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 re 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.
My uncle recommended it. I had barely started it when we left on a cruise of the Panama Canal, sailing from LA. This book is a detailed, non-fiction account of France's selection of the canal site in Central America, the politics, diseases, intrigues, and construction of locks and 'Big Dig'. I forgot all about the cruise ship activities and buried myself in this book. It awoke the 'inner engineer' in me that I didn't know I had. I read it desperately night and day, hoping to finish before reachi My uncle recommended it.
I had barely started it when we left on a cruise of the Panama Canal, sailing from LA. This book is a detailed, non-fiction account of France's selection of the canal site in Central America, the politics, diseases, intrigues, and construction of locks and 'Big Dig'. I forgot all about the cruise ship activities and buried myself in this book. It awoke the 'inner engineer' in me that I didn't know I had.
I read it desperately night and day, hoping to finish before reaching the canal. Cruise ship stage shows?
Cocktails with the captain? I did manage to finish the book before reaching Panama.
Then I found that the travel across the Isthmus was as intense as the book itself. I couldn't bear to see particular shores of the canal floating by, anonymous and silent. Other parts were as thrilling as a fairy tale for the young. Upon reaching the Atlantic, I found myself in tears. That tells you how this book can change your outlook.even towards a body of water!
A year later, the wonder is still with me. Something very strange happens about 30% through 'Path Between the Seas.'
For the first 1/3 of the book, the reader must trudge through pedantic descriptions of very trivial matters and a hodgepodge of boring discussions on all things nautical. Then, all of a sudden McCullough does something amazing: he reminds you that people- everyday ordinary people -really cared about the Panama Canal, what it could do and what it would mean. And when it nearly failed, even though we are talking about people Something very strange happens about 30% through 'Path Between the Seas.' For the first 1/3 of the book, the reader must trudge through pedantic descriptions of very trivial matters and a hodgepodge of boring discussions on all things nautical. Then, all of a sudden McCullough does something amazing: he reminds you that people- everyday ordinary people -really cared about the Panama Canal, what it could do and what it would mean. And when it nearly failed, even though we are talking about people who have been dead upwards of 70 years, you feel bad for them. Its that empathy that is a true gift in this book.
APBtS is the story of three nations: a nation on the decline (France) a nation on the rise (the United States, and the land (Columbia/Panama) they had in common where there paths intersected so geometrically. The story begins in the 1860s as France celebrates the completion of the Suez canal. It then is destroyed- almost literally -in a war with Germany.
After its crushing, psyche-changing defeat, France decides to continue the war not on the field of battle (where it would have been destroyed again) but in the great works of the world- the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, the Suez Canal and finally the Panama Canal. The French engage in a long struggle to bridge the gap between the oceans, and this stirs up a great sense of national pride that the lost war rendered silent before. Suddenly, men and women invest heavily in major corporations to get the canal built, for progress, and for France! But as the book illustrates, France is not what it once was; they misjudge almost everything about the project- the time, the cost, the distance, even the route and how the canal will look.
In time, France is entangled in one of the most celebrated failures in history. But as the book points out, this is unfair. Yes, the French only built about 1/3 of the canal, but when the Americans did take over in 1903, the materials, buildings and work they had left was extremely well done. In fact, the author almost goes so far as to saty that had the French not done such a good job on the first 1/3, its possible the canal would never have been built. Its here that the books truest strength lies: when describing how all the average investors in France took the news of the loss- there was basically crying in the streets and the market tanked because of France's despondency over its failure. It really was like Sedan all over again.
You feel for these people- the struggled mightily and almost did the impossible. Yet at the same time, it clearly illustrated the illusory strength and resolve of France at this time. France was a nation on the decline and its inability to rationalize the Panama Canal, execute the plans, and face its challenges were all signs of a faltering people. Enter the United States. Fresh off its one-sided thumping of Spain in the Spanish American War, the US was as energetic and bombastic as its 'bully' President, Theodore Roosevelt.
A nation on the rise, the US has men, supplies and an economy ready to tackle any problem, including building a canal for its own purposes. The US not only decides to take over the canal project, but almost as an after-thought, helps stir up a rebellion in Columbia so that the nation known as Panama rebels and forms its own government. Thus, the US has a friendly ally to welcome their intervention and build the canal.
The book does a solid job describing the people, both the named principals and the relatively faceless masses of men who dug the canal. The book describes how the diseases of Yellow Fever and Malaria were tamed in Panama, and how these diseases were so feared. The book culminates with the US sitting astride the two Oceans and doing a job many said could not be done. The first boat crossed the full length of the canal on August 3, 1914.
On that same day, the United States was informed that Germany had declared War on France, thus starting World War I, and the ultimate 'beginning of the end' for the old European powers. The book has enormous slow points, including the monotonous descriptions of some mechanical processes that will bore i even the most ardent minutia fan. The book also spends too much time describing some of the more mundane travels and tribulations of some of the major players, which is not time well spent. Still, PBtS makes you care about all these people and the true engineering marvel they created, how vast the area was, how immovable the obstacles were, and how great their accomplishment was. My whole life is a lie!
My favorite palindrome is BOGUS. I mean, sure, it's still a palindrome, but it's just not true!
A MAN, A PLAN, A CANAL, PANAMA! A M A N A P L A N A C A N A L P A N A M A There wasn't 'a' man, there wasn't even 'a' plan. There were like, a dozen men, all with various plans! It was almost built in Nicaragua!
The one guy with a decent plan from the beginning was ignored and his plan sat unnoticed in a file somewhere, while the rest of them ran around, killing thousands of worke My whole life is a lie! My favorite palindrome is BOGUS. I mean, sure, it's still a palindrome, but it's just not true! A MAN, A PLAN, A CANAL, PANAMA! A M A N A P L A N A C A N A L P A N A M A There wasn't 'a' man, there wasn't even 'a' plan. There were like, a dozen men, all with various plans!
It was almost built in Nicaragua! The one guy with a decent plan from the beginning was ignored and his plan sat unnoticed in a file somewhere, while the rest of them ran around, killing thousands of workers and then shrugging and going back to the drawing board when that didn't work. The French started it, failed terribly, lost thousands of men (and women) to malaria and yellow fever, and then went bankrupt.
Teddy Roosevelt, in classic Teddy Roosevelt style, went after it but couldn't decide (and frankly didn't care) where to build or how, he just wanted a canal built, and some of the glory (if not all). The whole situation was, frankly, a clustercuss and it's amazing it got built at all.
It's quite fascinating reading, and I had no idea about any of it. But it's also rather dry reading, and in the middle section McCullough assumes you know all about Latin American politics of the time. I don't know about Latin American politics of TODAY, let alone 1905. There's an endless parade of names, and literally everyone is described as being broad-shouldered and with a mustache, and it was impossible for me to keep track of them. There is a revolution for Panamanian independence (which I did not know they didn't have) and I could not keep track of who was on which side. The US totally meddled (of course) and I wasn't sure if they were on one side, or both, and which side would be better.
It was, to be blunt, a hard slog, reading wise. The last 200 pages though, with actual canal building and descriptions of the living quarters and amenities at the work camps, were more my jam. CONSUMMATELY BORING. (AND YET) “The United States had a mandate from civilization to build the canal, he Theodore Roosevelt told Congress on January 4, 1904”—page 387 Reading very much like an eighth-grade textbook— pedantically packed with a densely detailed, confusing, and virtually meaningless litany of facts, figures, names and dates—especially the first two-thirds of David McCullough’s behemoth, THE PATH BETWEEN THE SEAS: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914 presents a serious chal CONSUMMATELY BORING. (AND YET) “The United States had a mandate from civilization to build the canal, he Theodore Roosevelt told Congress on January 4, 1904”—page 387 Reading very much like an eighth-grade textbook— pedantically packed with a densely detailed, confusing, and virtually meaningless litany of facts, figures, names and dates—especially the first two-thirds of David McCullough’s behemoth, THE PATH BETWEEN THE SEAS: The Creation of the Panama Canal 1870-1914 presents a serious challenge to slogging on. It’s not until page 411, Book Three, The Builders 1904-1914, that the story begins to get really interesting; when, with rough-riding Teddy R.
Leading the charge, the Americans sashay to the rescue. And then it becomes an engaging tale of the epic struggle of man, mind, might, and machine against nature, climate, topography and disease.
We know who the eventual winners were. Recommendation: (1) Forget everything I’ve written here; (2) remember that this is David McCullough we’re talking about; and (3) read some of the many five-star goodreads.com reviews on which to base your ‘to read’ or ‘not to read’ choice. “The creation of a water passage across Panama was one of the supreme human achievements of all time, the culmination of a heroic dream of four hundred years and of more than twenty years of phenomenal effort and sacrifice.”—page 619 NOOKbook edition, 731 pages (624 pages, before Acknowledgments and Notes).
This is a tough book to rate. If you are a history nerd like myself then this book probably deserves the 4 stars that I have given it. However, if you are a more normal person and reader then this book would probably get three, maybe even two stars, because it can easily be mind-numbingly boring. The reason for this difference of opinion is almost certainly the length and the depth of detail. The book is 617 pages of text and I have to admit that 150-200 pages could probably have been chopped to This is a tough book to rate. If you are a history nerd like myself then this book probably deserves the 4 stars that I have given it. However, if you are a more normal person and reader then this book would probably get three, maybe even two stars, because it can easily be mind-numbingly boring.
The reason for this difference of opinion is almost certainly the length and the depth of detail. The book is 617 pages of text and I have to admit that 150-200 pages could probably have been chopped to make the book more readable. That being said I can't imagine a more thoroughly researched and detailed account of everything that went into building the Panama Canal. The first half of the book is devoted to the French effort that started the Canal in 1880.
Because the French effort was publicly financed most of the detail concerns all the financial schemes needed to keep this project moving ahead. Then there was the resulting legal actions that followed the French failure.
While this was important information to know as the basis for the subsequent American effort I do believe that it was vastly overdone and could have benefited from serious editing. Following the French disaster you get Roosevelt's involvement and the theft of Panama from Columbia and the politics and schemes involved with that enterprise.
The American effort is the heart of the book and probably what most readers are interested it learning. The book is no less detailed but this detail is more about the actual digging of the canal and how the project was approached by the succession of chief engineers. What you get from all of this is that the building of the Panama Canal was a lot more than a lot of digging in the jungle and it was. It was interesting to read about the successful endeavors of people in something other than a military or political event. Our history is more than bombs and bureaucrats, generals and diplomats. In the history of this canal you have innovative people from a variety of disciplines from medicine to engineering, from management to human resources and it was fascinating to read about their problems and the solutions they devised to solve them.
But I will grant that much of the fascination a reader could have had from this book was diluted by the cumbersome length and depth of detail. I liked the book but it did stop the circulation in my leg more than once. You wouldn't think that a book detailing the creation of the Panama Canal would be an exciting and quick read. Well, you'd be wrong! I love David McCullough, I think he is flat-out the best biographer out there as well as being one hell of a history author. 1776 is my favorite book about the American revolution.
The Path Between the Seas had me so interested in geology, Central American politics, jungle wildlife, topography, stuff that I would never have thought I would be interested in. It's no You wouldn't think that a book detailing the creation of the Panama Canal would be an exciting and quick read.
Well, you'd be wrong! I love David McCullough, I think he is flat-out the best biographer out there as well as being one hell of a history author. 1776 is my favorite book about the American revolution. The Path Between the Seas had me so interested in geology, Central American politics, jungle wildlife, topography, stuff that I would never have thought I would be interested in. It's not simply a story of the Panama Canal, it is a story of everything that multiple countries and governments went through to bring this grand project to fruition. Amazingly well-written, but I expect no less from Mr. This book tells the complete story of the building of the Panama Canal, beginning with the French efforts from 1870 to about 1889, and then continuing with the U.S.
Completion from 1902 to 1914. I found the parts describing the actual building of the canal (by both the French and the U.S.) to be the most interesting parts of the book. I was much less interested in the political machinations dealing with the U.S. Columbia negotiations and the U.S.
Assistance in the creation of the Republic of P This book tells the complete story of the building of the Panama Canal, beginning with the French efforts from 1870 to about 1889, and then continuing with the U.S. Completion from 1902 to 1914.
I found the parts describing the actual building of the canal (by both the French and the U.S.) to be the most interesting parts of the book. I was much less interested in the political machinations dealing with the U.S. Columbia negotiations and the U.S.
Assistance in the creation of the Republic of Panama. The devastation of men by Yellow Fever and Malaria, particularly during the entire French efforts, was absolutely incredible and heart-breaking as well. Failure to obliterate these diseases using treatments by Dr.
Gorgus that were nearly guaranteed to work (and eventually did) was frustrating. For me the most interesting part of the book was the description of the construction methods used in the completion of the canal locks. A close second to this was McCullough's explanations of the role of General Electric in the electro-hydraulic system used to operate the locks and the movement of boats through the canal. Reinforced concrete, a relatively new construction material and one for which no design codes existed, was used simply because it was the right material for the job. The lack of design standards and guidelines did not hamper the engineers designing the myriad of concrete structures needed for the locks.
I wonder if this same thing (i.e., the widespread use of an unproven material) could happen today? Also, by 1910, electric power was still a new technology. Nevertheless, the electrical engineers did not hesitate to design the system appropriately and successfully. I think engineers will enjoy this book more than non-engineers, but it is still a fascinating story for almost everyone. I wasn't sure whether to award 4 or 5 stars to this book until I realized that my withholding a star had more to do with me than the book. In his typically lucid prose, McCullough wrote a complete history of the building of the Canal. The research was impeccable; the book deserves all the accolades it received.
From the disastrous French attempt at building it to the American struggles and finally success, the reader is given the full story. The egos involved always meant that there would be con I wasn't sure whether to award 4 or 5 stars to this book until I realized that my withholding a star had more to do with me than the book. In his typically lucid prose, McCullough wrote a complete history of the building of the Canal. The research was impeccable; the book deserves all the accolades it received. From the disastrous French attempt at building it to the American struggles and finally success, the reader is given the full story.
The egos involved always meant that there would be conflict and the breadth of the project meant that the engineers designing it would need to be exceptional and what they did. Those in charge had to be able to manage large numbers of people, and with the exception of Wallace, they pretty much did. What I found a bit difficult to get through was all the information on the methods that were used but I realize that this is an important part of the story.
McCullough also focused on the blacks who did most of the work, were paid the least and received almost no credit for what they did. As the media covered the story as it unfolded, the public was kept apprised of the methods that were employed to make the rate of disease drop dramatically. What wasn't mentioned or cared about was that while the rate of disease dropped exponentially among whites, it remained high among blacks and very little notice taken of that. McCullough referred to the system that was put in place under the Americans as a caste system. All in all, the book was very educational and worthwhile. Building the canal was a monumental feat and McCullough gives it its due. It takes a lot of slogging through statistics to read this book, which is what you expect from David McCollough.
At times the story gets mired in a lot of detail that I'll never remember. However, I did enjoy the book and what I learned that I think I'll keep. My biggest criticism is the lack of maps. What I learned: 1. The French were the first to attempt a canal across the isthmus in Central America. This was due to the unflagging zeal of Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was instrumental in the buildi It takes a lot of slogging through statistics to read this book, which is what you expect from David McCollough. At times the story gets mired in a lot of detail that I'll never remember.
However, I did enjoy the book and what I learned that I think I'll keep. My biggest criticism is the lack of maps.
Path Between The Seas Summary
What I learned: 1. The French were the first to attempt a canal across the isthmus in Central America. This was due to the unflagging zeal of Ferdinand de Lesseps, who was instrumental in the building of Suiz canal.
The company failed, but did build a railway across the isthmus, which was later a factor in the United States decision to select the same route. What is now panama was a part of Columbia, and uncharted jungle. Medical science did not know what caused the deadly yellow fever. But several dedicated doctors and scientists determined that there are three types of mosquitos, and only one is responsible for the spread of the fever. Some in the United States congress and other influential people, namely Theodore Roosevelt, favored a canal route through Nicaragua. (See why I wanted more maps!). Many people, some not even directly connected with the canal project influenced the Panamanian overthrow of the Columbian government and formed a new government of Panama.
The Path Between The Seas Epub Reader Reviews
Government was implicated in that junta, partly by presence of warships off the coast. The scope of the task is incomprehensible for me. The canal made and broke many who were instrumental in the building-and I mean physically, mentally and emotionally. No one knows how many died in either attempt, though in the U.S.
Period, some statistics were kept. Yellow Fever was somewhat controlled, yet hundreds still died from that, malaria and accidents. What I didn't learn that I want to know is the story behind the U.S. Relinquishing control of the Canal in the 1990s. I'll need to read further on that, but suspicion it has something to do with reparations. But if the U.S.
Hadn't built it, who knows when or what country would even try. Well if you've read this far, congrats. This is mostly for me to organize my thoughts.
But I don't advise this book if you aren't an avid history reader. Probably no one writes more complete – and exhaustive – histories than David McCullough. In “The Path Between the Seas,” one of his earlier works (1977), McCullough guides you through the political, financial, and engineering intricacies of building the Panama Canal, a modern wonder of the world. It’s a fascinating read, especially if you enjoy history, politics and geography. The opening of the canal – and control – allowed the United States to maintain a two-ocean navy, and provide security fo Probably no one writes more complete – and exhaustive – histories than David McCullough.
In “The Path Between the Seas,” one of his earlier works (1977), McCullough guides you through the political, financial, and engineering intricacies of building the Panama Canal, a modern wonder of the world. It’s a fascinating read, especially if you enjoy history, politics and geography. The opening of the canal – and control – allowed the United States to maintain a two-ocean navy, and provide security for some of the important sea lanes affecting world commerce. Taking nearly fifty years to build, at the turn of the twentieth century it was the largest, costliest single effort ever mounted anywhere on earth. Thank Teddy Roosevelt for completing the project; thank Jimmy Carter for giving it away.
David McCullough has twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback; His other widely praised books are 1776, Brave Companions, The Great Bridge, and The Johnstown Flood. He has been honored with the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, the Na David McCullough has twice received the Pulitzer Prize, for Truman and John Adams, and twice received the National Book Award, for The Path Between the Seas and Mornings on Horseback; His other widely praised books are 1776, Brave Companions, The Great Bridge, and The Johnstown Flood. He has been honored with the National Book Foundation Distinguished Contribution to American Letters Award, the National Humanities Medal, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. “To the majority of those on the job his presence had been magical. Years afterward, the wife of one of the steam-shovel engineers, Mrs. Rose van Hardevald, would recall, 'We saw him.on the end of the train. Jan got small flags for the children, and told us about when the train would pass.Mr.
Roosevelt flashed us one of his well-known toothy smiles and waved his hat at the children.' In an instant, she said, she understood her husband's faith in the man. 'And I was more certain than ever that we ourselves would not leave until it the canal was finished.' Two years before, they had been living in Wyoming on a lonely stop on the Union Pacific. When her husband heard of the work at Panama, he had immediately wanted to go, because, he told her, 'With Teddy Roosevelt, anything is possible.' At the time neither of them had known quite where Panama was located.” —.
A New York Times Bestseller A timely collection of speeches by David McCullough, the most honored historian in the United States—winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, two National Book Awards, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among many others—that reminds us of fundamental American principles. Over the course of his distinguished career, David McCullough has spoken before Congress, the White House, colleges and universities, historical societies, and other esteemed institutions. Now, at a time of self-reflection in America following a bitter election campaign that has left the country divided, McCullough has collected some of his most important speeches in a brief volume designed to identify important principles and characteristics that are particularly American. The American Spirit reminds us of core American values to which we all subscribe, regardless of which region we live in, which political party we identify with, or our ethnic background. This is a book about America for all Americans that reminds us who we are and helps to guide us as we find our way forward.