Book - The Path Between the Seas (1977) [/]
May 31 2021
The Path Between the Seas is a book about the building of the Panama Canal, written by historian David McCullough. It's split up into three parts:
The French effort (1870-1894) which sort of became a national effort and unfortunately failed due to severely underestimating the difficulties of building a sea-level canal, massively underfunded, and not being able to control Yellow Fever, Malaria, and other tropical diseases that decimated the workforce.
America secure the canal zone (1890-1904) where the US had two routes to decided on -- through Nicaragua or through Panama -- and the political machinations wherein Panama won, the Panamanians declared independence from Columbia and how the US cemented that independence.
America builds the canal (1904-1914) and it's mostly the first two or three years when the US took over the French constructions, obliterated Yellow Fever and Malaria, then decided to build a lock canal. The last chapter covers about 7 years and describes the locks and control mechanisms because by then everything else was kind of routine.
McCullough researched for several years, read official documents stored in France, the US and Panama; talked to people, mostly descendants of the major figures in the story or even people who were kids living in the canal zone when the US was building it. In this history McCullough writes about the people, the politics, the technical achievements and tries to put them in context for the time.
It's an interesting book and a fairly entertaining read.
The French effort (1870-1894) which sort of became a national effort and unfortunately failed due to severely underestimating the difficulties of building a sea-level canal, massively underfunded, and not being able to control Yellow Fever, Malaria, and other tropical diseases that decimated the workforce.
America secure the canal zone (1890-1904) where the US had two routes to decided on -- through Nicaragua or through Panama -- and the political machinations wherein Panama won, the Panamanians declared independence from Columbia and how the US cemented that independence.
America builds the canal (1904-1914) and it's mostly the first two or three years when the US took over the French constructions, obliterated Yellow Fever and Malaria, then decided to build a lock canal. The last chapter covers about 7 years and describes the locks and control mechanisms because by then everything else was kind of routine.
McCullough researched for several years, read official documents stored in France, the US and Panama; talked to people, mostly descendants of the major figures in the story or even people who were kids living in the canal zone when the US was building it. In this history McCullough writes about the people, the politics, the technical achievements and tries to put them in context for the time.
It's an interesting book and a fairly entertaining read.