A couple of years ago I read “Path Between the Seas” by McCullough. That is also very good. That is actually why I bought the Adams book. Just picked up “Truman” at a thrift shop for $4....a steal. Lots of reading coming up!
I lived in Panama for 4 years. When I read the Path Between the Seas I was aghast at all the suffering. The notes from the journals of the French surveyors were beyond imagination.
I did my boy scout days there, camping at Camp Chagres on Gatun Lake. The wildlife posed tremendous problems. I heard that two kids were killed by Fer-de-lance bites on one summer....after I left.