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Getting to Know the General Graham Greene 9780886190767 Books

Download As PDF : Getting to Know the General Graham Greene 9780886190767 Books

Getting to Know the General Graham Greene 9780886190767 Books

Excellent


Tags : Getting to Know the General [Graham Greene] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In August 1981 my bag was packed for my fifth visit to Panama when the news came to me over the telephone of the death of General Omar Torrijos Herrera,Graham Greene,Getting to Know the General,Lester & Orpen Dennys,0886190762

Getting to Know the General Graham Greene 9780886190767 Books Reviews

A very interesting book. As always with Graham Greene, it is very well written, but it is also a very observant portrait of not only Omar Torrijos, but of Panama and Central America during the late 1970's and early 1980's. Well worth buying.
I must apologize for this brief review. It is my third attempt that entailed many hours of work; however, I did NOT submit any of this review material for publication. The material was lost through some combination of my and the Publisher's inadquacies. I hope that the earlier work is discovered and that all three tries are integrated. In my first attempts, I covered Graham Greene (GG) books in the context of audiences and comparisons with other writers. Next. I covered the five-year interrelationship between GG and General Omar Torrijos Herrera. GG was surprised to be invited by the General to Panama, and a one-time visit was extended to five. GG was surprised and pleased that the General already knew about GG's visits to Cuba, Haiti, etc. GG came to love the General (no eroticism implied). These were turbulent times in Latin America, and most important to Panama was the US- controlled Canal and Zone. The General lived to see the successful transfer of Canal and Zone to Panama. Torrijos, with encouragement from GG, dreamed of a social-democratic Central America, providing hope for people without enraging the US (always suspecting Communism). This new national entity would have minimized or eliminated poverty, racial persecutions, and the entry of illegal immigrants into the US! Unfortunately, the General died in a small plane crash, and the planting of a new, small, and disguised bomb was suspected. Finally, I discussed some typical GG behavior Experience with bad food and drink and delight in discovering the good stuff. GG was of course horrified at the contrast between Canal Zone and Panamanian living. One instance was a fetid slum called "Hollywood" on the border with the Zone and its manicured homes and yards. GG traveled widely from the mountains of the North, to Boca de Toros Island (the Westernmost reach of Columbus along the Northern Coast of South America (he didn't land), to the San Blas Islands where the Kuna Indians make the beautiful Molas, to Darien where Balboa discovered the Pacific. Darien deserves furrther comment--It is one of the few unspoiled. tropical jungle regions in South America. This is because the Pan-American Highway was not built through it, out of fear of the spread of hoof-and-mouth disease. Now the fauna and Indians must share the land with drug runners. GG thought his writing days were over. 'The Human Factor" had been abandoned and resumed five years later. But newly inspired, GG planned a book to be called "On the Way Back," that dealt primarily with his travels with Chuchu. Alas, the book was never written. If I have one complaint, it is this the book might have been entitled "Getting to Know Chuchu." Sgt. Chuchu ( Jose de Jesus Martinez) was the General's main adjunct. Formerly, he had been a Professor of Marxist Philosophy and Professor of Mathematics at Panama University. Because of the General's many duties and responsibilities, Chuchu was GG's usual companion and escort. Unfortunately, Chuchu died in a bombed car.
It was a disappointing read, since it was more about the general's trusted advisor, Chuchu than about the general himself. That is General Omar Torrijos of Panama, the general who cared for the poor and downtrodden.
Good lesson on a topic that American media routinely refuses to cover, and that is the United States' own crimes against Latin America.
"Getting to Know the General" is a fascinating look at the casual access a famous writer was able to have to the leader of a Central American country as recently as the '70's. As a work of history it is adequate, but getting inside the society the general kept and getting a glimpse at this famous author's proclivities are the true riches to be mined from this book. An easy read as well.
Excellent