about other cultures, beliefs, and lifeways. I also enjoy little tidbits of information or trivia. Therefore, I tend to enjoy the actual content of these books but truthfully they are hard to get through. Is There a Hole in the Boat? takes the best of both types of travelogues and makes them into entertaining yet substantial whole. I came away from this book with more insight into Panama; its political and social issues, and most importantly its people. Panama is so much more than a canal.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
One of the worst books I have ever read.,
This review is from: Is There a Hole in the Boat? Tales of Travel in Panama Without a Car (Paperback)
This book reads like the author has a grade six education and has just taken a correspondence course named "Add more color to your writing in three easy lessons". I could only read about thirty pages before it got to be too much. He uses such memorable phrases as "...I emerged from the bowels of the public bus." And "Only the most casual drip of commerce rode out the afternoon,..." whatever that means.Not to put too fine a point on it, but this book is crap. Avoid this book.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars (8 customer reviews) 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Delightful, entertaining, informative book, highly recommended,
By Laurel Johnson - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Is There a Hole in the Boat? Tales of Travel in Panama Without a Car (Paperback)
Whatever the genre, I enjoy books that intrigue my mind and engage my emotions in unexpected ways. This ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Finalist managed to intrigue and engage in the first page and didn't let up until the last word. Darrin DuFord shares a charming account of his Panamanian travels, through vivid descriptions of the country's topography, humorous details of his attempts to accept each new experience, and respectful acceptance of the cultural differences. As indicated by the title, this is NOT a dry how-to, where-to travelogue.DuFord deliberately set out to travel Panama as the natives do. By land, he hikes, bribes and barters his way from place to place in colorfully painted buses, dilapidated taxis and pick ups. By river and sea he crams his American frame into dugouts made for natives half his size, forced to bail water from leaky boats. Other times, he experiences the unique flora and fauna on foot with native guides who take delight in pointing out poisonous snakes and spiders and rats as big as cats. DuFord meets all the biting wildlife you can imagine close up. For nourishment, he bravely eats and drinks whatever the natives offer, delicacies not found in the North American diet. Except for the Canal Zone, most of Panama is a land without Western amenities. Potable running water is a luxury. Public transportation is a raucous adventure. Areas of clear cut rainforest deplete native food sources at an alarming rate. Still, Panama's people are hopeful and adaptable, cheerful, warm and welcoming. From native kings to sly guides to scientists, the stars of DuFord's travels are the people he meets along the way. This author's writing style is personable, his book delightful. Readers will learn a lot about Panama and its people, and enjoy themselves immensely in the process. 2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
take a trip to Panama,
By book.of.the.moment "reviewer" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Is There a Hole in the Boat? Tales of Travel in Panama Without a Car (Paperback)
I'm not sure exactly what it is I was expecting when I started reading this book, but whatever it was, it wasn't what I got. I'm not saying I hated the book, because there were parts of it that I did enjoy. Other parts of it though, I found to be..well..boring.The book is about the author's travel through Panama, and is filled with tales of politics, food, and day to day life in a tropical no man's land. Parts of the book made me laugh out loud, and there were times when the world around me seemed to disappear and I was there in Panama with the author, up to my knees in mud. Other times I found my mind wandering, completely uninterested in the story before me. If you enjoy travel narratives, or are just interested in Panama, you should definitely check out this book. True, parts of it may have bored me, but just because it doesn't fall within my realm of interests doesn't mean you won't enjoy it. This book is full of information and description; those of you interested in Panama will LOVE it. The author also includes a pretty extensive bibliography at the end, for further reading pleasure. 4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Panama Culture and Cuisine,
By Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Is There a Hole in the Boat? Tales of Travel in Panama Without a Car (Paperback)
Darrin DuFord's tales of wanderlust provide an invigorating read as he explores untamed lands and weaves in historical details to give context. Curiosity leads him to new discoveries in this travelogue filled with stories of hunting and fishing in a wild terrain. As he paints a vivid picture of life in Panama, his writing reveals an exotic tour of culinary feasts.He drinks a lemongrass tea, quenches his thirst with sea grapes and samples exotic fruit shakes. The villagers' love of music gives him opportunity to exchange his band's CD for a boat ride and he learns how to barter and survive through creative means. The stories of fishing tilapia made me hungry as he describes everything from the boat ride to the final preparation and delicious feast. Many of the most intriguing stories include details of the lives of the villagers and how they survive, even in places where they must find creative means to obtain water. A journey to find a fresh palm heart from a tree becomes as much an adventure as stories of medicine men, ancient curses, celebrations and trips to a famous hermit's beach hideout. Villagers must travel to the city to check their email and they seem to face their life challenges with a sense of humor and patience. Darrin DuFord's powers of description glow with a precision that creates flashes of images in the mind's eye making this as visually stunning and creatively intoxicating. As an extremely talented travel writer, his articles have also appeared in The Panama News and Transitions Abroad. His latest recipes and articles can also be found on his website "Omnivorous Traveler." I can highly recommend this to you if you enjoy culinary adventures and vivid descriptions of exotic locales. ~The Rebecca Review |
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > History > Americas > Central America > Panama
- Books > Reference > Writing > Travel
- Books > Travel > Latin America > Central America > Panama
- Books > Travel > Latin America > South America
- Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Essays & Travelogues
- Books > Travel > Reference & Tips > Travel Writing
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
