While enjoying a day at the beach (Santa Clara) recently, Tom and I met a young American family. The Mom, Ingrid, was tending to baby Maren, while Dad (Erik) was speaking with the housekeeper at his nearby hotel room. We overheard this young man from Chicago speaking excellent Spanish, so we asked him how he came to be fluent.
In a casual way, Erik told us that he had been born and raised in Panama, but had be forced to flee at the age of 12 with his family because of his father's involvement in the undermining of General Manuel Noriega's notoriously oppressive regime. Well, this caught our interest, to say the least! In the course of further conversation, Erik told us about his father, Kurt Muse, and that a book had been written about the family's ordeal, his rescue and how it was interwoven with the overthrow of Noriega in 1989.
After saying our goodbyes to the Muses, Tom and I decided that we needed to read this book, so we ordered it for our Kindle 3G right away, with me winning dibs on the first read! Once I had finished the book, which I found difficult to put down, I knew that I should share my review with our followers.
Even for those who don't have much interest in Panama, or its history and politics, this is still a fascinating story. For those who want to visit or live in Panama (or who live here now), reading the book will definitely give some perspective as to how far the country has come in terms of personal liberty. It's hard to image that such an oppressive police state existed here as recently as 1989; in 2012, people are free to raise families, build businesses, live their lives, without the fear of imprisonment and torture because they may have criticized the government.
The strong faith of the entire Muse family and their friends, as demonstrated throughout the course of their escape from Noriega's thugs, give an added depth to the story. The quiet dignity of Kurt Muse as he endures months of interrogation, psychological torture and confinement in the notorious Modelo prison is as inspiring as his unwavering faith. I must say that I really enjoyed this book, and it has piqued my interest in learning more about Panamanian history and politics.
If you would like to check it out, the book can be ordered, in Kindle format or "old school style", by clicking the book title in Amazon box below. Enjoy!!
In a casual way, Erik told us that he had been born and raised in Panama, but had be forced to flee at the age of 12 with his family because of his father's involvement in the undermining of General Manuel Noriega's notoriously oppressive regime. Well, this caught our interest, to say the least! In the course of further conversation, Erik told us about his father, Kurt Muse, and that a book had been written about the family's ordeal, his rescue and how it was interwoven with the overthrow of Noriega in 1989.
After saying our goodbyes to the Muses, Tom and I decided that we needed to read this book, so we ordered it for our Kindle 3G right away, with me winning dibs on the first read! Once I had finished the book, which I found difficult to put down, I knew that I should share my review with our followers.
Even for those who don't have much interest in Panama, or its history and politics, this is still a fascinating story. For those who want to visit or live in Panama (or who live here now), reading the book will definitely give some perspective as to how far the country has come in terms of personal liberty. It's hard to image that such an oppressive police state existed here as recently as 1989; in 2012, people are free to raise families, build businesses, live their lives, without the fear of imprisonment and torture because they may have criticized the government.
The strong faith of the entire Muse family and their friends, as demonstrated throughout the course of their escape from Noriega's thugs, give an added depth to the story. The quiet dignity of Kurt Muse as he endures months of interrogation, psychological torture and confinement in the notorious Modelo prison is as inspiring as his unwavering faith. I must say that I really enjoyed this book, and it has piqued my interest in learning more about Panamanian history and politics.
If you would like to check it out, the book can be ordered, in Kindle format or "old school style", by clicking the book title in Amazon box below. Enjoy!!
Wow! What a great meeting! I can imagine you probably picked his brain about a lot of this "Panama". Very cool. I will put it on the list for one of these days!
ReplyDeleteA good friend of mine fought in that war, I heard "somethings"...S J MArshall
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