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Summary:
On December 31, 1999, after nearly a century of rule, the United States officially ceded ownership of the Panama Canal to the nation of Panama. That nation did not exist when, in the mid-19th century, Europeans first began to explore the possibilities of creating a link between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the narrow but mountainous isthmus; Panama was then a remote and overlooked part of Colombia.
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
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
The BEST history writer
Customer Rating:
I always wanted to read more but could never get myself to do it. I had an uncle that was incredibly well read (more than a thousand books) and always admired him. He passed away from stomach cancer but before he did I had an opportunity to talk with him and one of the things I asked was what his favorite book was. He told me it was a tough question but said it would be hard not to pick this book. I bought it on the way home. I found the first hundred pages to be very difficult and almost gave up but couldn't stop thinking about my uncle so I read on and I'm glad I did. This book is amazing. Anyone who finds this book boring or wordy is just not interested in a well crafted account of history. This was a huge engineering feat so don't be surprised if it is a little technical. I'm an engineer so I loved it. David does a remarkable job of making you feel like you are in that time of history. This isn't just about the Panama Canal but about 1870-1914. When you think about what happened during that time it's just mind blowing. The idea of a new republic taking on such an enormous project so far away in the jungles of Panama. I've read all David's books and only wish he would write more. This book started me on the path to reading. For that I owe David a huge thanks.
The Path Between the Seas
Customer Rating:
Wonderfully detailed history of the conception, politics, and construction of the Panama Canal. I first read the book as a public library book, but wanted a copy of my own for future reference.
Audacious and improbable (4.25*s)
Customer Rating:
This book is a highly informative account of the entire history of the contemplation and building of the Panama Canal involving many nations across several decades. The difficulties facing any entity, private or public, considering building an Isthmus-crossing canal were unbelievable: the sheer complexity of the canal design; the volume of earth to move and the size of the structures to build; the huge and multi-dimensional labor force; the tremendous earth-moving machinery required and its effective usage; the magnitude and difficulties of coordinating all the work; the decimating impact of yellow fever and malaria on the work force; and the logistics of supplying an obscure part of the world. In addition, the political maneuverings involving the governments of France, the US, Columbia, and Panama and any number of lobbyists during several periods were crucial in deciding the location and type of an Isthmus-crossing canal, as well the decisions to proceed. The debate of whether Panama or Nicaragua was most appropriate for a canal was waged repeatedly with final decisions being made on little more than a coin-flip.
Personalities are very important in the author's story. He scarcely conceals a predisposition to the belief that brilliant and appropriate men will eventually rise to meet the most difficult of challenges. Perhaps surprising to most readers is that the first attempt to build a canal across Panama was made by a private French conglomerate led by the charismatic aristocrat and entrepreneur Ferdinand de Lesseps in the 1880s. While his dominating personality persuaded many to undertake the huge risks of building a canal in Panama, his complete lack of technical competency and his tendency to ignore and conceal serious problems, thus deceiving investors, were factors in the collapse of the French effort after a near-decade of prodigious but ultimately futile efforts. What was to be a triumph of French ingenuity turned into bitter recriminations, with jail time being served by a few scapegoats.
The middle third of the book is devoted to the politics of the US taking on the task of building a canal and the support of the US of the Panamanian coup in 1903. Powerful interests led by Sen John T. Morgan supported a Nicaraguan canal but President Theodore Roosevelt threw the weight of his office behind, what he considered to be the more practical alternative, Panama. An enigmatic Frenchmen, part of the de Lesseps effort in Panama, Philippe Bunau-Varilla not only was persuasive during that period but coordinated the Panama takeover. Though the US quickly came to terms with Columbia over the loss of Panama, that flexing of American power rankled for years in Latin America.
The last section of the book is an amazing story of the completion, with substantial alteration, of the original French canal. After some lackluster appointees were replaced and administrative structures streamlined, serious advancement of the project began. Again, very talented individuals were key to the progress. Dr. William Gorgas was able to implement a country-wide program of eradicating mosquitoes, the carriers of yellow fever and malaria. John Stevens, a veteran of railroad design, in his role as chief engineer undertook a vast improvement of the infrastructure of Panama, such as housing, sewerage, and water supply, greatly improving the well-being of the labor force and also devised a means of non-stop digging and movement of dirt. The author suggests that Stevens' efforts were perhaps most important for the project's completion, yet he is largely forgotten because he prematurely resigned. His successor, George Goethals, though rather aloof, proved to be an equally able administrator and saw the Panama Canal through to its completion in 1914.
The story told is complicated with many considerations and individuals involved. However, at times, almost too much detail is provided - too many names, too many physical descriptions of people. The luminous personality of de Lesseps gets excessive attention, as well as the political intrigue in France and the US. It was not the author's intent to write an exposition on canal building; the approach is far more social, political, and economic. It's impossible to read this book without coming to realize the sheer audacity and improbability of building a canal across Panama, especially one hundred years ago.
PS. Though not especially emphasized by the author, this book is a cautionary tale for grandiose schemes and schemers. In this case the half-baked plan eventually was successful, but at tremendous costs in lives, savings of small investors, and total funds. One need only look at the financialization of the US economy and the costs to most us to see that con men are alive and well.
Boring
Customer Rating:
Very factual but exteeeeeeeeemly boring and wordy. I read it before going through the cannal and it helped me greatly to enjoy the trip, but it could be 1/4 the size and still do the job.
A man, a plan, a canal . . .
Customer Rating:
The epitome of what a general narrative history should be-informative, fun, inspiring.
McCullough begins by tracing the idea of an isthmian canal in history, continues with the two abortive French efforts to complete the canal, and finally covers the completion of the canal in its political and technical aspects under the leadership of the United States.
The technical aspects are fascinating for their details and bridging of a fifty year period of incredible engineering progress, the political aspects are interesting for their far-reaching impact (Central American hatred of the United States still lingers from the blatant grab of Panama from Columbia), but mostly the human story of the men, women, and larger-than-life lesser gods (de Lesseps, Buneau-Varilla, Roosevelt, Goethals) who made it happen is what remains most classic in this history..
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