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All that changed, writes David McCullough in his magisterial history of the Canal, in 1848, when prospectors struck gold in California. A wave of fortune seekers descended on Panama from Europe and the eastern United States, seeking quick passage on California-bound ships in the Pacific, and the Panama Railroad, built to serve that traffic, was soon the highest-priced stock listed on the New York Exchange. To build a 51-mile-long ship canal to replace that railroad seemed an easy matter to some investors. But, as McCullough notes, the construction project came to involve the efforts of thousands of workers from many nations over four decades; eventually those workers, laboring in oppressive heat in a vast malarial swamp, removed enough soil and rock to build a pyramid a mile high. In the early years, they toiled under the direction of French entrepreneur Ferdinand de Lesseps, who went bankrupt while pursuing his dream of extending France's empire in the Americas. The United States then entered the picture, with President Theodore Roosevelt orchestrating the purchase of the canal--but not before helping foment a revolution that removed Panama from Colombian rule and placed it squarely in the American camp.
The story of the Panama Canal is complex, full of heroes, villains, and victims. McCullough's long, richly detailed, and eminently literate book pays homage to an immense undertaking. --Gregory McNamee
Review
Newsweek McCullough is a storyteller with the capacity to steer readers through political, financial, and engineering intricacies without fatigue or muddle. This is grand-scale expert work.
The letter, several pages in length and signed by Secretary of the Navy George M. Robeson, was addressed to Commander Thomas O. Selfridge. Read the first page
Concordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
An incredible feat!,
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This review is from: Path Between The Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 (Paperback)
This book was a pleasure to read! Building the Panama Canal today would be a monumental undertaking, even with all of our modern technology. Building it almost a century ago was truly an incredible triumph, not only of engineering, but of political will and human spirit! McCullough weaves all these aspects together in this wonderful history. The story of the first French efforts to build the canal and how America came to acquire the land and pick up the failed French effort is a fascinating tale. This story is interwoven with the story of the perseverance of the men who actually built the canal through dense, blisteringly hot jungle, overcoming weather, terrain, and the everpresent fear of tropical diseases.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Path Between The Seas - Book Purchase,
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This review is from: Path Between The Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 (Paperback)
The Information available on this website when I purchased this book, was accurate, and the condition described was helpful. The Seller was prompt in shipping it and there were no problems with the purchase. Thank You.Trevor Caldwell
5.0 out of 5 stars
save up $1000 before you read this book....,
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This review is from: Path Between The Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 (Paperback)
... because you will be inspired to visit Panama to see the Canal. Fortunately tourism in the Canal Zone has become much easier ever since the US withdrew from the country. Many of the exclusive areas formerly reserved for Canal personnel are now open as hotels, restaurants, and for general tourism. McCullough writes about the flood of tourism that attended the Canal's construction and opening. He is probably responsible for quite a bit of the modern Canal tourism!
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