Pat Markun lived in the Canal Zone as a United States citizen living abroad. So did I.

From 1969 (when I was born) until 1984 I lived in the Canal Zone, the son of an American civilian who taught in the school system of the Canal Zone. I lived near, and depended on, America's Canal.

Like many "Zonians" my homeland was the Canal Zone, I considered it to be my birthplace.

And then came the Carter-Torrijos treaty and the agreement to turn over the Canal.

Pat Markun does a nice job of reviewing the history of the construction of the Canal and its recent history... For a student of its past, present, and future, it is a great reminder of the political machinations, years of struggle and strife, transition plans and policies, and ultimately serves as a reminder of why the Canal is now Panama's.

If the book has any weakness for this Zonian reader, it is that is skims over the history of those Americans who spent the better part of their lives working on, in, or near the Canal. But, as Pat Markun's title so eloquently reminds us, it is "Panama's Canal" now.

This book is a boy who wants to paint.But then he has no paper.Then he asks his neighbors for paper but they don`t have any paper.So then he asks his Dad to paint on the house but he can`t.Then he got so upset that his parents let him paint.Then he painted all the houses.