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"The history and operations of the Panama Canal during the 1980s and 1990s come to life in this vibrant personal memoir by retired canal pilot Kenneth P. Puckett. In this book, Captain Puckett shares ""sea stories"" and other personal memories that have made him a popular teacher and lecturer. For nearly 16 years, until he retired in 1996, he helped to guide ships through the historic Panama Canal on more than 1,400 transits. On these pages he navigates through tales of his rocky childhood in northern Kentucky; his military adventures in both the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army, where he served two tours of Vietnam; and what it was like in Panama in the 1980s as the Central American country fell into chaos under the dictatorship of Manuel Noriega. Enjoy the breezy storytelling of Captain Puckett as he shares what it was like being a maritime pilot on the canal during its turbulent years of transition to ownership by Panama after nearly a century under U.S. control. But don't think Captain Puckett didn't have fun along the way. He blends into this autobiography many of his unforgettable sea stories, such as the time he encountered a ""pooping monkey"" on a ship's bridge, and the time he once pranked a ship's captain into thinking he had plowed his vessel through a banana farm."

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9780692086117

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Captain Kenneth P. Puckett got his start on ships at age 14 working on a ferry on the Ohio River. He joined the U.S. Navy while still a teen, then in 1966 transferred to the U.S. Army to help operate its ships. In 1974, he received his bachelor's degree from State University of New York Maritime College. Captain Puckett was selected in 1980 to join the elite group of maritime pilots guiding ships on the Panama Canal. He continued in that job until his retirement in 1996. Since then, he's become a popular speaker and frequently lectures on cruise ships, including ones owned by Disney. William D. LaRue is an award-winning journalist, former TV critic for The Post-Standard in Syracuse, and a website producer for several major newspapers. This is his third published book.

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