Living at the Crossroads, isthmus PANAMA, guide, 1957

Living at the Crossroads; A Guide to the Isthmus of Panama
edited and compiled by
Helen Gunner Schull, Marjorie Kingsland Woodruff, Yolanda Camarano De Sucre

[PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR MORE PICTURES]

 DETAILS: (Panama): Imprenta Nacional, 1957. First edition. Original red printed paper wraps. 165, [1]pp. Numerous b/w illustrations within the text. Size: 8vo - 5.5in (14cm) by 7.5in (19cm) (standard sized book).

CONDITION: Good (see table below for details). Sunning, chipping and edgewear to wraps and spine. Creases to rear wrap. Small pieces missing to top and bottom of spine. Some sunning to pages. Still a tidy copy in original wraps. *Photo(s) given of actual book.

CONTENTS: A guide to living in Panama circa 1957, the text has the distinction of being one of the few English-language texts published within Panama at that time. Written by members of the InterAmerican Women's Club, and especially those living in Panama at the time, the provides a wealth of detail about day-to-day life in the Canal Zone and elsewhere in the country.

The book also includes several memorable descriptions of special events such as a four-day carnival, where 'Costumes are designed around the group as a whole. Witches, Indians, Romans wearing Togas are some of the more ordinary comparsa. South Sea Island cannibals (complete with pot, firewood and missionary), devil-women and angel-men, mermaids and mermen, even 'termites' who arrived in a huge papier mache log, are some of the unusual costumes we remember.'

Chapter titles include: 'The Tropical Homemaker', 'Tropical Fruits and Vegetables' (including a section of recipes), 'Your Children's Panama Adventures', 'Carnival', 'Getting Away From It All', 'Fishing, Hunting, and Skin-Diving', 'What to Buy and Where', 'To Join or Not To Join', and 'Churches of the Isthmus'.